Life in the Coal mining camps of the Southern Appalachia Coal fields
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 30 июн 2024
- A look of how it was growing up in the Coal Fields of the Southern Appalachian Mountains in the early 1900's. Life was hard, But rewarding growing up in these mountains. Thanks for watching. SUBSCRIBE:: LIKE AND SHARE:: HELP GROW YOUR CHANNEL THIS CHANNEL COVERS 9 DIFFERENT SUBJECTS !!! ( CHECK IT OUT) 1. Metal Detecting 2. Wildlife Videos 3. History & Mountain Culture 4.The Unexplained 5. Home projects 6. Hunting & Fishing 7. Nature Videos 8.Mining History 9. Video Shorts
My daddy was a coal miner for a while in West Virginia. I remember times him being too dirty to get in the bed and too tired to get a bath. He'd lay on the floor and sleep a while. I was 4 and 5 years old. I'm 67 now. I still remember him being covered in coal dust. My daddy past away 2 years ago at age 94. I miss him every day. Thank you Donnie.
Your welcome. Thanks for sharing my friend.
Hello Kathy. I’m from West Virginia, about the same age also. I was born in a coal company house in a place called Marrybill in Nicholas County. These were owned by Sewell Coal. My family, including me either worked at Sewell Coal or Westmoreland Coal companies. It was as you said, looking back it seemed almost impossible our families lived like that. I wouldn’t want to have to relive them again but I wouldn’t give up those memories for nothing. I miss many of my people.
@@randy5766 Thanks so much for sharing this my friend.
@@randy5766 I was born in St Francis Hospital in Charleston but from Glasgow on the banks of the Kanawha. A lot of our family is still living there, but spread out some, all the way up into Ohio. I live in NC now and like you, wouldn't trade those memories for anything. Take care friend. God bless
Kathy, I know how your feeling dear. My great uncles and my dad worked the mines of Harrison County, WVA after WW2. The mines are practically all gone now. I didn't follow in their footsteps but I always have the greatest respect for all Coal miners.
My father was born in 1919. He started working the mines when he was ten years old. After growing up during the Great Depression he joined the army and the Big Red One (1st Infantry). He was one of the first waves of men to hit Omaha Beach on D-Day. After being hit by artillery fire that day, he spent several months in the hospital. As soon as he was able to walk again he went back to the battle and there he fought until the end. I seen the mental and physical scars from that war first hand, but it never changed the man he was. He was a coal miner and a good man until the day he died. He was the Greatest Generation! He told me that if you have a roof over your head, clothes on your back, and food in your belly, be happy because a lot of people don't even have that.
Well said my friend. I honor you. He was a great man. God Bless him. Thanks for sharing my friend.
Just little people then hard working
@@jj-eo7bj Thanks for sharing my friend.
My father was a farm boy from Ohio and was in the D-Day invasion too. Dad always said of the Great Depression - "Nobody had any money then, so we didn't feel any different than anybody else." My daddy never worked in a coal mine, but he knew the value of loving God, family, and country. He was the most unselfish person I have every known......I miss him each day. He's in heaven now.
God Bless him, he was definitely a great man. Thank you for sharing.
I am an old man , and your videos like this one make me weep like a child. This history is presented with a personal touch that is lacking in most of the professionally made videos. I have witnessed a lot of what is shown in the photographs, and love these people dearly. Both of my Grandfathers came from Italy about 1900 and worked in Appalachian coal mines. My maternal Grandfather lived in one of those better camps, but was killed in a mine explosion when Mama was only 2. Fortunately, my other Grandfather survived the southern West Virginia mines, which were more rugged, and became a barber and a minister, as was Daddy later on. We raised our children in East Tennessee, taught them to highly respect the folks that have been here for generations, and attend a back-country community church. I believe that this passion of yours to make these videos is a Godly calling.
Wow. Thank you kindly my friend. Thanks for sharing my friend.
Thank you for sharing some of your family life & experiences.
If you have some special memories or stories about your life/ family, maybe share with us on here. I think I'm probably not the only one who would be happy to hear them.
@@shirleyharrison2580 Your very welcome. Thanks for sharing my friend.
Amen🙏
These people was tough and hard working. Even though they endured a lot they never gave up their morals. Families was a lot closer back then. Another good job !!
Thank you Bobby. Thanks for your comment.
@@donnielaws7020 I Remember. The Rubena coal mine.
@@dshostakovich1 Thanks for sharing my friend.
Until the Union started.
I'm proud to have been a southern WV Coal Miner's daughter. R.I.P. Daddy
Thanks for sharing my friend.
@@donnielaws7020 YW & TY for the videos & enlightening people!!
