What We Found INSIDE This Abandoned Company Store in Harlan County
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- Опубликовано: 12 апр 2024
- Thanks for coming with us to check out this abandoned company Store complete with a diner and post office, leftover from the Hay Day of coal mining in the Appalachian Mountains.
if you would like to make a small donation to our continuing adventures you can do so by hitting the heart-shaped super thanks button and donating that away or you can contact us at
PO box 134 Grays knob KY 40829
our email address is
coyotesden2000@gmail.com
Thank you and God bless you! 
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amazing but also a bit sad to see what soon all will be forgotten all across the country... hard to believe all these places were alive and a thriving community. like route 66 and all the places along the way. I wish something was left but most is gone
Those stores should be forgotten they cheated the company workers
I lived at Mary Helen when I was a little girl, my family went to this store, diner, Dr. Office a lot. As I watched this video I could almost see my family in there. As an adult, I always wanted to go inside this place and see what they saw, I was very young and don't have any memories of my own. Thank you so much for this video!!!!
Thank you!
My aunt and mother worked in the diner during the mid 1980s when it was still operational. Seeing those booths reminded me sitting with my mother and my aunt bringing me out a plate of French fries, good memories 🥲!
My first full-time job after high school in 1968 was in the Clinchfield Company Store in Dante, Virginia. I was making $1.62 an hour.
My grandpa lived in that holler and we played in the grass next to the store and went to that store we ate in that deli where are we used to get the best hamburgers bologna sandwiches early in the morning we would stop in the general store before school and get a RC cola and a moon pie some of the best memories of my life around that store
I loved RC as a kid!
Tennessee Ernie Ford wrote a song about the horrors of working for the coal companies. It was called Sixteen Tons.
I didn't understand what this was about till I was in my 30s and happened to read an article in the newspaper. Owing your soul to the company store meant that the system was rigged so that you never actually made enough money to pay off your debt to the company store. Which meant you could never leave.
Some Lyrics:
You load sixteen tons, what do you get?
Another day older and deeper in debt
Saint Peter, don't you call me 'cause I can't go
I owe my soul to the company store
I was born one morning when the sun didn't shine, I picked up a shovel and went to the mine, I loaded sixteen ton of no nine coal,and the straw boss said well bless my soul.
Merle Travis not Tenn Ernie Ford.
@@mikenew9263 Tis True Merle Travis wrote and recorded the song first in 1946 and it released on his album Folk songs of the hills, however the song fell into obscurity until 1955 when Tennessee Ernie Ford rearranged the song that it became an iconic hit that most remember today.
I started in the mines 60 years ago. The day I was hired, the mine superintendent walked me over to the company store to get me what I would need to go into the mines - miner's belt, lunch/water pail, boots, etc. Though I didn't have any money with me, he told me it would be taken out of my first pay check. Starting union scale was $3.35/hr, I think. That was a lot of money then for a kid who just quit school.
I had the pleasure of working there many moons ago.
If you used to live in Baxter on the hill behind the junkyard, I remember you fondly. Hope you are doing well.
That's called a "Tin ceiling" made of sheets of tin or thin steel, very popular till the 1950s when drywall came into being.
Some of that is COPPER too. We have it here in Pa... What a crime...
Back in the day many , many years ago The Mary Helen Coal Camp was a very active place , with quite a few company owned houses . I can barely remember when one of my Uncles lived there . My mom's cousin was the Postmaster there for many years , and he ran the commissary as well . BTW I worked there back in the mid 1980's when it was called Great Western Coal Co , but at this time all the old houses were long gone . At one time they employed a lot of people . Great video , thanks for posting .
Thanks
I now own a coal company owned house...
I figure we outta be still digging for Coal and Drilling for Oil!
Coal l kills look for oil
God blessed us with it to USE IT!
what makes you think those activities have stopped?
What a foolish reply. The U.S. produces the most crude oil in the WORLD and coal is quickly destroying it. As for mining in Kentucky even in its hayday of coal production it was, and still is, one of the poorest states in the country. You can't live life in a bubble, time marches forward and leaves the daydreamers behind.
Awesome video. Thanks for helping to keep our Appalachian history/heritage alive. ❤
Thanks for watching!
Thanks for takin us along with yall !! enjoyed it !!
