A Coal Miner's Story

Stan Wires spent 25 years underground working in the darkness of coal mine. He shares what it was like to be a miner at Southern Ohio Coal Meigs Mine No. 2.  

During his 25-year employment with the mine Stan worked as a trainee, a general inside labourer, rock duster, on the retreating longwall, and as a shuttle car operator.  

Day to Day

Each day at the mine began by getting dressed in the wash house. Each miner had a helmet with light, a belt and battery pack, and a canister of W-65 , totaling about 15lbs of equipment.

Depending on where the miner was working next they'd either wait for a supervisor to tell them where to report to, or they'd go directly to their section. Before entering the mine however each miner would place a numbered tag on the wall to represent them as being inside the mine.

Men would then take the tram to their destinations, sometimes riding in a car for 45-minutes. Once at their destination the miners would sit have some coffee and then begin their day.

Then the miners would go to the face to work. Working until it was time to eat, flooding out to lunch (someone would come replace one person, and they’d eat and then replace someone else, doing the same all the way down through).

During the shift if things would break down miners would be dispersed to go and do different things, brace walls and other stuff.

Shifts ranged anywhere from 8-10 hours a day. Men would finish their day by showering in the bathhouse were they began their morning (sometimes evening depending on the shift). 

Retreating Longwall

Working on the longwall Stan would place the continuous miner down and cut about 1400ft into the wall of coal, then cut across it. Along with the other miners he'd put the shields up (hydraulic shields) start cutting the base. 

"On the long wall when cutting you only cut so far and then the top falls in. That’s why they’d call it the thunder from down under," said Stan.  

Rock Duster

As a rock duster  Stan would shoot water to pulverize limestone to keep the mine from exploding.

"That was a gassy mine.  Two hundred million cubic feet of methane come out come out in 24-hours," and Stan.    

Methane gas naturally has no smell ( smell is added when put into a home), so it can be a silent killer inside a mine.

Accidents

While working at No. 2 Stan experienced a few different accidents inside the mine.

"One time working on the east long wall, a guy got injured about ten feet from me," said Stan.  "He was never any good after that, a post hit him on the side of the head, and crippled him." 

Another time working on a long wall a man got covered up when the top fell and Stan had to dig him out. The man was lucky Stan said, just breaking his pelvis and shoulder.

Stan himself never got seriously injured, but a few times was knocked unconscious. 

A Wife's Worries 
" A coal miner wife's biggest fear is that her husband isn't coming back,"- Carolyn Wires

Carolyn Wires, Stan's wife, is the child of a second generation coal miner, and she knows just how dangerous coal mines can be.

Wires' grandfather, an immigrant from Italy, came to America in the early days of coal mining. Her grandfather worked daily with just a pick and bucket to remove coal from the seam. Ponies then carted the coal out of the mines." My grandfather lost his finger in the chains of one of the pony carts," said Carolyn.

In addition to the physical rigors or coal mining, Carolyn always heard about the silent killer, gas, through stories about the canaries down in the mine. (Canaries used to be kept in cages, and everyday if they were still alive the miners would know that the mine wasn't too gaseous to work in that day.) 

In 1975 when Stan began working at the mine Wires understood what her husband was getting into. "I knew my husband was going into a dangerous occupation, so I would stay up late at night until he came home," she said.

"Coal mining can provide a good source of income, but no one wants to stay in it forever," said Wires.

Fun No. 2 Info

No. 2 Facts

When Stan started working at No.2 it was owned by AEP Power, when he retired the mine was owned by Consol Energy. 

There were usually 175-200 men per shift, with 600 union men working for the company. The mine was a larger one that had 14 sections and 3 long walls.

Clocking in is measured from portal to portal.  How long it would take you to get in and out of the mine, would be how long you worked. " If it took 30 mins in the mine, 20 mins to get there 20 mins to get out, they pay u for 70 minutes. You come in the portal and go out the portal," said Stan. 

Every 90 days a different group of men have to practice going to the mines escapes,  similar to a fire drill, but for mining accidents. 

Following the Seam 

Depending on how close to the surface the mine went sometimes people's ponds would drain straight into the mine

New Employees

For the first 90 days on the job a new miner has to wear a green helmet with a sticker to identify him as new to the mine. This person is not allowed to be out of sight of a supervisor, operate any heavy machinery, or pick up any power cords until their 90 days were up. 

Nicknames
Inside the mine the miners went by a variety of nicknames;

• Normy
  
• Sledge Hammer
  
• Turtle
  
• Flash
  
• Goo
  
• Snork
  
• Magoo
  
• Pork
  
• Hoggy

"Nicknames were taken seriously. One guy got hurt and had to be life flighted to Columbus and on the helicopter when he was asked what his name was he said 'Too Tall,' refused to go by his real name," said Stan.  

(Information from Stan Wires and his wife Carolyn.)