I’m also a proud coal miner’s daughter from Logan County, West Virginia. Daddy died of black lung disease in 1999 at 69 years old. I miss him every day of my life.
@@suzybailey-koubti8342 I'm originally from Mingo county. Basically every working man I knew growing up were coal miners. They deserve nothing but respect. 🙏🏻
@@suzybailey-koubti8342 Thanks for sharing my friend.
Donnie, thank you once again for a heart touching story. I never miss one that comes up. In reality, the world would be much better off if people had the same values as they did back then.
Ant the truth! Thanks you friend for sharing.
AMEN!
I just moved to Kentucky in the coal mining region near Harlan. Thank you for sharing the lives of the people that made this area. I have much more respect for the coal miners house that I bought (it was built in 1930). I know that a proud, decent, hardworking American family built this home and lived, loved and died here. Thank you.
Your welcome my friend. Thanks for sharing.
It's hard to get to know these people in Harlan. You are an outsider and they offend easily.
@@mikeknuckles6430 Uh huh !
I was born in McDowell County West Virginia, my Dad and his families and my Mom's were coal miners. I also went to a two room school with a pot belly stove and out houses on the hill. Best days of my life. My Mom's family were the first settlers in Wilmore near Iaeger West Virginia. I was also blessed to meet a well known photographer by the name of O Winston Link when I was a child growing up there. He was making pictures of the steam engines and the end of their Era. Such fond memories of my childhood. Enjoyed your story!
Good old days. Thanks for sharing my friend
Thank you, and I lived in the county also in forties and early fifties. Traveled the county later in Home Health. Wonderful people.
My family is from McDowell County. My Great-Great Grandparents lived in Barlow holler, and my Great-Great grandfather worked the mines there. My grandmother's father went to work in the mines while he had pneumonia, which cost him his life. Just like the folks in this video, he was a good man that knew his responsibilities, and cared so deeply for his family that he put his own suffering aside to try to provide for them. He's buried on Peel Chestnut Mountain. I wish I was half the man he was.
Have you been back to visit lately?
I am this June, 2024.
What a MOVING video !!! I’ve felt every emotion, happy sad , mind blown !!! You really did this justice !!! I lived in Kingsport, I saw the camps for myself, and used coal for heat , thank you sir
Your so very welcome friend.
The key to survival IMO was the dependency on each other. The shared day to day experiences helped to cement strength within the extended family. I have a tremendous respect for these family froups and their determination.
So true. Thanks for sharing my friend.
Well,you pulled on my heart strings again. My Papaw was a coal miner in Pruden,TN. All the things you spoke about are so true. Yes,they were Godly people and loved everyone. They loved going to church.Papaw Partin would give the last he had if he knew someone needed it.They had three gardens and their children's job was to hoe them weeds out. Mamaw canned a lot of food.Made a lot of home made butter in that churn. She is the one who taught me how to can and make meals.I sure miss them. Papaw ended up with black lung. Thank you Donnie for bringing back those sweet memories.
Thank you for sharing that wonderful story my. That the way it was in these mountains for most of us. The outside world still don't know what we are about. Thank you.
Very lucky , sounds very much like my upbringing. Was raised by my grandparents and looking back I surely know how lucky I was even though at the time it didn’t always seem like it . Thanks for sharing
I married a partin girl from eastern Kentucky I'm from eastern Tennessee great life👍
I called my grandfather Papa
I called my grandfather Papaw
Donnie, you have a way of telling a story that brings tears to my eyes.
I'll be sharing your video's.
Thank you and thanks for the encouragement my friend.
Yes you do!
This is how mom grew up. Eastern Kentucky. My mom moved away but brought us kids back to mamaw's house and it was still the same...use the outhouse, slop buckets, garden, chickens, canning and large family. Proud of my heritage.
Thank you for sharing my friend.
That was a great video! I grew up in McDowell County, WV and my father and grandfathers worked for the coal company. We had wonderful schools, teachers and churches. Everyone respected one another. We all knew each other and helped one another. 60 years later I can still remember everyone who lived in our row of company houses. We never got bored, even though we had very little. It was a wonderful point in time and you know, I tend to think there will be coal camps in heaven! Thank you for the wonderful video!
Thank you for sharing my friend.
I grew up in Logan County, WV.
All my family was coal miners in McDowell county Wv
I'm just like you. I grew up in Pageton WV , Mc Dowell county. Coal was our livelihood. Coleman family.
