Paying the ultimate price for coal- Finding John,Wise and Troy in West Virginia

Trilogy of 3 different men who died tragically in Coal mines in West Virginia.
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[@marlenataylor8758]

My husband step-father was killed by a slate falling on him. It broke his helmet in two. And the mines did nothing for their families afterwards.

[@Everett-eh4nn]

Tragic. I'm not surprised.

[@caligirlmisplaced9831]

I'm so glad that you're doing this about coalminer s they deserve recognition I grew up around the the mines all my family were coalminers

[@dontaylor3039]

Rest in peace to all.ty Leo and Heather for your hard work to keep these people's stories alive.they all deserve it

[@sherrilee230]

You are so right. Nobody thinks about the men a women who lost their lives mining coal, or the people who lost their lives buildings skyscrapers. The greed of money was important you could be replaced. Thank you Leo very well done.

[@cynthiacarter514]

😂In NC, my mother worked in a nursing home in the 80’s, she dare not complain about $5/hour. The owner knew she could easily be replaced.

[@magacapwearer5910]

Tennessee Ernie Ford did. Shoot, he may have been singing about his own daddy. 🤔

[@evilladollyz7602]

So many sad stories. Thank you... And Heather... For not allowing these people to be forgotten and sharing their stories with us ❤❤❤❤

[@connierichards9121]

My granddad was blinded in a coal mining accident around 100 years ago. My grandmother raised 9 children and took care of him till about a week before he died. They had it so much harder than us back then.

[@judypierce7028]

WOW! Happy Birthday Leo - "and many more." I recognize the cemetery Leo. I absolutely loved the photographs Heather. There are so many interesting tombstones Leo. The story was so interesting and you are right, being a coal miner was a dirty, unhealthy, unsafe job that had to be done. The coal miner's job was hard. Hundreds of men died in the coal mines. Men dies from accidents and black lung disease. All of these people need to remembered for their hard work. I remember the story of the coal mining accident at Matewan. My grandfather was the foreman of a coal mine in Kanawhat County. I didn't get to meet him, but mother shared stories about him. Mining was dangerous and is still dangerous today. God Bless you Leo. You did not need to walk up a set of steps or climb a mountain to this cemetery. Thank you for this wonderful piece of history Leo and Heather.

[@ProgramPat]

Love your videos. I just found your site and have been binge watching daily. I am originally from Wilkes Barre, PA and had great Uncles who were killed in coal mines there. Thank you for these terrific and sad stories.

[@tammyherbin4134]

Heaher and Leo, thank you for this video. My heart ached the whole time, thinking of what they endured but the heartbreak the family went through. My great grandpa was killed in coal mine in Wyoming at a young age. Before that he was a miner in Kansas and was almost murdered for speaking out about the conditions and safety issues in the mines. These miners were the heart of what kept America running for the times. May they all rest in peace!

[@gailflint152]

My maternal grandfather was a pick and axe coal miner in Boone County, WV. He did not die work related, but these men sure had unsafe working conditions. Thank you Leo and Heather

[@claudiadesoto2378]

What beautiful peaceful country, loving the stories. Stay safe and Thank You for the history lessons ❤

[@bigdog593]

I went to Matawan during the flood i was a medic with the 1092nd engineering battalion it was pretty bad i met alot of some of the nicest people west Virginia people are some of the strongest of anyone anywhere proud to be a hillbilly keep up the great work you and Heather do God bless

[@mercedithcompala8148]

More great history, thanks for sharing this 👍🪶

[@rockinrobbinwags]

Happy Birthday Leo! My Daddy's birthday is the 29th. Hope you had a great time 🎉

[@lee-annelandownunder4731]

Thank you guys for honoring these men and a big Happy Birthday Leo xxx

[@JansFAMBAM]

Rest in Peace God bless you all. God bless Leo& Heather

[@angelahorne867]

Thank you for sharing. I work at a coal fired plant. I will think about these guys and all the others when I see a coal train on site.

[@ceciliajones7816]

My maternal grandfather worked in the coal mines in Missouri. Coal Companies used up these men, children, and women and threw them away. Horrible history. So was the railroads. Really all the physical labor jobs that truly built this nation.

[@CARL557511]

On a serious note I saw a program from Great Britain where they dedicated a statue to work donkeys used in a mine disaster that died.

[@charliepc56]

Happy Birthday, Leo! I didn't pay the ultimate price, but I paid a big price. In a few days will be 42 years ago that my back was broken in a coal mine roof fall by a kettle bottom, and I have been in a wheelchair since. I loved working in the mines, but I would have been much better off if I had taken another path. That was especially sad that the young guy died on his first day in the mine. I enjoy all your videos, and thank you and Heather very much!

[@thehillbillyfiles]

Very sorry to hear that, and thank you very much. This video was made with people like you in mind.

