coal – Page 2 – The Monongah Disaster

Friday, December 6, 1907 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm

12:00 pm – Noon

In Fairmont:

Within the next few days, this event will gradually become entangled in the news coming out of Monongah. With so many people and newspaper reporters in and out of Fairmont, entirely unfamiliar with the area, this is more than likely how various reports begin to spread across the country that the trolley which ran passed #8 coal mine just before the explosion was blown off of its tracks, wrecked, and that a young female passenger was injured in the process. Though there is no information about what happened to the trolley after it passed #8 nor are there personal accounts from any of its passengers, the trolley at Monongah was not thrown from its tracks and wrecked.

At the company offices, “Mr. S.L. Watson was called up by many newspaper men but was unable to accommodate them because of lack of news.” (FWV 12.7.07 pg. 2 – noon)

The Electric Theatre calls the Fairmont newspapers to make the announcement that they will give 5 percent of the entire receipts until further notice for the benefit of Monongah sufferers. (FWV 12.6.07 pg. 5)

12.6.07 pg 5 - Thater offers proceeds to Monongah — FWV 12.6.07 pg 5

Inside the mines of Monongah:

Localized explosions, ignitions, and fires continue consuming the oxygen throughout the mines. Afterdamp has had over hour and half to work through the mines and has already suffocated many. Some miners who survived the initial explosions are putting jackets over their heads or napkins over their mouths to try and prevent breathing in gases. (McAteer, News)

In the town of Monongah:

Monongah is getting positively ambushed with all varieties of people from the area. Train/Trolley loads of volunteers, mourners, amateur photographers and macabre sightseers start pouring in from Fairmont and surrounding areas.

Undertakers begin pouring into town, ”from Fairmont, Shinnston, and Clarksburg among whom are Clifford & Osborn, Sleppy & Warne, of Clarksburg, Harmer of Shinnston, and Musgrave and Bunningham*, of Fairmont, summoned at the instance of the coal company to take charge of the frightful morgue that will present itself when all the bodies are recovered.” (CDT 12.7.07 pg. 1) (*should be “Cunningham”)

Transport wagons and crews are hired. W.S. Thomas Transfer Co. (Fairmont firm) sends all available wagons and teams to Monongah. (News)

Communications within town, let alone outside of town, are extremely limited and reports about the events going on in the area begin to conflict from the very start. (News)

“The bodies of three miners were recovered near the mouth of Mine No. 6 at 12 o’clock.” (CDT 12.6.07 pg. 1)

“Up to noon four bodies had been recovered. These were found at the entrance of the mine.” (CDT 12.6.07 pg. 1)

Inside #6:

“Besides the broken cars that clogged the heading much of the brattice work was demolished and this too added to the delay in bringing bodies out. Many of the brattices were constructed of brick and were supposed to be permanent, thought to be sufficiently strong to withstand any concussion that might arise from an explosion; but these went down and were but a mass of debris.” (FWV 12.7.07 pg. 1 – noon)

The rescue crew headed by Supt. Gaskill continue exploring beyond the shanty at the foot of #6. They find another body, one they assume must belong to the car coupler, Bill Sloane, based on its location. There’s just one little problem; unknown to everyone else, Bill Sloane is at home sick in bed. Fred Shaver will later tell L.M. Davis of the Fairmont West Virginian about the four men he recognized, including Bill, and all four names will be published as the first identified dead. (News)

Not far beyond here, the crew encounters more afterdamp and are forced to turn back until proper ventilation is restored to these areas. They do not take any of the discovered victims with them. (Inquiry)

Outside #8:

Someone coming across #8 trestle finds Joe Newton among the debris “more dead than alive”, gets him up, and rushes him over to the interurban car.

~12:30 pm

Outside #6:

Pat McDonald is found unconscious on the #6 trestle walkway covered with severe burns and lacerations all over his face and torso. The interurban car carrying Joe Newton is stopped just above #6. Pat McDonald is quickly placed aboard and the two are rushed to the Miner’s Hospital in Fairmont.

On the east side of Monongah:

#6 tipple foreman E.P. Knight finds a piece of the coupling pin that broke away from the train of cars and puts it in his pocket.