My father grew up in McDowell County WV. Born in 1926. The St John family
This breaks my heart. My great grandparents didnt live in a camp but they lived in the mountains of NC. There were 12 kids. One uncle was the Sheriff of a small town. The rest of the men except my grand daddy stayed in the mountains and made moonshine. The women all stayed and were great sewing ladies. They went to church. My granddaddy went off to become a barber and married a lady from Scotland. The rest of the great uncles and aunts are buried in a little church yard family cemetery in Murphy NC. But I did visit and got to meet my great grands. It was a beautiful place. Still love the mountains. Love that family. Our last name was Johnson. Part of the underground railway too. Great gran had a quilt that she hung on the wash line so folks would know it was a safe place.
Great story my friend. Thank for sharing this.
The salt of the earth these amazing people. When people stood by there word and by each other. God bless them.
Amen. Thanks for sharing my friend.
Love this: makes me appreciate the life my grandma loved, and my great-grandpa and great-great grandpa, who were coal miners, for raising her right, so she could raise her kids and their kids right!
Thanks for sharing my friend.
My father began working in the coal mines in West Virginia at age 11. He & mom raised 10 kids. It was a very hard life but I wouldn't trade any of those years for anything in the world. I cherish those memories. Thank you very much for sharing the video.
Awesome my friend. Thanks for sharing this. God bless you.
I Commend those folks they were truly blessed. They brought up their youngings with morals, respect, and helping out each other. Today it is not like that some forgot and that is sad. Donnie, you tell the stories with warmth makes me have tears in my eyes. I am partial to WV I was married to a young guy and he passed away. So when you talk about the south I remember and thank you.
Sorry for your loss my friend. God Bless you.
My father worked outside a mining camp in Pa. or WV. He actually took me to the camp he worked at, I believe I’m blessed to be able to have seen it. Some members of our family also worked there and one of our cousins lost his life in the mines. 😞
Thanks so much for sharing my friend.
So proud my dad was a coal miner for around 10 years, long enough to get Black Long (Pneumoconiosis). We lived in McDowell in McDowell County West Virginia. Dad worked on the tipple, and I have a picture of him first day at coal mines. Donnie, those were treasured days, because I had a Daddy who worked hard and protected us. Mom put a big garden on the side of the mountain behind the coal camp. People were so dear, and I remember all their names from those long ago days. Thank you so much for bringing back my memories of the company store. We had two company stores, and the county boomed in the forties. We had a rolling store where a truck came up the holler. Us kids gathered around and bought candy and soda pop when it was a nickel. We moved on and Dad became a carpenter later. Thank you sooo much!
Awesome! Thank you so much for you story. Life was hard, but happy and good. Your very welcome. Thanks for sharing that my friend.
Donnie you do great job on these videos. Third generation coal miner also. This brought back a lot of good and bad memories but wouldn't change anything. Hard times brought people together. Nothing like what is going on in the world today.
Thank you my friend for the kind words and comment.
This is the America the world needs to know. The land to be proud of. Many thanks Donnie for sharing this story. God bless!
Your so welcome my friend.
It just seems like you had such hard times but, yet there was so much love to go around that it didn't even matter cuz, you had God and. each other how beautiful is that.. and how truly blessed you all were.. your memories keep everything alive.. listening to you talk about growing up in Appalachia just can't get enough of it and , I know you struggled a lot but also all the love that was there ..we're missing a lot of that nowadays thanks for bringing back memories of the good old times yes ,they were hard we but we were so blessed... To this day I still love going to the real flea markets the ones out in the country.. back in the day kids playing outside running in the field.. helping their parents out now they're too busy watching video games on TV..or on their cell phones..
Ys it has changed for sure. Thanks for sharing my friend.
Hard working, honest men doing a job nobody else would. Solid families who were always there for each other and their neighbors. If your neighbor hurt, you hurt. I'm very glad to say I knew some of these people. It was truly an honor.
Well said. Thanks for sharing my friend.
This is a good video. Our grandparents would be so proud that all of this was brought to life. The hard times and the good times.
Thank you. Thanks for commenting.
My mama was born in a coal mining camp that doesn't exist anymore. My dad was from Greensboro Pa and his daddy was a coal miner. Thank God he ran and built a manufacturing company in Florida.
WOW Thanks for sharing this my friend. God bless you.
I thank God for you my Brother. I appreciate the true history of the mountain people and their daily lives. My lineage is Scots-Irish and they were from the mountains of North Carolina. They weren’t miners but they worked hard at farming and were God fearing folks. The salt of the earth. Thank you again for keeping history alive.
Your welcome. Thanks for sharing my friend.
It was very different for me being a Hardrock underground miner for 43 years up in northeastern Ontario Canada. It was very mechanized with next to no manual labor, all big scoop trams and jumbo drills, with excellent wages especially the last few years of my mining career. I mined mostly gold and some copper and zinc as there are no coal mines in Ontario Canada.