Loved growing up in cawood and around all these beautiful places
know any brittain family? cousins of mine. Been quite a few years since ive seen any of them.
This company store looks very familiar to me. I have been in company stores before back when they were going concerns. My grandfather was a coal miner in Evarts, and my father drove a bakery truck that delivered bakery products to company stores, country stores, and grocery stores in the towns and communities in Harlan County. In the summer, I would go with him to make deliveries. I was about 9-10 years old. A valued experience in my history.
Thanks for watching Ben
My daddy worked here when I was young.💕👽
That's a wonderful experience ,at around the same age I did that also but in Illinois to local stores and homes,😁💯🇺🇲
@@HyloWard Thanks for sharing. Looks like the company store was a center of activity.
@@ralphl8055 Thanks for sharing. A big thumbs up.
gonna try to get my 87 yr young mom down to harlan soon, she is the daughter of clarence johnson, love her telling me stories of their life growing up in the hills and how they lived
Mom still around ,your Blessed,💯🇺🇲🙏🙏🙏
That building is so WWI and WWII I am truly impressed... You have to date that structure. The outside looks early 1950s.
i worked there from 1985 till 1995 great company to work for
That is nice going back to see what is left of a coal mine area and the buildings and yes in the dinner the old menu would have been the icing on the cake to read it and the pricing as well thank you for the tag along ⛏️🇺🇸
Video made us both smile, we took many of our student groups to this building and I remember the diner well! So cool. We talked to the mine foreman once and the students learned about coal mining. Also students like the bridge over the tracks ... Great for photos ... and the inside of the Methodist Church is wonderful. Great video
Thank you
I spent a lot of time exploring the coal fields. in Appalachia, in the 1990's, but never ran across Mary Helen, I don't believe. Interesting tour. Thank you.
My Dad Carlos Howard (Sleepy) said he ate alot of good hamburgers in that restaurant. My Sister's and I caught the bus there.
My daddy was born at the camp in coalgood in 1937. My great uncle John Noe ran the barber shop in the Mary Helen company store. I have probably 70 or more letters that my uncle Charles Walker wrote and my family wrote to him in the Second World War. They had old Harlan postcards etc in them. He was killed in Belgium and is buried at rest haven with my grandparents
I owe my Soul to the company store…….
Loved all the comments from people that lived there or nearby! On the slim chance that someone in the know would know that it would be prudent to AT LEAST cut the tree's out that are invading the structural integrity of this old building, if not save it for something useful like tourism.
Guys another video that I really enjoyed went you were following behind your wife and she was pulling the tree limbs and you said something back to her that was really funny anyway God bless y'all and papa coyote who I hope is having a wonderful weekend
Thank you Willie, Papa Coyote says hello.
Reminds me of the Three stooges ,watch out moe,😱🤕😂🤣🤪
Great video Coyote's! Great to see some coal mining still happening, sad it isn't as huge as it used to be. Cool place! Thanks for sharing it with us!👍
Thanks Mitch
Ghost towns and their ghosts make me sad these days. Still fascinating but I understand the loss it represents.
Mom and Dad talking about the old cold camp company stores can help people used to go and get things on credit.
My first time seeing one of your videos. This was so neat to see. Thanks for posting it.
Thank you
Hey Mr and Mrs coyote hope you have a blessed day 🙏 😊
Thanks Mark, same to you.
If you know Richard farmer he is from Mary Helen he lives in Harlan now on Cherry Street
I don't know if it's still there, but a post office was later across the road in the old Bow Valley office building.
So great showing the way of life on your part of the world.
Thank you Tom
Hey! I marveled at the tin ceiling in the company store! That was used in just about all buildings of that style at that time! Thanks again for the video
Tin ceilings like the drop ceilings so in use now. But so much more beautiful to look at!
@@maryrothfuchs9404 Yes the original tin ceilings were in use when craftsmen took pride in their work! I being a carpenter/cabinet maker most of my life, have a deep respect for the old architecture
Excellent video as always too bad buildings like these couldn’t be preserved
Thank you
Love this. I used to eat at the place like this at the Great Western coal company in Coalgood Ky.
Thanks
Pretty sure that's the same diner then. Because that's where this was filmed.
