I believe every town has its' own unique history worth saving, preserving and sharing because it helps make us who we are.
Well, this is some of my story.
I started metal detecting an old abandoned company store (commissary) that has been abandoned for the better part of 70 years. The only thing still standing are 2 of the basement walls to ever know anything had ever been there at all in hopes that I can find some old coins, which are likely going to be in the form of scrip.
I'm sure all of you have heard of Henry Ford, but you probably didn't know that he wanted to make everything in house.
In doing so, he even owned some coal mines in my county to fuel his steel mills that produced parts.
Here are some very interesting accounts that even mention Fords' mines in Wallins Creek, KY by name. And even Edison for that matter
BLOODY HARLAN wasn't just a nickname casually given to Harlan, KY. it is also curious that the miners union was referred numerous times to communist and "Reds".
http://debs.indstate.edu/a505k4_1932.pdf
These coal mines didn't pay their workers money. They paid them in a private monetary coin called SCRIP, which was only good at the company store (or Commissary) where you worked. In all sincerity, it was barely a step up from organized slavery.
Each coal camp was owned by the coal operator. The employee and family was allowed to live in one of the coal mine owned houses, and was paid in scrip, where they could "buy" food and goods only at their local commissary, generally at a large markup.
And of course, the homes were heated in the winter from coal they miners "bought" from the mines where they worked.
My Grandfather told me that when he mined at the Kitts community where my Dad was born (owned by the Whitfields), he was paid .13 cents a ton to mine it, and in the winter had to buy that coal he mined to heat with, was charged .22 cents a ton for it.
Another story about the conditions the miners worked in consisted of how they treated the companies mules, which pulled the carts full of coal from the mines.
He said "It ain't natural ta convince a mule to go into a small hole in the side of the mountain down ta the face of tha mine. So, you'd have ta take a hot poker and blind it so he couldn't see where he wuz goin'. That made it so the mule didn't care ta go down inta the mines.
But you didn't let nuthin' happen ta that mule because the company paid a lot of money fer it, and those mine operators don like spendin' money.
They'd tell ya that the mule was worth more than you wuz 'cause if something happens to tha mule, they have to buy a-nuther tomorra. But if something happened ta you (the miner), they would be a line of miners standing there in tha morning to take your place while your family and belongings was being thrown out inta the street".
And so was life in the coal camps of Harlan.
Here is one piece of scrip that was local to me in Highsplint, KY near Evarts. I hope to be able to find a few more pieces around the old commissary in Wallins with any luck.
And scrip from another town (Stanfield, KY)
The bottom scrip coin was minted here:
the osborne register cincinnatti, ohio
http://www.osbornecoin.com/asp/page.asp?ID=1011
Well, this is some of my story.
I started metal detecting an old abandoned company store (commissary) that has been abandoned for the better part of 70 years. The only thing still standing are 2 of the basement walls to ever know anything had ever been there at all in hopes that I can find some old coins, which are likely going to be in the form of scrip.
I'm sure all of you have heard of Henry Ford, but you probably didn't know that he wanted to make everything in house.
In doing so, he even owned some coal mines in my county to fuel his steel mills that produced parts.
Here are some very interesting accounts that even mention Fords' mines in Wallins Creek, KY by name. And even Edison for that matter
BLOODY HARLAN wasn't just a nickname casually given to Harlan, KY. it is also curious that the miners union was referred numerous times to communist and "Reds".http://debs.indstate.edu/a505k4_1932.pdf
These coal mines didn't pay their workers money. They paid them in a private monetary coin called SCRIP, which was only good at the company store (or Commissary) where you worked. In all sincerity, it was barely a step up from organized slavery.
Each coal camp was owned by the coal operator. The employee and family was allowed to live in one of the coal mine owned houses, and was paid in scrip, where they could "buy" food and goods only at their local commissary, generally at a large markup.
And of course, the homes were heated in the winter from coal they miners "bought" from the mines where they worked.
My Grandfather told me that when he mined at the Kitts community where my Dad was born (owned by the Whitfields), he was paid .13 cents a ton to mine it, and in the winter had to buy that coal he mined to heat with, was charged .22 cents a ton for it.
Another story about the conditions the miners worked in consisted of how they treated the companies mules, which pulled the carts full of coal from the mines.
He said "It ain't natural ta convince a mule to go into a small hole in the side of the mountain down ta the face of tha mine. So, you'd have ta take a hot poker and blind it so he couldn't see where he wuz goin'. That made it so the mule didn't care ta go down inta the mines.
But you didn't let nuthin' happen ta that mule because the company paid a lot of money fer it, and those mine operators don like spendin' money.
They'd tell ya that the mule was worth more than you wuz 'cause if something happens to tha mule, they have to buy a-nuther tomorra. But if something happened ta you (the miner), they would be a line of miners standing there in tha morning to take your place while your family and belongings was being thrown out inta the street".
And so was life in the coal camps of Harlan.
Here is one piece of scrip that was local to me in Highsplint, KY near Evarts. I hope to be able to find a few more pieces around the old commissary in Wallins with any luck.
And scrip from another town (Stanfield, KY)
The bottom scrip coin was minted here:
the osborne register cincinnatti, ohio
http://www.osbornecoin.com/asp/page.asp?ID=1011
