Women & Coal Mining

Neither Lady nor Slave pushes southern history beyond the plantation to examine the lives and labors of ordinary southern women--white, free black, and Indian.

Few people in America today live with the dangers and deprivations that Appalachian coal mining families experience. But to the eighteen West Virginia women Carol Giesen interviewed for this book, hard times are just everyday life.

Deep in the heart of the southern West Virginia coalfields, one of the most important environmental and social empowerment battles in the nation has been waged for the past decade.

In Women of Coal, photographs and words of self-expression combine to challenge the stereotypes of mountain and coalfield women. Told in their own words, these stories will speak to general readers as well as anyone interested in the culture and history of Appalachia

Examines the changing texture of power relations in non-traditional U.S. worksites.

Based on in-depth interviews with female miners, Tallichet explores several key topics, including social relations among men and women, professional advancement, and union participation. She also explores the ways in which women adapt to mining culture, developing strategies for both resistance and accommodation to an overwhelmingly male-dominated world.

Coal mining woman / Hazel Dickens (H. Dickens ; 3:56) -- Blue Diamond mines / Jean Ritchie (Phyllis Boyens ; 3:57) -- Dreadful memories / Sarah Gunning (S. Gunning ; 2:12) -- The Yablonski murder / H. Dickens (H. Dickens ; 2:57) -- Lawrence Jones / Si Kahn (P. Boyens ; 2:56) -- Draglines / Deborah Silverstein (Reel World String Band ; 2:51) -- Coal miner’s grave / H. Dickens (H. Dickens ; 5:27) -- Come all you coal miners / S. Gunning (S. Gunning ; 1:56) -- Black lung / H. Dickens (H. Dickens ; 3:21) -- Dream of a miner’s child / adapted by P. Boyens, H. Dickens, and Ken Irwin (P. Boyens ; 2:24) -- The Mannington Mine disaster / H. Dickens (H. Dickens ; 4:32) -- That 25 cents that you paid / Jim Garland (S. Gunning ; 2:41) -- Clay County miner / H. Dickens (H. Dickens ; 4:31) -- Clara Sullivan’s letter / Malvina Reynolds, Pete Seeger (H. Dickens ; 3:42) -- What she aims to be / Sue Massek (Reel World String Band ; 2:26) -- Coal tattoo / Billy Ed Wheeler (H. Dickens ; 2:58) -- Hello coal miner / S. Gunning (S. Gunning ; 4:46) -- The Battle of Jericol / Mary Lou Layne (Reel World String Band ; 2:28) -- Which side are you on? / Florence Reece (F. Reece ; 1:42) -- They’ll never keep us down / H. Dickens (H. Dickens ; 2:41

In the town of Dante, VA, in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, a young coal miner toils a mile underground. Despite the harsh working conditions, Lucas Chaffin takes fierce pride in doing the job once done by the man he loves more than anything, his father. Lucas' father [Luther Trenton Chaffin], nicknamed "Bonecrusher," was a strong, handsome man. Now he's withered and sick; coal dust has ravaged his lungs. As life slips away, his greatest concern isn't for himself; it is for Lucas' safety. Bonecrusher is an intimate and moving account of the love between a father and son and the powerful bond they share, a bond that is put to the test.

Women coal miners tell of the economic conditions that led them to seek employment on the coal mines and problems encountered once hired.