Thanks my friend. I worked in a hard rock mine for Zinc for 10 years. The to forms of mining have nothing in common except they are under ground and both dangerous. Thanks for sharing.
I lived among the folks of Eastern, KY and West Virginia years back, and I discovered they are the kind of folks that either like you or they don't, no middle ground..lol Fortunate for me they liked me,, and they were the kind that if they didn't have much they would still share with those who had even less.. They are good people :o)
Thanks for sharing friend.
Great video again. It’s nice to hear a working man talk about the history of working people in this region. Coal miners helped build this country in more ways than just providing coal for furnaces and power plants. Thank you for sharing what you know and experienced while living and working a coal miners life.
Your very welcome my friend. Thanks for sharing.
This is a excellent heartfelt video . I'm old and I remember my Daddy talking about the little mice while he and others worked down in the mine how they would take care of those mice because they could since if the mine was about to collapse or something else was wrong . Respect to all those people that have worked in any mines .
Thanks for sharing my friend.
Thank you for this great video.
I had a brother who worked in the coal mines, mostly in Kentucky I think. He had black lung & other health issues before he quit.
We were born & raised in rural Kentucky, Columbia, Kentucky, in Adair County.
On a big farm, mama raised a big garden & canned a huge amount every year. There was 6 kids & parents, so she had to can & prepare food for 8 every day.
Our daddy also worked for the county roads, he drove a road grader & sometimes a dump truck/ dravel truck. When he came home in the evening he went out to do the farm work, our older brothers did to until they got married & left home. My older sisters worked to, milking cows, slopping pigs, whatever they could do. Plus they helped mama in the house to, I was the baby of the family so didn't do as much as the older ones did.
I remember playing outside till dark, we lived very close to a creek & we'd go swimming anytime we wanted.
About all kids today want to do is sit in the house watching tv,playing games or on their phones playing. I'm glad my kids (2boys) grew up playing outside & they never had cell phones till they were older, on their own.
Your very welcome. Thanks for sharing my friend.
Thank you so much for bringing us a glimpse of life in the Appalachian Mountains. I have so much respect for these people. We need to bring back those self-sustaining ways of life.
Well said! Your very welcome. Thanks for sharing this my friend.
My grandaddy was from there, worked all his life in the mines. Momma grew up there, married, washed clothes on a rub board, taught me how to do the same. I didn't have a washing machine until 1975, I married in 69 so I did a lot of clothes on a rub board. My brothers were both coal miners, as was my brother-in-law, who got killed in the mines when a large rock fell on him, left my sister with 7 kids, and pregnant with the 8th. Glad my roots are from there even though I am in Texas now. I know how to make do with whatever I have at the time when others are all scrambling and afraid.
Thank you and thanks for sharing.
Thank you for this Wonderful video on the coal mining. I live in an area where there were a lot of coal mines and towns. I am trying to find out the history and work with the historical society. I have found some amazing historical stuff and have imagined what it was like back then. I know these people were so important for the history and building of our country and deserve to be remembered and honored for what they did for us all.
Thank you. You are so true on everything my friend. I wish everyone felt that way. I have always thought we were belittled because we lived in these rough back country mountains. I thank you so much for sharing and commenting.
Imagine all you want but you and your generation would not have the fortitude to survive in those times and conditions.
Donnie, this was an amazing documentary. You honored the people of your are and shared a little about yourself. I loved it. Thank you.
Thank you so much. Glad you liked it my friend. This is where i am from in these mountains and people before me. Just showing the life these people had back in the day. Most don't know this happened in America. Thanks for the comment.
My own mother was born in Davy, McDowell County, WV, over a hundred years ago and grew up in somewhat primitive and teeming coal mining camps in the mountain fastnesses, I guess not unlike the ones portrayed in this well resourced presentation, and by an undoubtedly seasoned narrator who struck me as one to "Ride the river with". Of course, my grandfather, the inimitable Clyde Call, was a miner, as were his three sons, before they were compelled to leave home and serve in the Navy in WWII.
My mother often darkly regaled us impressionable children with sordid accounts of the universally pervasive hard times and privations, especially during freezing mountain winters and sultry, hot and humid summers, but also the welcomed cleansing and perfumed rains that drenched them at times, through which she and her family had mutually endured as children, and at times such onerous reminiscences filled us with wonder and dread and more often than not, to learn to appreciate and attach more importance to the things that did fortunately come our way, living in our own locale, far distantly from that of her earlier years, and thanking Almighty God and His Blessed Mother for Their Grand Munificence in taking care of us for all of our lives!