In Monongah:

“The first dispatches told of women who tore their hair, or clawed their nails into the flesh of their cheeks or threatened to throw their babies into the river. The wife of the Presbyterian minister told me that she saw these things. Such a woman had run back along the railroad tracks tearing at her face and hair. They quieted her. 3 sons, 3 brothers, and a husband—all were in the mines she said.” (Kellogg)

More on How Death Gloated!

Friday, December 6, 1907 10:30 am

10:30 am

At the mouth of #6:

J.H. Leonard and Alonzo Shroyer are staring down the portal of #6 mine, bracing for the imminent impact of the runaway train of coal cars. Inside the #6 fan house, the clock connected to the sensitive pressure gauges of the fan marks that at 10:30 am the gages “go up a little then drop clean to the bottom” (Inquiry, Victor).

Somewhere in the deep recesses of the two mines, a massive explosion erupts. As it tears through the workings of the mine, following the paths of least resistance, it consumes all oxygen, extinguishes the carbide lamps of the miners, and destroys most of their belongings.

Many men within the mines die instantly as a result of traumatic injuries such as burns, blunt force impacts, and decapitation. Others get caught up in the blast and carried away as, “Every movable object shot with terrific force through the mine.” Majority if not all of the workers caught in this wave are utterly demolished, several of their bodies will be found “strewn at the mouth” or not found at all, having been disintegrated in the force. (Nurses) (LAH 12.8.07 pg. 1) (McAteer)

Inside #8 mine:

The DePetris brothers are violently thrown off their feet, the blast hurling them against a rib then to the mine floor. (McAteer, Inquiry)

Nearby, Dan Dominico is smashed to the ground with such force that his ear is badly cut and one arm is injured so seriously he cannot move it. (McAteer, Inquiry)

Outside #8 mine:

The south-bound interurban trolley is only a few yards beyond the mouth of mine #8 when the crowd of passengers begin to feel and hear the earth rumble around them. (News)

On the East side of Monongah:

George Peddicord has barely begun to cross the Iron Bridge between the two mines when he feels everything around him shake and hears a rumbling noise from up river, in the direction of #8. (Inquiry)

At the Traction Park Interurban station between #6 & #8:

George Bice is around 330 yards north of #8, by the Traction Park interurban station when he hears the report, “likened to the discharge of a cannon,” from behind. He spins around to look at #8 and sees tons of brick, 8×8 timbers, infrastructure, machinery, coal cars, tools and other debris from deep within the mine hurled up and out the entrance by the explosive force. The miners’ check-tag board is eviscerated, the brass ID tags scatter into the river and are lost. (McAteer, Inquiry, News)

At #8:

The large iron gate at the mouth of #8 is ripped away as the force exits through the mine mouth. But the pressure is simply too much and the force tears a 100-foot hole in the hillside where the entrance once stood, tossing the iron gate and chunks of concrete, one “weighing fully 1000 pounds”, across the river and embedding them into the eastern river bank. (McAteer, Inquiry, News)

“So great was the force of the explosion that one man was blown out of a pit mouth a distance of 400 feet.” (WT 12.7.07 pg. 1) Charles Honaker is caught by the first blast wave at the entrance of #8. His clothing is “lit ablaze” and his body is hurled into the air along with the debris and blown hundreds of yards away, toward the river. (McAteer)

The 10 ton, 30’ tall fan for #8 is considered one of the most powerful fans in the country. It is ripped from its concrete moorings, chucked across the river, and embedded in a hillside almost a half mile away from its original location. The large powerhouse, with all its large machinery and boiler room is blown all the way to other side of the river. (McAteer, News, Inquiry)

Electric wires about the mouth of #8 mine are ripped apart and strewn across the ground. (News, Inquiry)

Across the river at #8 tipple:

Otto Smith yells out to the #8 tipple boss, “I reckon the mine has blown up!”. He turns around to see a plume of fire and smoke shoot from the open hillside of #8 more than 60 feet into the sky. (Inquiry)

In the vicinity of #8:

Windows shatter in the buildings around #8, including those all the way across the river in the house next to the tipple. Hyre Stalnaker hears the blast inside the carpenter shop and attempts to run outside but the shock of the blast throws him back into the shop and knocks him out. (Inquiry, News, McAteer)

In the center of town:

George Peddicord can not see the #8 portal from his position on the Iron Bridge, but the force is so intense he can see the timbers and debris flying above through the air followed by a tower of black smoke. (Inquiry)

In Monongah:

Lester Trader was in bed, though not yet asleep, when “the whole house lifted, then the sound of a terrible roar and I felt the earth shaking with such intensity causing objects to fall from shelves…”. He rises from bed and races for the door.

