December 6 is National Miner’s Day, and something that is very much on our minds here in the coal mining communities of the Kentucky Mountains.
Coal can be a very touchy subject. The way it has been mined has taken the peaks off mountains and created environmental degredation; burning coal may not be the best thing for the environment, either. But here in the mountains, many people we know rely on coal mining as a job. For example, one family we know from Harlan County received the devastating news that their not-quite-yet 2 year old had leukemia. The little boy has been battling it out against the disease in the hospital in Lexington, including all of the heart-breaking side effects of chemotherapy. His father is a coal miner, and the sole supporter of him and his their other 3 boys. To make it even more clear how close to the wire many miners live, this man works for JRL Coal, which laid off 50 miners in Harlan County the day that his son received his diagnosis. And, of course, all of this came so soon after Black Jewel Mine revoked the pay of its miners and they spent months without the payday of the work they had already completed.
No matter how you feel about coal, it is important to me that we take time to honor coal miners. Chances are, you have benefited from coal mining in your life, without making the connection of how the electricity that fuels your house and charges your devices came, in part, somebody mined the coal. The coal miners has born the brunt of over a century-long quest for cheap energy. There have been times that miners have been starved, shot at, lost their jobs, and even killed becaues of the work that they do.
Personally, I am very proud of the coal mining heritage of our region. Although my family does not have a history mining coal, Geoff’s great grandfather was killed in a coal mining accident in Pennsylvania. That is a story I tell our children with great pride. If it were not for the struggles, the strife, and the cave-ins, we would not stand where we are as a nation. These are the people who were in the front lines as our nation decided where we stand on worker safety and labor regulations.
Here is what we posted to the Facebook page of Moonbow Tipple :
Today we observe National Miner's Day and salute all of the people who work and have worked in the mines. We are proud of our town's coal heritage, which is why we included a tipple in our name and logo. Today we reflect on the sacrifices, honor the accomplishments, and remember the tragedies that our hard-working coal miners experience.