Believing in the Lord Jesus Christ seems to have been paramount in the ability to endure the hardships of those times. I have a special place in my heart for all coal mining communities and all the brave men and women that put their lives on the line everyday to harvest the coal that we all need in this country. There’s a coal mining strike going on right now in Brookwood, Alabama where I pass through on the way to work . It’s been going on since April. Some of the deepest mines in the US. I feel for those guys - They need their jobs back . Warrior Met Coal is the name of the company . They need to make a deal with these minors now and get their mines producing once again . Keep your videos coming - They make a difference ✌🏼
AMEN.
Luv n light n respected from bloody Harlan Kentucky.... 🍷❄🍷❄🍷❄🍷❄🍷❄🍷❄🍷❄🍷❄🍷❄ I remember packing water n picking up coal on the rail tracks to keep warm in Putney KY... And my daddy worked at black Star in the 60s 70s 80s.... I'm born in 82"
Thanks for sharing my friend.
"Them times are long-gone". I really enjoyed this video, I have been raised and still live in what was an old mine community (Cardiff Alabama)
If we give it time, thise time might just come back. The Federal government is owned by cooperations and we may all be living in camps here soon.
Again, this was great! Thank you.
Your welcome. Thanks for sharing my friend.
Yes, I guess we might at that, wind up in camps, I mean. Things have certainly changed, haven't they? I've been expecting this sort of thing to happen, but not necessarily during my lifetime. Just the same though, it's come, and we deserve it, Almighty God Knows!
COVID, ¿
Yes the way our government is now God only knows what's going to happen to this country and the American people. I wish I lived back up in the mountains because you could hide up in the mountains You Can't Hide here in the swamps I live in Florida. At least you could have a garden somewhere because people if we don't pray and repent and turn your life over to the Lord God I don't know what's going to happen to us people or this country and I don't care 2 say that the Democratic party has gone completely crazy or they're possessed by Satan himself
@@gerryjones7485 like Republicans don't suck ass
I enjoyed your video. Being borned and raised in Harlan KY, life was hard, but I have often looked back and said, but life was good. A lot better then; than now in a lot of ways.
I know the feeling my friend. Thanks for sharing and thanks for watching.
God bless all your families and thankful for your work that warmed our homes as well sure wasn’t easy and hard on loved ones still keep an old coal stove in our home just so we could share the history of such a life.🙏🏻💫
Both of my grandfathers were West Virginia coalminers. Dad was a miner when WWII broke out. He served about 18 months and the government decided he was needed more in the mines amd sent him back. He was working double shifts and fell asleep at the wheel of train. He lost 3 fingers on his left hand and that ended his mining career. He married Mama and moved to Texas.
Thanks for sharing that my friend
What an excellent video about growing up in a tough time . . . and appreciating what we have. Outstanding lesson. Thank you very much.
Your welcome and thanks for sharing.
I loved this so much ♥️ TY for making this. As hard as this life was I’ve always wished I was connected to it somehow. I am fascinated by the mountains and it’s people. The Appalachian culture is one to be so proud of. I subscribed and will watch it again and again ♥️
Welcome aboard my friend, Enjoy the channel videos.
Me too
My Grandpa was a coal miner in West Virginia in early 1900s..my dads dad. My grandma got sick of living in a mining camp with her 8 kids and managed somehow to save up enough money for a house..and moved her kids to the house. But my grandpa wouldn't leave the camp until a while later, because he didn't want to leave ...my grandma couldn't read or write or do a ton of math, but she saved that money up herself and bought the house herself ...she was amazing!!
Thanks for sharing this my friend. This people where hard working God fearing people. Thanks for the story. God bless you.
Hi ,thank you for a beautiful video.
One of the pictures of the woman holding the little baby in the beginning of video,she looked exactly like my mother in law.i sent the picture to my sister in law,she agreed and it turns out the woman was mother to the baby's father,and the little baby, is my sister in law and husband's mother!!!!
it was amazing to discover this and.to see a precious photograph of family was amazing.
Thank from the bottom of our hearts for the joy your video has brought us.
That's awesome my friend. Thanks so much for sharing this. God bless you.
Thanks Donnie for sharing how life was in the Appalachian Coal Fields. I'm the son of a coal miner from Perry County, Ohio. My father worked in the coal mines until Mine #9 was closed in 1951. There after he worked at any job he could find other than coal mining. He had two main goals: keep the family together and get my brother and me through high school. He passed away in 1991 from Black Lung.
Sorry for your loss my friend. Thanks for sharing.
My mom was born in patucah ky. Her dad died when she was two. She was put up for adoption. Raised up in carthie missouri. She found her real mom at age 32. Her mom remarried and she had 3 more children. 7 all together. What a story.