Almost instantly, before Lester Trader can make it to his door, a second report comes from down river in the direction of #6. When he reaches his door, he can feel the wind still coming off of #8. (Inquiry, McAteer)

Inside #8:

Dan & Leo Dominico and the DePetris brothers are just getting to their feet when they are knocked down again by a second, equally powerful explosion. (Inquiry)

Peter & Stan Urban hear and feel the second explosion; they begin to run. (Inquiry, McAteer)

On the East side of Monongah:

Christina Cerdelli hears the noise of the blast in her doorway. She sees smoke coming from the toad holes all along the west side. The smoke is so thick and abundant some believe it is coming from St. Stanislaus Catholic Church. A bit farther up river, Lee Curry also sees the smoke above houses and St. Stanislaus on the west side of town from his vantage point on the #8 tipple. (Inquiry)

Beneath the #6 tipple, E.P. Knight hears something that sounds like dynamite with “a roar to it” come from #6.(Inquiry)

At #6:

Tons of earth are heaved high into the air around #6 and adjacent buildings are damaged. (News, Inquiry, McAteer)

At the mouth of #6, J.H. Leonard and Alonzo Shroyer are thrown back as the blast exits through the portal. Leonard is covered in rubble; his arm and ankle are very hurt. Shroyer slams into something hard, possibly the derailing switch, cutting him to the bone behind his right ear. (Inquiry, McAteer)

A piece of rail track comes down into the #6 blacksmith shop though the blacksmith, Will Jenkins, only sees a sootish-colored smoke with no flame coming from #6 in a steady blowout. (Inquiry)

Pat McDonald, who was still running toward #6 on the trestle, is also hurled over 100 feet backwards and badly injured. (Inquiry, News, McAteer)

The top of the #6 fan house is “blown in the air a considerable distance”, more than 400 feet. (FWV 12.6.07 pg. 1)

Ed Fry is in the doorway of #6 engine room when he is physically jarred by the second blast, though he hears no report. (Inquiry, McAteer)

On the East side of Monongah:

E.P. Knight is still on the telephone with John Talbott until he glances out his shanty window, then runs out the door to see a good bit of dark brown smoke coming out of the #6 air shaft. On the other end of the line, inside the company offices, John Talbott heard the report and saw the flash of fire at #8 through the 2 large bay windows in his office which faced both mines.(Inquiry, McAteer)

The outside foreman, Charlie Dean, and Superintendent of #6, A.J. Ruckman, are talking in the company offices in Monongah when they feel the building shake from the concussion. The loud report causes Charlie Dean to assume that the #8 boiler has blown up. A.J. Ruckman, looks out to #6 and sees smoke coming out of the air shaft “strong, under high pressure”. (Inquiry, McAteer)

Frank Morris feels the jar in his office inside the company store. He runs outside to see smoke coming out of the mouth of #6 and begins running toward the mine. (Inquiry, McAteer)

At #6:

J.H. Leonard does his best to crawl away from the #6 portal to an area where he could let himself down under the trestle and protect himself from flying debris with the door from a coal car. (Inquiry, McAteer)

In the center of town:

George Peddicord drops his buckets and rushes across the Iron Bridge, not to the mine, but to his home. (Inquiry, McAteer)

At #8:

The interurban trolley is rocked on its tracks by the concussion, but holds its bearings and continues on with a crowded car of stunned and terrified passengers. (News, McAteer)

In the surrounding areas:

The “shock from the explosion was distinctly heard” 12 miles away in Pruntytown. (FWV 12.7.07 – pg.1)

The concussion is reportedly heard up to 50 miles away and is “distinctly felt” in Grafton and in the school house at Hoult where the “erasers were jarred from the blackboard and struck to the floor with a bang.” (WED 12.7.07 pg. 8) (FWV 12.12.07 pg. 2)

