Eccles, WV Miners of Eccles Page 4 of 8

Eccles, WV (Raleigh County)

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Miners of Eccles Page 4 of 8

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Miner's Story #1 from Linda Pack, CFHS Classmate, to Doug

"Hello Doug ,

Your right one way in and one way out and it's the same way. You go in knowing that if there is an explosion even a small one even if your at the other end of the mine chances are you aren't getting out alive. Eccles was known by 1976 for the gas and explosions. The day before one explosion my father got a job there and after the war jobs were hard to find. But one look and he and my uncle walked away.. But in 1976 I got a job there. I didn't know at the time the miners who worked there would make bets on who would make it inside 575 feet to the bottom and who would walk away.

First you get on the elevator if you can call it that. Open sides and open in spots where you had to stand. Sometimes ice would form on the sides and the workers would have to ride down or up real slow beating out the ice. This was the main shaft it was very cold in the winter. First water would drip from the sides then freeze. If you were the one beating the ice within mins. you were soaked .With in another 5 mins. your clothing was frozen to your body. This same shaft was used after all the miners were inside to bring out the coal cars. So if someone was hurt inside they had to wait for coal cars to be cleared out of the way before they could bring out anyone hurt or not.

Yes I was afraid. But jobs in WV. was hard to find that payed anything. After you made it to the bottom of the shaft your in a different world. Elec. lights ,places to sit on to wait for the man trip. Man trips, rail road tracks, Motors to pull the coal from the sections to the main line shaft and take the workers in and out. Man Trip It was like setting 3 people side by side in a 50 gallon drum on it's side. Nothing soft or clean to set on. Just cold steel .So in and out you sat with your knees almost in your chest. Along the way making stops so people could get off at their section. So your ride could be 3 miles,5 miles 7 miles long or you could be on the hill as it was called. That first day after a 45 min ride I was told it was our stop. That's when your only light is the one on your head. As I stepped out I could see what looked to be a fork in the mine. Left and Right this was the end of the tracks. About 20 of us was standing there.

We talked and stood there. Some had something to eat. Then you could have heard a pin drop, it was made clear why no one moved to start work. I heard the boss call a mans name and say lead us in prayer. As he prayed and called out our names I knew I was standing beside a different breed , brave yes and I was proud to be there and hoped the day would come when I would be looked upon as part of the team. At the end of that prayer half of us went left and the other half went right. Each of us knowing we may never see each other again or our families. Our lives were in Gods hands and we knew it everyday. That's the side of the coal miner you never hear about.

If you or others want more let me know Doug. We can cover what it's like to be trapped in Eccles #5 or what it's like to go into the old works where over 200 brave souls lost their lives 50 years before. What it's like to work hour after hour in an area so low you can't get on your knees. So low you had to push your dinner bucket or 50 pound blocks as you moved along in the mud like a snake. Trying to build stoppings so air could get into the face for the men you worked with. To feel a mountain move against your back knowing you can't get up an run away.

I would stop and pray. God be with us and keep us safe in Jesus name I pray. What it's like to go home and have someone say Did you have a good day ? You answer yes Knowing it was a good day because you made it out alive one more time. What it's like to earn a name as a hard worker ,a good team player. What it was like in the old union hall of 5770. Yes I think every coal miner knows what it's like to stand at ground zero."

Linda Pack, Classmate CFHS

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Miner's Story #2 from Linda Pack, CFHS Classmate, to Doug

"Yes Day after day or night after night your Grandfather or Father left for work. You didn't know the danger he faced everyday. You didn't know about all the close calls. You could never have dreamed. But their training started even before they went to work in a coal mines. Big families worked together so that everyone could eat. If it wasn't time to plant a garden it was time to cut wood or go get coal.. Always thinking ahead. Most of the miners I worked with had been the service of this country one way or another.


The story was that at the time of the explosions they couldn't tell what was a man and what was mule.. But 50 years had passed and the coal company wanted to mine the coal in that area. They pointed out that each miner had a grave stone out side. Some of the miners said it was like walking on the bones of the ones who came before us and they didn't want the area opened at all. Some remembered and knew miners who had died there. It was our job to check things out and see if it was safe for the others and to mine coal. So the sealed wall came down and fans turned on for days. The day came when we were told today it the day we go in. I don't know what I thought I'd see. But it was unlike anyplace I had ever been .There stood the barns where the mules had lived there lives. You see once a mule came in a shaft mine it didn't come out until it was dead and the straw was still in place. My grandfather said the mules went blind. Most didn't live very long. The coal company would just bring in more. As we walked along you could see where the miners had placed their carbide lights as they worked.. It must have looked like candles on a wall. We found safety pins, shoes, no hard toe boots like we had. You could see where they had cut the coal out by hand .Logs so big around no ones arms would go around them .Still standing like an army all in a row. As we moved on we could hear water and came out into an area as big as a foot ball field. The explosion had taken out an area about 150 feet high and at the end of this area was a water fall. It looked like something you would see in a park. As the water rolled over the rocks and we stood there looking down into this valley full of water so clear you could see the rocks at the bottom. It felt so peaceful Yet we knew this was the place where brave men had died. Everything looked so clean maybe the fans had removed the dust. I wouldn't have been shocked to look down and see fish swimming. But there was no life there.

