Coal was first discovered by Euro-settlers in Alabama in 1815. Coal mining has been and is from time to time a huge part of the economies north and central Alabama. Many of my kinfolks have been miners working underground and in "strip pits". In the seventies and eighties miners earned a premium wage in Alabama (and much of the country). I had a first cousin who went to work in 1980 right out of high school earning $24.00 per hour plus excellent benefits. Like many he got "geared up" to that income only to learn that the pay wasn't steady. Mining was then (and even today can be) either feast or famine, and more especially for UMWA miners. In the seventies and eighties many guys I knew spent as much time "striking" as they did working. Weather also effected the "strip mines. Much of the winter months work was lost due to wet weather. Right before Ovomit was elected coal was selling for app. $110 per ton. Union and non-union mines were paying a good wage. Equipment, fuel, and other supplies essential to mining all suffered. Not long after the Kenyan was elected, mines began to close and jobs began to disappear. Our local economy took a big hit. I live in NW Alabama and near the "Black Creek Coal Seam". It is the tail end of the Appalachian coal fields. There is an abandoned family underground coal mine from the 1940's less than two miles from my house. When I moved to where I live now twenty-five years ago, I could hear the warning horn blast and the booming of explosions from strip pits about six miles southwest of where I live. Here is a brief overview of coal mining in Alabama. http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-1473
The lefties hate coal, naming the machine Trump will drive them bat shit crazy. Of course when your as hated as resources companies are, stiring the pot just makes them even more rabid.
I moved from SEFla and lived in NE Alabama (DeKalb County) from 85-98. Only then did I realize that there was a lot more going on than you would expect.
And, adding to the comment by ‘The Silicon Graybeard’, did you realize that Alabama has a Ski Lodge & Resort? It is up on Lookout Mountain in DeKalb County, near the town of Mentone and Desoto State Park.
Damn! It got dusty here all of a sudden. Allergies.
ReplyDeleteDeplorable B Woodman
I'm more surprised that there are coal mines in Alabama than I am with anything else in the story.
ReplyDeleteCoal was first discovered by Euro-settlers in Alabama in 1815. Coal mining has been and is from time to time a huge part of the economies north and central Alabama. Many of my kinfolks have been miners working underground and in "strip pits". In the seventies and eighties miners earned a premium wage in Alabama (and much of the country). I had a first cousin who went to work in 1980 right out of high school earning $24.00 per hour plus excellent benefits. Like many he got "geared up" to that income only to learn that the pay wasn't steady. Mining was then (and even today can be) either feast or famine, and more especially for UMWA miners. In the seventies and eighties many guys I knew spent as much time "striking" as they did working. Weather also effected the "strip mines. Much of the winter months work was lost due to wet weather. Right before Ovomit was elected coal was selling for app. $110 per ton. Union and non-union mines were paying a good wage. Equipment, fuel, and other supplies essential to mining all suffered. Not long after the Kenyan was elected, mines began to close and jobs began to disappear. Our local economy took a big hit. I live in NW Alabama and near the "Black Creek Coal Seam". It is the tail end of the Appalachian coal fields. There is an abandoned family underground coal mine from the 1940's less than two miles from my house. When I moved to where I live now twenty-five years ago, I could hear the warning horn blast and the booming of explosions from strip pits about six miles southwest of where I live. Here is a brief overview of coal mining in Alabama.
Deletehttp://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-1473
The lefties hate coal, naming the machine Trump will drive them bat shit crazy. Of course when your as hated as resources companies are, stiring the pot just makes them even more rabid.
ReplyDeleteExile1981
I hope your predictions come to pass Exile1981.
DeleteI moved from SEFla and lived in NE Alabama (DeKalb County) from 85-98. Only then did I realize that there was a lot more going on than you would expect.
ReplyDeleteAnd, adding to the comment by ‘The Silicon Graybeard’, did you realize that Alabama has a Ski Lodge & Resort? It is up on Lookout Mountain in DeKalb County, near the town of Mentone and Desoto State Park.