Comment by May 11 for a chance to win a copy of Wait for Me.
Coal Miners
Coal Miners
In my
latest novel, WAIT FOR ME, the main characters live in a coal community in
Southern West Virginia in 1955. Coal communities, or coal camps as they were
also called, tell the story of abandonment and poverty. The coal
is still the heart of the area where monster trains battle steep grades to
bring the coal to outside markets.
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Coal miner's housing in a coal camp |
Coal mining is a relatively dangerous
industry. Employees in coal mining are more likely to be killed or to incur a
non-fatal injury or illness, and their injuries are more likely to be severe
than workers in private industry as a whole, according to the Bureau of Labor
Statistics.
 |
| Coal miners leaving mine |
In WAIT FOR ME, Julie’s daddy owns
the coal mine where they live. Julie loves Robby whose papá works in the coal
mine. Robby plans to follow his papá and grandfather into the mines to work.
Julie tries to convince Robby not to work in the coal mine. In the book, their
conversation goes like this:
“I don’t want to
be anything except a miner.”
“Why?”
Robby faced
Julie and placed his hands on her shoulders. He looked into her eyes. “Julie,
my grandfather came here from Italy to find work in the mines. When my papá got
old enough, he followed him into the mines. Now it’s my turn to follow them
both into the Capshaw #7 mine. I’m expected—I want—to become a miner like they
did.”
“Please promise
me you’ll think about something else for your life besides be a miner. It’s honest
work, of course, but they work in the dark, it’s difficult on the body, and not
too safe. And all the coal dust. A coal miner is never all the way clean—the
black coal dust never leaves the crevices of his ears or the space underneath
his fingernails. You can see coal dust on a miner’s face but you can’t see it
in his lungs. You could get black lung disease if you work in a mine every day.
Promise me you’ll think about it.”
“Sure, I’ll
think about it but I won’t make any promises.” He found her lips for a good
night kiss. “I’d better get you home.”
 |
Coal Camp Country Store
A coal company provided not only a job but a unique
way of life for West Virginia miners and their families. Since most of the
mines were located too far from established towns, the coal companies built
their own towns and included inexpensive homes, a company store, a church, and
a school for the miners and their families. Because of the need for daily supplies from the
company store, a simplified method of bookkeeping was established, using coal
scrip. The earliest coal scrip (tokens) dates back to about 1883. Miners could
get advanced credit on their earned wages (in scrip) to pay for daily
necessities at the company store. This use of coal company scrip eliminated the
need for the coal company to keep a large amount of U. S. currency on hand.
Each mine had its own scrip symbols on the tokens, and these tokens could only
be used at the local company store.
|
 |
Coal Company script |
Coal miners worked 9-10 hours a day. Better jobs,
with higher wages, safer working conditions and the opportunity to advance,
were offered to native-born Americans first.
 |
Managers |
Immigrants from Wales, Scandinavia, Ireland, Germany, and Southern and Eastern Europe were forced to take jobs with lower wages and worse working conditions. Most had been peasant farmers in the Old Country, accustomed to working outside. The work in the mines was dangerous, especially for these untrained workers, and many industrial accidents occurred. The management grouped immigrants by nationality into work crews so that they could communicate in their native languages.
 |
Coal miner with lunch bucket |
SHORT
AUTHOR BIO – Jo Huddleston:
Jo Huddleston is a multi-published author of books,
articles, and short stories. Her debut novels in the Caney Creek Series and her
latest book, Wait for Me are sweet
Southern romances. She is a member of ACFW, the Literary Hall of Fame at
Lincoln Memorial University (TN), and holds a M.Ed. degree from Mississippi
State University. Jo lives in the U.S. Southeast with her husband, near their
two grown children and four grandchildren. Visit Jo at www.johuddleston.com.
BACK
COVER BLURB for Wait for Me:
Can Julie, an only child raised with privilege and
groomed for high society, and Robby, a coal miner’s son, escape the binds of
their socioeconomic backgrounds? Set in a coal mining community in West
Virginia in the 1950s, can their love survive their cultural boundaries?
This is a tragically beautiful love story of a
simple yet deep love between two soul mates, Robby and Julie. The
American South’s rigid caste system and her mother demand that Julie chooses to
marry an ambitious young man from a prominent and suitable family. Julie
counters her mother’s stringent social rules with deception and secrets in
order to keep Robby in her life. Can the couple break the shackles of polite
society and spend their lives together? Will Julie’s mother ever accept Robby?
LINKS:
You can find Jo at:
Title
of book: Wait for Me
Author: Jo Huddleston
Publisher: Forget Me Not
Romances, a division of Winged Publications
Genre:
Sweet Southern Historical Romance
Series or stand alone: The West
Virginia Mountains Series, Book 1
Target age: Older teens, adult
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