Cliffard said we had to remove all the timbers and he was going to call and ask for 2 more people to help us. He said we can't do this alone I bet they weigh 200 to 300 pound each He left and I sat with my back up against one of the large giants only to find it was air dried and weight had been reduced to less that 20 pounds.. So when I heard Cliffard coming back I put my arms around this big timber pulling it out of place and started walking toward him with it under my arm asking where do you want me to put this.?.


His eyes looked like they were going to pop out of his head and he couldn't get his voice to work. His lips were moving .So I layed it down like it was real heavy and ask him if he was ok , you look sick. Go set down, I'll take care of this.. All that was coming out was Butt Butt Butt.

I got another timber and he sat there like he was in shock ,as I got closer to him I could hear voices and knew help was there and I heard Cliffard say Boys your not going to believe this. I stopped so I could hear his story and he still could talk So I came around where they could see and some of the words were OH MY GOD and others Holy SH---I can't keep this up much long I said .When are you all going to get to work? As all marched along to prove they could do it too and wondering how .It was all I could do to keep the laughter low key. Each one faced a giant timber bracing for the load and all three ran their arms through the tree trunk falling over on top of their load that was now only powder. But all was good sports and laughter could be heard for a mile. There was still alot of work to do day after day. But on that day we had our lunch by the water fall ,no motors running just the sound of the water ..and sounds from the past...We were blessed to step back in time .."

Linda Pack, Classmate CFHS

"I would like to thank Frank Martin husband Betty Rose Martin Class 56 for sending me the WEB SITE OF Eccles, WV Coal Mines to share with 400 + Clear Fork High School Classmates. I haven't received any Emails wanting to know who is the Classmates that worked at Eccles. I don't know if Classmate has another story etc. I will ask Classmate (Linda Pack) to put name on last story. I will say that Classmate was at CFHS Reunion Aug. 2002 Beckley, WV." Doug

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Miner's Story #3 from Linda Pack, CFHS Classmate

"As I look at my grandchildren, I sometimes wonder where life will take them.. My grandfather said you can be what ever you want to be. He never said you can't do that your a girl. I was his shadow. Children don't know what poor is. But looking back living on Kayford mountain was anything but easy. It was oil light and news papers on the walls for wall paper. I thought that it was great, because my grandmother would read them to me. A little house with 2 rooms. I can remember getting up and seeing snow on the floor at the door and ice in the water bucket.. Maybe if my life had been different, I wouldn't have been able to work at Eccles #5 mine.

I remember working with Cliffard Meadows day after day and as we would lay block he would tell stories about different things that had happened in his life world war 2 and at Eccles. Every old timer is a walking book that no one writes. I'm sure some are living their last days in nursing homes in Beckley W. V.     I'm sure after 30 plus years under ground Cliffard had black lung. If we were lucky and working in a area where we could stand up. It was a better day for him. If we had to be on our knees all day, it was all he could do to stand up and walk at the end of 8 hours. Another old timer was Sam Allen. We would trade off food at lunch time. Both were shocked to learn I could cook.. Close to Christmas I took them home made candy. The next day they came in with home made bread and cakes for me to take to my family.  If some of the younger miners started giving me a hard time. The old timers were right there to stand up for me. Not every miner is 6 feet tall. Some where short. One day one of the miners was going to play a joke on me, he was going to jump out on me. But some of the others knew what was up. So another traded places with me. The joke was on him.

We didn't go around talking about the dangers all the time. But each one knew anything could happen at anytime. One day one of the men was running the drill. As I looked over his head I could see rock working out. I tried to scream at him But he couldn't hear. The dust was so bad he couldn't even see my light. So I ran to him, just as I got him by the belt and pulled him back. A rock fell out hitting him between the shoulders and hitting the top of my right hand. Where he had been standing a rock the size of a small car lay. His back was cut and my hand was hurt. But Thank God he wasn't under that rock.

They say the gas in the mine has no odor. But every time I got in it, my head would start to hurt. The company men would over ride the cut off so that the miner would keep cutting coal and would tell the men they were not in gas. If I said my head was hurting the miners started cutting off the machine and make a test always to find gas. The company hated this. If I said I could hear the top working and the company boss said I don't hear anything get back to work...After a number of close calls the miners would stop and say OK little lady what do you say ? The company wanted me out of there. I cost them money. Life didn't mean anything and I think they would have liked it if I had been covered up. As one said I was a pain in his a----. One person didn't run the show. Each one of us was good at something and together we made a team. I worked all day with broken fingers never saying a word. Not wanting anyone to think I was a baby. When I did go to the hospital after my shift ,getting mad at the doctor for not letting me go back to work. A far cry from my job now as a private investigator and security. So you never know what you can do until you try."

Linda Pack, Classmate CFHS

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