Thank you so much for doing these. My great grandfather worked in the mines in Briceville. I just found your channel, and it's great. We moved away 2 years ago, and I have been so homesick, so I have really enjoyed watching these videos :)
Your welcome my friend. Glad you enjoyed it. Thank so much for sharing you story.
My mom grew up in the coal mining town of Fonde, Ky. I remember our mom taking us to Fonde when I was about 8 in the early '60. It was and still is basically a wide spot in the road and consisted of maybe 10 homes and a church. Back then I did not appreciate my mom's childhood environment, but as I grown older , I began to appreciate more and more where she grew up.
Awesome. Thanks for sharing my friend. Merry Christmas.
I remember our frozen clothes. When we got a clothes dryer we thought that we were rich. Still had an old wringer washer, but we couldn't believe what soft towels were...just heavenly. Still air dried sheets are the best. Thanks
Thanks for sharing my friend.
@ 6 minutes in that's my Daddy. The man washing in the tub. His name was Roger Eugene Lester ❤ He passed away December 24th 2014.
I'm sorry to hear that my friend. That was a great picture of how we old timers use to take a bath out of the mines. Thank you for sharing this.
Thank you for posting these videos, I watch one as often as I can! My dad's family came from Western VA coal mining, you have given me such a visual to the stories I've heard pert near all my life. Thank You Mr. Laws, keep up the good work. Keep the history alive.
Glad you like them! Thank you friend for watching and sharing your story.
Reminds me of growing up in a lumber camp in the early 50's. In northern California. About the same poverty for some. Rattle snakes everywhere. Curious mixture of people, loggers, mill hands, cowboys and Indians, made for some interesting Saturday nights! Nothing like an outhouse in 2' of snow and 10 below zero!
That wasn't fun at all. Thanks for sharing my friend.
My wife is from Coalfield Tn, her Papaw worked in the coal mines.I didn't have the privilege of knowing him,he died a fairly young man. Thank You Donnie for Sharing Your Upbringing In The Coal Camp 🙂.
Your welcome my friend.
Amen 🙏🏻May God keep them all in heaven with the joy and happiness they deserve
Amen my friend.
I love all your stories, I think I could listen to you all day long. You really make them feel real. Please keep making videos for us.
Wow, thank you. Thanks for sharing my friend.
Donnie I am 44 years old and 4th generation coal miner out of eastern Ky. About 10 minutes from Pound Virginia. My dad worked for Paramont for 25-26 years and my uncle retired with them after 30 years. I also grew up in what was left of a coal camp. At one time it was a huge coal camp and one of the nicer ones Consol came in and built. They actually built 2 that were real nice, their nicest communities. Jenkins and McRoberts. My great grandfather both grandfathers worked for Consol which later on was Bethlehem Steel. Both my grandfathers retired UMWA. My dad was salary for Paramont.
Awesome my friend. Thanks so much for sharing your memories my friend. A lot of history there. God bless you.
Hi Donnie - another great video! I remember my mom canning food and pickles during the Summer and Fall months so we could eat that food during the winter months. My dad had a couple of big gardens … Your vids bring back memories that I have forgotten. These vids also make me appreciate what I had in my childhood and have today, something that seems to be easy to forget. Thanks for all you do to keep our past alive ..
That is awesome! Thanks for sharing my friend.
Donnie you really know how to put together a great video. I got teary eyed in some parts. You deserve to have your videos seen by many more. I so enjoyed this one Donnie. Thanks for sharing and making this great video :)
Thank you so much. It would nice to shown more on you tube. Thanks for the support my friend.
We need to take a page out of their book - to watch out for each other, share whatever you have with those who are in need, and most importantly, respect your neighbors. Please, don't let their stories fade into the past - we need them. Thank you for letting us get a glimpse in the rear view mirror of the past. 💖💖💖
Amen my friend. Thanks for saying. God bless you.
My dad came north to work in the car factory to stay out of the mine. He worked hard . I know that when he passed away at 61 I asked God when you judge him please lord look at his hard working hands. Thank you for another great story.
So sorry for you loss. Your very welcome friend. Thanks for sharing my friend.
Great videos friend! I’m glad that there’s people that are proud to share the history of Appalachia. Keep it up
Thank you very much!
We are so blessed these days we take so much for granite thank you for the video
Thank you my friend. Thanks for watching.
At least we don't take things for quartz.
@@pizzulo81 Maybe a quartz miner lol
Donnie, our thanks go to you and to your family. We had lights in our homes because you labored in the darkness.
Thanks for sharing this my friend. God bless you.