“People for miles in every direction begin to make inquiries over the telephone…” (FWV 12.7.07 pg. 1 – noon)

Lee Lichtenstein of Columbus was 6 miles away in Fairmont at the time. He will later tell The Baltimore Sun that, “The explosion shook Fairmont…as if by earthquake…a rumbling noise, houses rocked to and fro, people rushed wildly to the street and it was 15 minutes before it was known what occurred.” (News, McAteer)

In the town of Monongah:

No one in Monongah needed to ask what had happened. “They divined instantly that another great mine horror had taken place.” (WED 12.7.07 pg. 8)

The sounds of the blasts were deafening. “The buildings of the cities tottered and waved as if they would collapse. The pavements were upheaved and some of the frailer structures fell into ruins.” (WED 12.7.07 pg. 8)

“Pedestrians and even horses were knocked off their feet… Fires started in various parts of the city.” (WED 12.7.07 pg. 8)

“In the shock of the explosion the school house at Monongah was shaken in such a way that it threw the children in a frenzy and they rushed to the doors and windows some thinking an earthquake had occurred. When the smoke from the mines was seen an uproar was started as it was then realized what had happened. Children screamed pitifully that their fathers were killed and the teachers were utterly unable to control them.” (FWV 12.10.07 pg. 8)

More on the Monongah Disaster of 1907

Introduction

Disclaimer and Guide

How Death Gloated!: A Timeline of the Monongah Disaster and Bloody December of 1907

Who is Guilty?: A Timeline of January 1908 and the Coroner’s Inquiry

Issues with the Monongah Timeline

Bibliography/Resources

About the Author

Contact Information

Friday, December 6, 1907, 10:15 am – 10:29 am

10:15 am

Outside #6

J.H. Leonard is just outside of the fan house and watches the trip of coal cars come out of the mine mouth, pass by the derailing switch, and begin to travel up the trestle toward the tipple. (McAteer, Inquiry) ◊

10:19 am

In East Monongah:

William Finley is standing on the street by the coal company’s office at the south side, not far from #6. (Inquiry)

10:20 am

Outside #6

Nick Smith is working at the forge in the blacksmith shop. (Inquiry)

Inside the fan house, the gauge for the fan pressure rises .4 inch. This is normal, typically caused either by general workings vibrations or the loaded trip of cars going, “with and against the current” of air being pushed through the mines. (Inquiry, Victor)

In Traction Park (between #6 and #8):

George Bice is walking down to the Traction Park interurban station to catch the trolley into Fairmont. George is a tracklayer in #8, but he is not scheduled to work today. (Inquiry)

Inside #8

Orazio DePetris notices a fire boss come into his area for a few moments and then leave. (Inquiry)

Angelo DePetris has just finished putting in a shot and begins picking from the roof. (Inquiry)

Peter and Stan Urban sit down to eat some lunch. (Inquiry)

Outside #8

Lee Curry, the stationary engineer, just finished dropping a trip of empty coal cars into #8 mine and has stopped it still. (Inquiry)

Carl Meredith is on the same loaded track, looking toward the mouth of #8 mine. (Inquiry)

On the opposite side of the river:

E.P Knight, #6 tipple foreman, is in the shanty under #6 tipple. He is talking on the phone with John Talbot in the shipping department discussing coal cars, or probably the lack thereof. (Inquiry)

Pat McDonald is walking on the haulage bridge, facing the mouth of #6. (Inquiry)

Outside #6 on the trestle:

The trip of cars gets stuck at the knuckle of the tipple; the rear car is about 50’ from the knuckle. (Inquiry)

10:21 am

A warning light in the engine room, connected to the main current line, which indicates that the train of cars is in motion turns off. (McAteer, Inquiry)

10:25 am

Outside #6

J.H. Leonard watches the stuck trip of cars and waits by the derailing switch. (McAteer, Inquiry)

Luther Toothman is on #2 tipple (directly opposite of #6). (Inquiry)

10:26 am

Christina Cerdelli is standing in the door of her home. (Inquiry) ◊

10:27 am

Levi Martin is at his home on Willow Tree Lane (just past Thoburn post office, above and behind #8). (Inquiry)

10:28 am

On the West side of Monongah:

