C - Coal Mining was dirty work but somebody had to it

After the Civil War and the Reconstruction period in the 1880s, the Railroad was constructed through Eastern Tennessee. This led to the opening of Scott County for the development of timber and mining industries. The railroad served as a catalyst for the growth of the coal industry, which was the major source of employment opportunities in this impoverished region, besides the timber industry.

Grandpa (R) was born in 1892 in Glenmary, Tennessee 

The Glenmary Coal Company began operating in 1885 and continued until 1904. Along with it, a lumber mill called the Tennessee Coal & Lumber Company was also established. As a result, Glenmary became the largest community in Scott County, but their success was short-lived. My grandfather, who is in the photo on the right, worked in the mines from the age of 16 until he retired. Unfortunately, he had been ill for many years due to a diagnosis of Black Lung disease.

A great uncle going back to visit his old mine

My grandfather passed away from complications of Black Lung in 1976. Despite the odds, he lived a long life, thanks to the unwavering support of the East Tennessee community and his loving family. When he passed, my grandmother, who had already dedicated her life to running a household, raising nine children, and managing a family farm, was able to receive a Black Lung Benefit.

Black lung disease, also known as coal-mine dust lung disease, or simply black lung, is an occupational type of pneumoconiosis caused by long-term inhalation and deposition of coal dust in the lungs and the consequent lung tissue's reaction to its presence.

Image from Scott County, Tennessee 

In 1913, construction was started on another railroad - The O &W  a 30-mile line in Fentress County. The railroad line opened the rugged gorge through which the Big South Fork of the Cumberland River flowed for natural resource extraction. Much of the lands in the region, were owned by Stearns Coal & Lumber Co.

Image from Scott County, Tennessee 

Scott County prospered until the Great Depression took its toll on the railroad. As natural resources in the region played out, the O&W was no longer needed. A court eventually granted a request for the railroad to be abandoned, and the last train traveled the rails in 1954.

This was in the 1970s - 

the only major mine disaster in the area that was recorded. 

An actual note left by a Scott County miner. 

I can proudly sing that I too, am a coal miner's daughter, as my dad used to work in the coal mines until he was called to serve in Korea. He despised the job so much that he never returned to the mines again. He said the total blackness in those caves under the earth was indescribable. After his military service, he moved to San Francisco, where he worked hard and became a contractor. Many of his siblings and cousins left Scott County and moved up north to Michigan and Ohio to work in the manufacturing industry. My uncle worked at Frigidaire, and my dad worked for Chrysler Corporation in Detroit before leaving for San Francisco. Eventually, the whole family had to leave - leaving their homes and property which was not worth much after the local economy crash.

I still have my dad's miner helmet, along with the safety headlight and a big chunk of black coal.

Mortals put an end to the darkness; they search out the farthest recesses for ore in the blackest darkness.  Far from human dwellings, they cut a shaft, in places untouched by human feet; far from other people they dangle and sway.  The earth, from which food comes, is transformed below by fire;  lapis lazuli comes from its rocks, and its dust contains nuggets of gold. No bird of prey knows that hidden path, no falcon’s eye has seen it.  Proud beasts do not set foot on it, and no lion prowls there.  People assault the flinty rock with their hands and lay bare the roots of the mountains. They tunnel through the rock; their eyes see all its treasures.  

Job 28 3-10  Written between the 7th and 3rd century BC.