Coalgood is Mary Helen, same place. Can you talk about the diner, what kind of food did they have?
@mountainjustice yes they had great food. I was always in a rush to I had burgers and fries but ad I understand everything was great. They called it the commissary.
I wonder if there are any " company stores" still in use? It's amazing how fast nature will reclaim an abandoned place. They had those cage light fixtures at my last job. I called them submarine lights, because they look like the lights you see on submarines in war movies.
I was in a little country store in Casey county a few years ago that had the screen door with a Wonder Bread sign on it..
That's a good question, I'd love to find a store like that still open. Thanks for watching Scott!
Very informative video Coyotes!! Amazing how nature reclaims everything.
Thanks CL
4:20, It was called pressed tin. You could buy these tin tiles out of a catalog to dress up ceilings that were usually bead board versus plaster, which was much more expensive and labor intensive.
We are all shopping at the company store nowadays
My grandfather grew up in Harlan County. He wrote a book about it. Growing up Hard in Harlan, by GC Jones sr.
Sounds like a great book I'd love to read it
Awesome explore trip thru history.
My great grandmother went to the Methodist Church at Mary Helen
Great vid!! Keep em coming!!!
Thanks
I enjoyed this, thanks.
Brocks lived there for years, my grandpa died of black lung from working that very mine. Lots Of Stories about living off that very company store. They also lived in company housing.
Would love to see that menu on the table! Love old buildings stopped in time.
Great video, thanks!
Just subscribed, very interesting thanks so much. You guys did a wonderful job.💯🇺🇲🙏
My grandfather quit school in the third grade to go work in the coal mines of Herrin, IL. 8-9yrs old. When he was older, he slipped and fell, his left hand landed on the coal car track cutting off his 3 middle fingers. The next day the coal company fired him because he couldn't do the work anymore. He worked long enough to get Black Lung...
All of these people on here waxing nostalgic about the coal companies clearly never worked for one. Peabody was a horrible company. They didn't care anything about the lives they disrupted or ruined as long as they got the coal out of the ground. A friend of mine has black lung.
The folks making comments on here are nostalgic about the people who worked for the coal companies not the coal companies, if you read the comments carefully I don't think there's many if any complimenting the coal companies.
@@IgnitedCoyote
Indeed!
And I didn't even mention the Herrin massacre.
Coal miners went on strike. The mine owners called Capone and got some of his boys to come down and take care of business and bust some heads. Supposedly I'm related to some who were murdered. My grandfather was lucky. He was warned about what was coming and got out of town...
In the mid 1970s to early 80s I worked for Jeffrey Mining Machinery in Columbus Ohio. A coal mining company named Helen Mining was one of our customers and I remember seeing several mining machines for Helen being built at the Jeffrey Plant. I wonder if Helen and Mary Helen are the same company. Great job documenting these abandoned facilities and towns.
It really is amazing. The US owes its prosperity to coal, and the people of Appalachia. It’s remarkable that so many of these mines and communities are mere skeletons of once vibrant life and those still operating appear on life-support.
Always enjoy your videos.
I appreciate that!
3:58: That paper dated Feb. 16, 1983...
Hi Y’all,
Ma’am , I see you sneakingly and proudly representing BBN Nation.😆
I love it 👍
Go my Wildcats! Go UK!
Came across your channel. I have heard of this place from family that still lives in Kentucky. Beautiful old building. Sad, it wont be long before the building fully collapses. Those trees are starting to under mine the supports. Still amazing though. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for watching!
I wish y'all could find someone to tell you some stories about that store.
I just got through reading a book by G.C. "Red" Jones entitled "Growing Up In Harlan County." I enjoyed the book about during the depression times, but he did speak of uncomfortable periods of mine worker unions. Is there anybody who is familiar with the book or G.C Jones? 😊
My grandfather worked there in the tipple for many years and also retired from there in the 70s. I still have some scrip from that company store that my grandfather gave me. For anyone who doesn't know, back in the day, coal miners were payed in scrip instead of money that they could only spend at the company store.
This method was much better than slavery for the company owners.