Oh Lordy mercy, I watched this and the tears flowed like the creek where I'm from ! I really went back in time when my Grandpa was still my hero, I used to think there wasn't anything he could do !!! He worked in the deep mines as he called'em in Eastern Kentucky !!! I love those ole hills Grandpa was called home in 1993 and Grandma joined him in 2019 ! I loved the line "nobody had much but you enjoyed what'cha had"
I know the feeling so bad my friend. Thanks for sharing my friend.
I only get to go back home on Easter, Thanksgiving and funerals !! Just because I'm not in the hills physically, I'll have them hills in my heart until I get to meet my Savior !!!
I love your videos and thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and bringing life to these incredible people and their stories that should not be forgotten.
Your very welcome. Thanks for sharing my friend.
Thank you Mr. Donnie for this. It reminds me of my kin folk from the area.
You are very welcome my friend.
It humbles me to know my family history! I have always been grateful and felt blessed because of it!
Thanks for sharing this my friend. God bless you.
These stories and the hard times was never mentioned in schools when I was coming up at least for this old man so I’m sure it isn’t now thanks to people and story tellers as you Donnie Laws God Bless
There was a lot in school we were never shown my friend. Thanks so much for sharing this. God bless you.
This is honestly good! I have written several stories based on the Appalachian people and this really does make me want to write more.
Thanks for sharing my friend. Thank you.
A very nice piece of work. Dont forget coal mining in southeast Ohio.
Thank you my friend. Sorry about that. I had a good friend from the Ohio Coal fields of southeast Ohio. Sorry to say he died from a rock fall in Bell county Kentucky in the 90's. A good man. Thanks for the comment.
God Bless All Coal Miners 🙏🏻
We love to hear you tell these short stories Donnie laws, you are a great story teller yourself. So interesting you have a great voice, I could listen to you for hours, thank you for this interesting information of times gone by. My hubby and I love it.GOD bless you
Thank you friend. Your very welcome. God bless you.
My grandpa and grandma grew up like this Donnie. My grandpa stuck with it all his life, retiring as a mine boss for Old Ben. Most of my men cousins on mom's side of the family were miners except for two of us. JT worked at the power plant at SIU in Carbondale IL, and I worked as a cop for 25 years. I felt safer being a cop than going into the mines, but boy did my cousins give me heck for it.
WOW! Thanks for sharing my friend.
Thank you for sharing, I love the stories and history of the Appalachian people and their culture ❤
Your so welcome.
Great video. Brought back a lot of memories. Thank you so much.
Thanks my friend. Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for watching.
My papa and granny raised me this way. Yes Sir there ain't no better way to live. This is just poor southern country folk, mountains or hills. Country is Country. So many good memories and traditions we are trying to rekindle in our home.
they were a wonderful example of community life i have ever seen. I know when they went to be with the LORD our Father God told each one, " WELL done good and faithful servant". Thanks for the education Donnie, your friend, Louise
Donnie, thank you for another wonderful video, you are a superb storyteller and historian of a life long gone.
Glad you enjoyed it my friend.
Really great video Donnie. Enjoyed your historical narration and the pics! I watched it last night and again this morning! Lol! Man you got your monetization quick! Congrats you have a great talent for sharing history. Take care- Char😊
Thank you. It's been a hard 16 months, But the real fun as just begun. Thanks for the comment.
I remember when I was the eldest, I had to give my mom a helping of washing clothes. We were very poor, so I scrub the clothes with Colgate octagon soap with a wash board. It was hard but I helped her. I didn't mind, it made me busy. To this day I still have 2 bars of that soap. Thank you again for sharing.
Your very welcome. Thanks for sharing my friend.
This brought back soooo many memories I'm from,West Virginia both Grandfathers were coal miners an uncle and my father worked the mines for a short while until he went to service US AIR FORCE WE lived in a place called Whibly hollow I'm in tears thinking about the good ole days thank you so very much🙏🏿
Awesome. Your very welcome. Thanks for sharing my friend.
Real good video, and great commentary as well. I'm a fourth generation coal miner in central WV.
You know everything i was talking about my friend, Most people don't understand unless they been there. Thanks for sharing my friend.
WV proud 22 years underground and still digging love your video I can remember my grandparents doing some of the things you talked about in the video and would give any thing to go back time goes by fast and everything changes for sure
Awesome! Thanks for sharing that my friend.
