When Coal Was King
by Jim Cook
Title
When Coal Was King
Artist
Jim Cook
Medium
Photograph - Photography Digital Art
Description
When coal was king is not that long ago if measured by generations. Today�s generation of miners are beset with layoffs, company mismanagement leading to bankruptcy, a glut of natural gas driving power plants to switch to the cheaper alternative, concerns about the environment and the sometimes deliberate inattention to safety.
The predecessors of today�s miners would tell you of the sacrifices made by so many doing one of the world�s most difficult and dangerous jobs. Nearly every miner�s family could tell you of someone who died in a mine or was severely injured. Not to mention the likelihood of suffering from Black Lung Disease. In 1987 The recorded number of individuals that died at mining operations over the years since anthracite mining first occurred reached 31,088.
When coal was king, states like West Virginia, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania saw their populations swell with the influx of workers eager to support their families. These new workers needed everything that only a community can provide such as stores, transportation, places of entertainment, and places of worship. In this fashion cities were growing and thriving.
When coal was king if measured by technology seems like ages ago. Everything has changed from transportation, communication, distribution. Monster machines can produce in one minute an amount of coal that would have taken a miner in the 1920�s one day to match. Powerful machines remotely controlled will scoop it into shuttle cars and conveyors replacing young boys and mules.
Those days when coal was king shouldn�t be forgotten for on the backs of those men during that time this country was forged. Men from Africa, Ireland and some 23 other nationalities made up the work force that propelled the nation�s economic engine forward and added to our cultural heritage
Uploaded
August 10th, 2016
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Viewed 912 Times - Last Visitor from Cambridge, MA on 04/23/2024 at 6:50 AM
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Comments (37)
Claudio Lepri
Perfect composition. The silhouette of the worker echoes the silhouette of the working structure, and vice versa.
Steve Henderson
This is reminiscent of the 1930s style Pacific Northwest Art -- a visit of nostalgia to a time, as you observe, that wasn't that long ago.
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