George Bice reaches Traction Park interurban station. He is about 330 feet from #8 and ¼ mile from #6. (Inquiry) ◊

On the East side of Monongah:

George Peddicord is walking onto the Iron bridge with buckets of chains from the East end of town. (Inquiry) ◊

Outside #6:

Will Jenkins has just finished replacing one shoe on a horse in the blacksmith shop and is preparing to shoe the other foot. (Inquiry)

J.H Leonard hears a noise from fan house and, fearing the fan was stalling, turned away from the derailing switch and ran back to the fan house to check the fan engine. (McAteer, Inquiry)

10:29 am

Outside #6:

J.H Leonard barely gets into the fan house when he hears a large *snap*. (Inquiry)

At the top of #6 trestle:

The loaded tip of coal cars has been stuck for almost ten minutes when the coupling pin on the first car of the train snaps. (McAteer, Inquiry)

In #6 engine house:

Ed Fry notices the engine speed up once the trip breaks free of the rope. (Inquiry)

Across the river from #6:

E.P. Knight, who is still on the phone with Talbott, feels the #6 tipple jar and sees the wench rope jerk back. Before Knight can tell Talbott that the train broke loose, Talbott has already sat down the phone and started outside. (Inquiry)

On the trestle:

The loaded trip of cars begins careening back down the trestle toward the mine mouth. (McAteer, Inquiry)

Pat McDonald hears the trip break loose, turns and looks up to see it racing back down the trestle. He begins to sprint towards the derailing switch. (McAteer, Inquiry)

Outside #6:

J.H. Leonard turns around, runs out of the fan house and back toward the derailing switch. (McAteer, Inquiry)

Nick Smith watches the runaway trip speeding toward the #6 mouth from the blacksmith shop. (Inquiry)

The trip makes an “unusual noise”, startling the horse in the blacksmith shop causing the horse to trample Will Jenkins to the ground. (Inquiry)

Alonzo Shroyer is 50-60 feet away from the mine mouth and only notices the trip when it is passing right by him. (Inquiry)

J.H. Leonard makes it back to the derailing switch just in time to watch the last two cars go into the mine. (Inquiry)

In #6 engine house:

The lights in the engine room flicker off and back on. Ed Fry turns off the wench engine. (Inquiry)

At the mouth of #6:

J.H. Leonard thinks someone could get caught on the slope of the mine in the wake of the runaway train. He and Alonzo Shroyer run to the mouth of the mine and look down into the portal. Leonard braces himself for impact. (Inquiry)

Outside #6:

The power goes out in the blacksmith shop. (Inquiry)

Outside #8:

The interurban car, south-bound for Clarksburg, passes by and below the trestle to #8 mine mouth.

On the West side of Monongah, between #6 & #8:

George Bice sees the trolley heading south, passing by #8. He is worried he is too late and has missed the trolley into Fairmont. He turns north, toward #6, to see if it is already on its way to Fairmont. (Inquiry)

Inside #8:

The DePetris brothers are just bending over to pick up and load the coal they just shot down. (Inquiry)

Peter Urban is finishing up his lunch when he hears a noise in the distance and suggests to his brother, Stan, that they should run. Stan hears nothing over the noise of his work, shrugs off his brothers concerns and goes back to digging coal. (McAteer, Inquiry)

More on How Death Gloated!

Friday, December 6, 1907, Mid-Morning 9:30 – 10:15 am

9:30 am

Inside #8

The DePetris brothers finish loading their 1^st car and being taking it out to the main line. (Inquiry) ◊

Dan Dominico is working alone nearby. (Inquiry)

Inside #6

Will Jenkins arrives to 4^th left but finds that the horse in question does not need a new shoe and begins out of the mine. (Inquiry) ◊

10:00 am

At the mines:

All day shift workers, at least those who are coming to work today, have arrived and are at work. (News, Inquiry)

In East Monongah:

Frank Morris is in his office at the Company Store. (Inquiry)

frontThumbnail (12) — Inside the Company Store.

