Toward the end of 1948, the Harpenau’s realized that the new technology was advancing past their old mining practices; the crew began to remove the equipment and track from the Christmas Mine. The once believed, “safe mine,” now shows signs of just the opposite. One story that proves the mine unsafe was that a wooden pole propped gently against the ceiling one day wouldn’t budge just days later. On the calm morning of December 16, 1948, the 12 employees of the Christmas Coal mine, continued to remove the expensive metal track along with the last layer of coal. Jacob Harpenau, in charge of the Christmas Mine, had a reputation that is one to look up to. He was known to never send anyone to do a job that he wouldn’t do. He held true to his reputation
Even though Dad had been fired from the barite mine, we were able to continue living in the depot by paying rent to the mining company, since not a lot of other families were vying for the place.We now had food in the fridge, at least until it got toward to end of the month, when we usually ran out of money because neither Mom nor Dad ever mastered the art of budgeting” (Walls 76).
John Bartlow Martin in his case study exams the Centralia No.5 coal mine disaster on March 25,1947. This explosion occurred near the town of Centralia, Illinois, killing 111 mine workers. The detonation of the mine was caused of heavy deposits coal -dust along the roadway and entrances which over time exploded. Tunnel fires killed most miners, other were trapped and died with accumulating of poison gas. The explosion of Centralia No.5 can be blamed cause of lack of mine safely which this tragedy could have been prevented if the basic standards were followed.
“There Was Blood” by Caleb Crain made light of the mining situation in the United States in late 19th century and early 20th century. Crain started with a description of the tragic event at Ludlow, Colorado where a fight between the Colorado National Guards and several miners. He then described the events leading up to the incident. When the people of Colorado was suffering from “an energy crisis”, they turned to the coals. Coals was used to power everything ranging from “bak[ing] bread” to “powered engines that pumped water.” The mining of coals became immensely popular due to this. However, mining coals was dangerous and hard work. The workers were expendable to companies since they could just hired more men for the work. Companies tried to prevent strikes by building open camps, later concrete and wood house, hospitals, schools, and company stores. The workers felt this was a company’s monopoly and those who spoke out got beaten up. Mining deaths were often in Colorado. When John D. Rockefeller took over the company in Colorado, he assigned LaMont M. Bowers to supervise. Bowers made the conditions worse for the workers. Later, the workers
In the film, “October Sky”, the main occupation during that era was to work at the coal mine; almost every man worked as a miner to obtain money to raise their family. The coal mine is a very dangerous place to work however: a large amount of dust in the coal mine can cause respiratory damage to the miners and the rocks and debris can kill the miners if it falls on them.
Employees in coal mining are more likely to be killed or get a non-fatal injury or illness and often do not see the sun for days at a time. On the other hand, Rudy would have to work at a steel mill. After high school, Ruettiger went to work at a steel mill but after his best friend died at work there, he knew it was time to get out and chase his dream of playing college football. If this did not work out for him, of course, he would have to return to work at the mill. These two men worked hard to reach their
3. Miners were sometimes brought up from the mines by hanging from rope, which could sometimes break and cause them to fall to their deaths. 4. Women who worked in the mines frequently suffered pelvic damage due to the baskets used to carry coal up from the mines, which could lead to death in childbirth later on. 5.
In the chapter, “Underworld”, the author asks the true purpose of coal mines. After getting a sarcastic joke from a worker, she writes, “Every time we flip on a switch, we burn a lump of coal, each of us consuming about twenty pounds of those lumps a
On the other hand, the negligence of the legal institutions and the indifference attitude towards mine workers from the managers enable Tang and Song’s scheme to work smoothly. Coal mining is a dangerous job and frequently causes death because of the natural collapses. Meeting the safety standards of coal mining is exceptionally expensive, therefore, many mine owners are unwilling to spend the money to ensure the safety of their workers. According to Michael Berry’s interview with Li Yang, China is “a society of relationships”. In the film, owners of the coal mines have connections with the legal institutions. Specifically, when
Homer Hickam thoroughly details much of his childhood and early to late adolescents in his novel “We Are Not Afraid.” Outlined in 4 parts where Hickam details the positive aspects of surviving and making a living working the coal mines. We Are Not Afraid primarily follows working-class Caucasian men, outlining both the positive and negative aspects during this time. As a whole, the novel’s purpose is to turn a disheartening time in history into a time full of pride and happiness. Similar to the memoir Warriors Don’t cry, by Melba Beals, a strong religious atmosphere is present. Coal Miners realize their job is exceptionally dangers, and anticipate the end of their lives. In today's society death is not as prevalent, but it is essential to take death into consideration.
Along with the dangerous gas that filled up the mines, many other dangers lingered. Maheu and his gang worked "up in hell" (48) in the sixth where The galleries, spaced one above the other at fifteen-metre intervals, seemed to go on forever, and the climb up this narrow fissure was scraping the skin off his back and chest. He was gasping for breath as though the rocks were crushing his limbs beneath their weight, he felt as though his hands were being torn off and his legs were black and blue, while the lack of air made his blood ready to bust through his skin. (48-49)
Germinal, based on the landmark novel by Emile Zola, presents a startlingly authentic and powerful look into the tumultuous, tragedy-riddled lives of 19th century French coal miners. Forced to endure hellish conditions, risk death and dismemberment, and work from before dawn until after dusk, these men and women had only one alternative to mining: starvation. Germinal is not a happy story, but it is impossible not to sense the realism that pervades the project.
I strongly believe that people should be educated about the December, 1907 3,000 coal mining deaths. In 2001 there were 42 coal mining deaths. All these deaths meant wives loosing husbands and sons. These deaths cause the lost of the bread winners in many house-holds; which, would later add to poverty and single parents.
South Africa is world leading in mining. The discovery of minerals in this country has attractive many investors and has been the backbone of the country’s economy – leading to many benefits that the people of South Africa could take advantage of. However, not all the benefits are shared equally, and there is a lot of exploitation surrounding the mining sector. This essay will be discussing the issues surrounding the labour exploitation in the mines and the resulting consequences.
Sexual harassment was a major problem for the women working in the mine. The men would write horrible slurs about the women in their locker room. Josey would always turn to her boss about the constant sexual aggression towards her. But her boss did not
Initially, the Molly Maguires were devoting their lives to being miners and were not getting compensated with what they deserved. They were located