Welcome to your office coal miner!

Bringing you Today's lesson from Ms. Bray- Pictured below in the one room school house from the coal camp in WV.

A day in the life of a coal miner is how we started our day. At the Beckley exhibition coal mines we experienced the lifestyle by touring the buildings of old coal camps. The size difference between the superintendents house and the coal miners was drastic

Reminded me of my dorm room in college!

. They lived a decent life for that time period but what shocked me was seeing a sample of a miners pay stub. They made about $ 75 for two weeks (Ive attached a picture below) but after the deductions to live in the coal mine they brought home less than $2. So though it appears they had decent housing and conditions, they only made enough to survive. They ended up paying the coal company just as much as they were worth and this was not voluntary.

At the end of all the deductions they would bring home $1.68

We also were taken underground to see some of the equipment from anywhere from 1906-1960s.I have been on this tour before but I really enjoyed seeing how impressed people were... and not to mention MARVIN was fantastic. I can't help but think how going underground is like going to a foreign country. We aren't familiar with the language, the conditions the jobs, or the safety involved. I also am really impressed with what they've done with this park. I only hope more can be done with the portion of future or current coal!

Getting ready to go undergroud!

They next stop made me think more about Marvin. Well.... people who would have mined along with Marvin... The high wall miner was so impressive. It does the same work a whole crew does with only four people, not to mention the safety issues it eliminates, the reduction of environmental concerns, and the profit it brings into West Virginia. As we climbed the machine, this is when I thought about Marvin and his co-workers, can you imagine walking them up to the operators room saying, "Welcome to your office, coal miner!" As my grandmother would say, "They would roll over in their graves if they knew mine came out of the mountain without going underground." I'm so glad we have seen everything from how it started, the effects, the pros, cons, and future.

We all wore these awesome hard hats to go see the GIANT high wall miners

We stopped at the Courthouse where Sid Hatfield was murdered.

Love the panoramic Option!

Then we trucked it through southern WV. Seeing where Sid Hatfield was killed and walking the streets of Matewan to see how this conflict played out was very cool. I'm the kinesthetic learner that needs just that to truly understand and visualize the story. Dr. Little's interest in the massacre was inspiring. I loved how he and the museum workers interacted. I think instead of having kids just come down for the museum they need roles and to actually stand literally in each spot of those involved, including the random passengers. Then have the student act it out how they think it might have went down, and try different theories. I think they would really start to break it down CSI style. VERY INSPIRING METHOD TO A HISTORIC EVENT!!!

Matwan- Historic View

Same Street- Where we stood as Dr. Little Explained the big event.

Impressive... I've used this word a lot today.

 Good night my fellow teachers!