George Peddicord is in the supply house, located on the opposite side of the river from the mine, collecting more chain buckets. (Inquiry)

John Talbott is working in the shipping office between the company store and main offices. (Inquiry)◊

Inside #6

Will Jenkins is on his way out of the mine and back to the blacksmith shop when he meets Charlie Wise on his way out. They are about a half mile in #6 and Wise was going down the heading, deeper into the mine. (Inquiry) ◊

10:10 am

Outside #6:

Will Jenkins exits the mine and heads back to the blacksmith shop to start shoeing another horse. (Inquiry) ◊

In East Monongah:

H.L. Sloan is on the hill cleaning coal cars at Mine #2, across the river and “right in front of #6”. (Inquiry)

Outside #8

Otto Smith is out on the tipple. (Inquiry)

Inside #6

At the bottom of the slope, the coupler connects a train of between 15-19 fully loaded, 3-ton coal cars onto the wire rope of the wench and, using modern electrical systems, signals Ed Fry in the engine house to start the wench and pull up the first haul of the day. (McAteer, Inquiry)◊

Outside #6

In the engine house, Ed Fry receives the electric light signal from the bottom of #6 slope and pulls the winch engine arm to begin hauling the train of cars from the bottom, up the slope, across the trestle, and to the tipple on the opposite side of the river. (McAteer, Inquiry)◊

More on How Death Gloated!

December 5, 1907 – Eve of St. Nicholas Feast Day

“The dawn of a new era of prosperity is here.” (FWV 12.5.07 pg. 1)

During the day:

The country is beginning “to recover from the severe shock of the recent panic” on Wall Street. “Naturally there was a little scare at first, but when the people saw that there were rotten spots only here and there they quickly recovered from their fright.” (FWV 12.5.07 pg. 1)

In Pennsylvania:

12.5.07 - pg 1 - Naomi — FWV 12.5.07 pg 1

In Washington D.C.:

Gov. Dawson of West Virginia gives the opening speech at the river convention. (FWV 12.5.07 pg. 1)

“He said his state was particularly interested in the comprehensive improvement of the inland waterways of the country…The governor referred particularly to the resources of West Virginia, the State being second in the production of coal and fifth or sixth in hard wood timber. The bulk of the coal has to find a market outside of the State and if, by water transportation, the state could save the ten cents a ton it would aggregate $3,000,000 a year.” (FWV 12.6.07 pg. 1)

“’We are one people and have a common destiny,’ said he, in conclusion. ‘We want nothing in West Virginia that is forbidden to any other part of the country; but I say to you, gentlemen, that we want to be ready for the Panama Canal when the great waterway is ready for us.’” (FWV 12.6.07 pg. 1)

In Grafton:

“Sam Furk, an Italian, has been held for the grand jury on the charge of extorting money at the point of a revolver from several of his fellow countrymen of this section.” An Italian witness from the same area of Italy as Sam Furk ‘testifies’ that Furk is wanted on two murder charges back in Italy, “so it is probable that the local authorities will take up this matter with the Italian embassy at Washington.” (CDT 12.5.07 pg. 1)

“The hearing developed the fact that Furk had been playing the hold-up game among members of his race successfully at Brooklyn, N.Y., Rowlesburg, Manheim, Fairmont, Clarksburg and Grafton.” (CDT 12.5.07 pg. 1)

“Furk is in jail here.” (CDT 12.5.07 pg. 1)

In Fairmont:

The Fairmont West Virginian reports the weather as: Fair tonight and Friday, warmer Friday

In Monongah:

Mines #6 & #8 are not running at full production today but the fans continue running for the skeleton crew inside. Due to the recent stock market crash, there is still a lack of orders & a majority of the working immigrant population will be celebrating the eve of St. Nicholas Feast Day tonight. In these days of “miner’s freedom”, many miners would choose not to go to work during their holidays.

In the Afternoon

In Fairmont:

The Isabella Davis Circle of King’s Daughters opens their annual Christmas Bazaar in the Sunday school room of M.E. Church on Main Street in Fairmont. “The different booths are all decorated in the Christmas colors red and green the color scheme being carried out by the use of crepe paper and autumn leaves in the colors.” (FWV 12.5.07 pg. 1)

In Monongah:

Anestis Stamboulis & several Greek miners take advantage of the holiday and good weather. They take a walk up into the hills surrounding the town and pick some wild mushrooms to be used for dinner. (McAteer)

~5:30 pm – 6 pm

In Monongah:

The Who’s Who Club of Wahoo (a neighborhood of Monongah) holds its monthly meeting where they “disposed of large quantities of the amber fluid, red liquor and refreshments of all varieties.” 8 members will not go into work tomorrow but will end up digging graves. (McAteer)

Homer Pyle and his mother are “sitting before the bright blazing fire” at their home,“…he said let us have a song for it is too cold to go over in town tonight, so he and his mother sang two or three songs and the last song was ‘Will There be Any Stars in My Crown?’”

