Even though the deaths in coal mining accidents has gone down it’s still a dangerous job and contemplating dying slowly underground in a mine accident has a way of focusing young mens minds about their future.
Just from watching the operation underground, coal mining still seems pretty primative. You would think that by now, the job would be a lot less labor intensive.
While a mile down in the mine, I stood beside the bohemeth (sp) machine as it clawed coal from the face of the mine. I watched how the air system pumped fresh air into the mine. I watched as the men drove bolts into the roof to prevent falls. I interviewed one of the guys bolting the roof. I asked him the question that every person wonders about coal miners. "Why do you come down and work in the mines, and do you like working here?"
He said, "I love working the mines. I don't want to do anything else. Today is my first day back in the mine after being topside for four years. I got laid off and decided to get out of the mines. I opened my own donut shop in Penn. and it was doing pretty well. The mine called and wanted me to come back and I jumped at the chance. I was not happy. Today I'm a happy man."
I asked him, "What is the attraction?"
He said, "It's hard to explain, but I think it's the brotherhood down here. We can argue and fight with each other topside, but down here we are all brothers. We have to watch each other's back all the time. I guess it's sort of like being in a war. We depend on each other. I missed the brotherhood when I was topside. Today, I'm really happy."
Now, I'm not saying that all miners feel that way, but I do think that a lot of them do, and that they choose that profession over others.
God be with those who did't make it out. I know that their brothers tried their best to reach them with every fiber of their being. It just was not to be.