My Daddy has told me all about my Pappy working in the coal mines he broke his back when he was working after a boulder fell on him but he got up and eventually went back in but he worked for years after but he got the black lung pension and ended up working till he died at about 90 but he always found a way to provide for his family my Daddy got out at 17 and joined the marines then the navy and made a career out of it I looked up to my Daddy and joined the navy at 27 so I could take care of my kids he talks all the time about living in that little shack I really love to hear him and my Aunt talk about their days living up in that Holler and I miss my Grandparents and all the others we have lost but my Daddy’s favorite story is to talk about the creek that they got water once came a flood and they were scared thank goodness no one ever perished in an explosion but they did lose a lotta good people to black lung I so enjoy hearing your stories you take care friend
Great story my friend. My hat's off to you and your family. We lost a many a good man to Black Lung. This is still going on today. Thank you for the service of our country. God Bless you friend.
Donnie, I truly appreciate your story and even more, I appreciate the fact you loved your life. Thank you sir.
Thank you friend. Your very welcome.
I respect all the miners past and present. I couldn't do it and their hard work and sacrifice gave us many wonderful resources. My heart is with their families for the ones who perished or became sick. Hard work is something the recent generations has no clue about in comparison to this generation and prior
Well said my friend. God bless you.
The narrators voice I could listen to forever. Reminds me of my relatives who have passed. Fabulous documentary!!
Wow, thank you friend.
Couldn't think of a better life than growing up in these mountains. I agree
Amen my friend. Thanks so much for sharing this. God bless you.
This Is The Most Touching Heartfelt Story Of The Mountains Ever told. But So Much Love Went A Long Long Way And Thats What Mattered Most❤❤❤❤
Amen my friend. Thanks for sharing this. God bless you.
We lived on 368 acres. No indoor plumbing or water in the house. We had football sized gardens with corn,beans and potatoes and other vegetables. We raised chickens and hogs and cattle that always kept us fed. Plus we fished and hunted for extra meat. I remember my momma had a big round tub we bathed in and another for canning outside. We were raised rough but never had a dull moment. Better days in a simpler time.
Thanks for sharing my friend.
Thank you for another wonderful video. You had more growing up than a lot of America because you had love in your home and mutual respect; this is what is most important in life and in preparation for heaven. Your values were in the right spot & so is your heart. God bless you.
So true! Your very welcome. Thanks for sharing that my friend. God bless you.
My family lived in Tams, WVa. My daddy was the mining engineer there. I cherish the stories my older sisters would tell of their lives there. I'm a proud coal miners daughter. These images remind me of so many of their memories. Thank you!
That's great my friend.
Incredible video and I have so much respect for our tough ancestors. My grandparents were the last of their kind. They didn't have much but somehow had enough for everyone. I'll never forget them and no matter what I ever achieve in life, in my eyes and heart I'll never be as amazing as they were! My families from South East Ky. Letcher County. I was born in Whitesburg Ky. God Bless these people. Please allow some of their DNA to be strong enough in us if we ever face as hard of times!!!
Thanks for sharing my friend.
@@donnielaws7020 I shared your channel right away. A friend is listening at work because he can't watch the videos. He loved the story about your dad and the skunk. You remind me so much of my uncle's and their stories. Please share as many as possible!
@@Squintintaratino Thank you friend. Will do. I hope 2022 is a better year for my stories.
Such memories, southern Appalachians or northern Appalachians, similar story of coal and communities and company life...sold my soul to the company store...hard life for hard people, I think we need them back in this time of privilege and individual self-centered lifestyle, they made this country great and now we have forgotten. My opinion...God bless and have a good day.
Thanks so much for sharing this my friend. God bless you.
Thank you, Donnie, for sharing your cole mining experiences and memories of the past.
God bless.
Thank you for telling people of a newer generation about a more simpler life. I never live around those mountains but I did grow up in the country. My wife and I would like to go live off the grid a year from now. Just lost almost everything in the last 10 years. Need a more quiet simple life I am 39 years old work 12 hours a day at a garage company as a mechanic.
Your welcome. Thanks for sharing my friend.
Excellent video! I have traveled through West Virginia, Tennessee, Virginia, Kentucky, Etc....I find these areas fascinating & beautiful. Love the history of these towns.
Awesome my friend. Thanks for sharing this. God bless you.
Hey Mr. Laws. Thank you for sharing another great video. It wasn't an easy life, but family was everything. From that standpoint, it was a better life. I remember walking the tracks with a small pail and each kids gathering up coal that had fallen off the train. Once a month, my brother and I would share a soda pop as a treat. That was a treat. You talked about men dying in accidents in the mine. Many also passed on from black lung at an early age. Thanks for the memories!
Thank you friend for sharing this. Your very welcome. God bless you.
My dad, Leonard Sigmon, was a coal miner in Caretta WVa. I am proud of what he did!
Awesome my friend. Thanks so much for sharing this.