“But little did Homer think that the next evening he wouldn’t be alive to sing with his mother.” (FWV 12.19.07 pg. 2)

At the mines:

The night shift skeleton crew comes onto work.

Over the next 12 hours these workers will do various jobs throughout the mines.

Inside #8

Peter J. McGraw came in for his fire boss shift around 6 pm.

He does his examinations of the mine alone.

He finds water in 4th left so significant that he can’t get in there to properly examine the heading. (Inquiry)

Inside #6

22-year-old Lester E. Trader arrives for his fire boss shift around 6 pm. (Inquiry, McAteer)

Trader inherited his job when the previous fire boss got sick during Trader’s apprenticing. Trader lacked 3 years necessary experience, training, and certification for his official position so he was kept on the night shift so as to “not run into the inspector”. (McAteer)

Trader worked alone like most fire bosses. He led a horse drawn water cart to sprinkle the mine walls in order to dampen any renegade coal dust.

To check for dangerous gas levels, he used a Wolf Safety Lamp to check for methane. However, due to the size of #6 mine, Trader cannot check everywhere.

~7:00 pm

At the mines:

Libberato Delesandro works the night shift, “helping to get #6 and #8 through together”. (Inquiry)

Inside #8:

Tony Pasquaele arrives to work and drives the horse-drawn water cart in #8 through the night. “The watering carts carried large wooden barrels filled with 300 gallons of water; perforated ends of the barrels were plugged by wooden combs that could be removed to allow water to sprinkle out.” (McAteer)

As he is leading the horse and water cart, he notices that the heading is “a little dry” for this time of year. (Inquiry)

Tony is also responsible for pumping out any rising or standing water which had seeped into the mines. His pattern is systematic; he “would start the pumps then go water mines for a bit, and then would check back on the pumps every 2 hours to see how they were doing.” (Inquiry)

Inside #6:

Ludwig Strezelecki works at F face: 1st right, room 15. His task for the night involves working with his brother-in-law taking out stumps and finishing the headings.

Night

It is the eve of St. Nicholas Day for Italian Catholic and some Polish Catholic immigrants.

At night, the families gather around their coal stoves or fireplaces (if they are fortunate enough to have a fireplace) and tell stories, sing hymns, or verse simple rhymes about St. Nicholas De Bari.

Polish- St Nick rhyme-mamalisa — Polish rhyme to St. Nicholas

Italian - St Nick rhyme - mamalisa — Italian rhyme for St. Nicholas

Children leave their shoes lined up side-by-side next to the door, window, or hearth. If possible, some would place bits of carrot, oat, or hay inside as a gift for the trusty mule/white horse which traveled along with St. Nicholas as he delivered small gifts.

8:00 pm

In Clarksburg:

At the Bacon & Godfrey skating rink a “Who’s Who” Carnival is held. “Upon entering the rink, you will be furnished with a false head or some contrivance of that kind which will make it almost impossible for your mother to even know you. With everybody thus attired the big show will start, with everyone wondering who is who.” (CDT 12.5.07 pg. 1)

~10:00 pm

Inside #8:

Homer C. Palmer (electrician) arrives for his night shift.

Through the night:

Inside the mines:

The main ways of the mines are watered.

Fire bosses like Lester Trader and P.J. McGraw walk their respective mine checking for dangerous conditions in both #6 and #8.

Inside #8:

George Bice dug coal (pick work) on 5th right, 2nd north in #8

Inside #6:

Fred Cooper (motorman) sprinkled headings in #6. (Inquiry)

In Monongah:

Not long after the children have fallen to sleep, several parents quietly replace the bits of hay or carrot in their children’s shoes with a sweet treat, like candy or fruit, and a small present—typically a (gold) coin.

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