Another great video
Thanks
there would have to be old housing in the area since they had a store and post office so somewhere on that property is a bunch of either empty houses or foundations of where they stood
I've been there, but didn't go in the building. Isn't there a family who bought the old school there & moved into it? I seem to remember that. The Clover Fork Coal Co at Kitts, outside Harlan, has really impressive buildings that have been maintained. I toured all that back around 2005. There was an older guy who was a descendant of the owners, who always hung out in the main company office building. He showed me around.
In the 60’s my grandfather was a mine inspector in Harlan leaving later in the decade.
Kept America alive
My cousin Vernon Blanton lives in coal good.im wayne from Amboy il.
Hayward Blanton was my uncle and his wife’s name was Juanita. Wonder if we’re related.
just think of how many people came in and out of that place if the walls could talk
I go by this old building 6 days a week
Think about all the family's left out in the cold when they left.
St. Peter don't call me cause I can't go I owe my soul to the company store.
When you all put the camera showing back towards the kitchen there was a table or something leaning against the wall under that table looked like a cat laying there
Too bad they cannot get a bunch of old retired craftsman and tradesmen like me together to restore that neat old building.... Hey guys advertise to restore that place it is historic. Maybe even funding is out there to be had.
I owe my soul to the company store.
There may be someone there to help them . I think I see him coming through the wall.
4:15 Pressed metal ceilings like that are generically called “tin ceilings”.
When did it close?
like going back in time
❤
I bet those Plywood booths go all the way back to WWII era and I mean it. There was a cafe where I grew up along the RR tracks and eventually the Cafe did better that the rail road ever did well into the early 1990s we ate them same style Plywood booths... There was also the Fairgrounds in Allentown Pa. Same thing at the fairgrounds eatery called THE RITZ the same plywood booths still survive to this day only they added some cushions for butts like mine. I believe the RITZ dates to 1939 or 1940... Do your Google history folks I did not okay. I am a jack ass I post what I can remember with my last high octane brain cells.
You can grow marijuana way back in the pines. Or work for the man, down in the mines.
We used to sing this underground on the belt crew.
👍👍👍
There's a town in Pennsylvania that has a coal mine underneath it on fire that made the town unlivable- let's think about this a second, the same coal we dig out of the ground and burn topside is so toxic that when it caught fire underground I caused land to be unlivable?
Now that’s my type of woman!
"I have it on video." Guess you don't think people will believe you if you don't. lol
Water drained down that corner from the roof, see the white down spout there.
now what is CSX planning to do with this track they don't need anymore?
Sounds like they're crumbing old mines and washing the coal there, then shipping it out.
Where is Boyd Crowder??
You shovel sixteen tons and what do you get...
There is nothing wrong with coal if you spin out the bad stuff!
How close is this to lynch?
45 minutes maybe? Other end of the county. Both are in Harlan.
Cawood ky 40815 it's on the old road
@bridgettblevins8209 awesome!! Thank you, I love to explore stuff like this especially since I used to work as a caterpillar mechanic during the coal boom in the early to mid 2000's
Such a a shame all these places are just about gone. Need to bring a safer way to open coalmines back !We don't need to rely on other countries for our energy.Thank you both for what you do❤❤❤❤
Ya load 16 tons and what do ya get..another older and deeper in debt st. Peter don't cha call me cause I can't go I owe my soul to the Company Store.....
Tried to watch this 15 minutes ago and there was no sound now their is 🤷
The saying: I sold my soul to the company store, was unfortunately all to true.
History slowly fading away . Such a shame : (
Einstein's theory of relativity is at play all around there, if you're married, it's probably to a relative!
The lively neighborhoods China killed in just a few decades is mind bogglin thoughts folks... I mean what a beautiful place and that lady in the video has a wonderful chest on her too... I mean holy cow,,,,
Lots of robbery took place there
Enslaved to the old coal companies of the past, paid by company script that you could only spend in the company store, under paid and goos over priced.
Liberal politics put coal business out of business, lost 2 power plants in my home town!
Wait until the big power shortage coming our way.
Progress put coal out of business
@@kenhur9800 not true at all. Wait till you don’t have electricity and are fighting for food. Carbon neutral is not possible
@@daleolson3506 You just made absolutely no sense whatsoever
No, it didn't, technology is constantly changing, who do you blame for no more CRT TV's? My name is Bicycle Bob and I approved this message and you're probably unemployed because you have no skills.