[@brendashaw2035]

You and Heather are just awesome. What you do gives me alot of education that I would have never known. Thank you

[@thehillbillyfiles]

Thank you!

[@ggdeb2963]

I love all these stories you investigate ❤❤😊

[@michaelbedinger4121]

Happy Birthday 🎂 🥳 🎉 🎈 🎁 🎊 Leo. Thank you very much, for a great tribute to three unique individuals, may they all rest in peace 🙏 You mentioned a couple of hazards of coal mining that I was not aware of. Thank you very much Leo and Heather, for another fine video. Have a great weekend 😊

[@twilaash451]

My grandfather was a coal miner in West Virginia❤

[@scampbell3363]

Hey from Memphis. I’ve often thought about the trains I hear in the background of your videos and how it’s the sound of money. Now I’ll think of the lives health and hopes given for this resource.

[@jessiemerritt9147]

R.I.P. to all coal miners that lost their life’s like that so sad about these young men. I was born in Ky and know quite about there coal mines I’ve had kin who worked in coal mines in Ky. Ty for sharing although sad. God bless you and your family .

[@deniseackermann7116]

Have y'all seen the blog Oakland Cemetary... they are restoring a forgotten cemetary and found there was a large number of headstone that were missing. They found that most had sank down into the earth. So they are digging down and raising up the stones. It is pretty interesting. I'm sure several of the WV headstones have sunk down, but the task of finding them could take several lifetimes... 😊

[@happycappy-jn6jc]

Happy Birthday Leo God bless

[@kerrydennison7947]

Happ birthday Leo. Up here in Michigan's copper country it was similar also with the copper Rush. There is literally thousands of graves up here from people who died in copper mines or died in the iron mines n the logging industry. And I'm quite sure it is the same out in the western states with the gold rush . And sadly because of the language barrier many of the bosses did not even know the correct spelling of their name as far as maintaining records. And sadly it was policy to wait till the end of the shift to remove an injured man or maybe a deceased person to the surface because they would have to switch out the ore cart for the man cage to lift personnel .

[@lisamikitaroff6016]

Hello my friend soooo appreciate The recognition that you give everyone that you believe history needs to hear about 😉 rock on Leo god bless 🙏

[@denisedeardo3966]

I just started and subscribed to you channel about 2 weeks ago. Found you all not sure how but so glad I did. Just want to say thanks for giving all the forgotten people a name. Love what you do. Keep up the great work. Can't wait for future videos.

[@thehillbillyfiles]

Awesome! Thank you!

[@elainebrown874]

God bless y’all both for all the good you do for people. All the history you keep going. It’s wonderful. 😇

[@gearhead2017]

Happy belated birthday leo! RIP to the miners who died for their pay

[@edwardstroko4665]

I was amazed with that cemetery back in 2017 when I was there!! I spent a while looking around and got some pics!!

[@JBB4118]

Always learn something from a part of the country i rarely get to visit.

[@user-qh9pq1wm2d]

Happy birthday Leo

[@pamelawooten3251]

Happy belated birthday Leo! Thank you so much for this video recognizing our coal miners. Great video.

[@kimberleyannedemong5621]

All of them deserve to have their stories told. May they rest in peace. The mining companies have so much blood on their hands and much to answer for. But they are not the only ones. The industrialists who wanted coal as cheaply as they could get it. Even citizens have some blood on their hands. We always want more more more & again as cheaply as we can get it. Yes the mines bear the lions share of the guilt but they are not alone. Very sad & tragic lessons to be learned from very young men who really had no options

[@annedurant6000]

Sorry been busy haven't been on KZbin for a few days so Happy belated birthday Leo 🥳🎂hope you had a super day😘🥰🤩🥳

[@roos24k65]

Happy Belated Birthday Leo❤❤❤❤. Where's the cake Heather🎉❤❤❤❤❤

[@patricatfurever4051]

Originally from WV; two of my children now work in the copper mine industry (haul truck driver & Paramedic) in Arizona. Heavily regulated with safety provisions thank God!! Plus not like the old mining underground 🙏🏼 God bless the coal miners who led the way 🙏🏼

[@debdewitt4779]

Happy Birthday Leo 🎉

[@burningsandsexploration3711]

My great grandfather and grandfather and their brothers were coal miners in West Virginia. They told stories about how dangerous it was.

[@kaylawilcoxon3403]

Stories like these make me really appreciate the song by Jimmy Dean, Big Bad John

[@decfamily314]

A fellow Pisces, I should have known 🤣 Recently found y'all so catching up on videos. Great job!

[@melindaschluter1669]

Love ya Leo and Heather! ❤❤❤

[@jamielieberg7053]

another great vieo thank you for taking the time to make it

[@shannonboaz9127]

Happy birthday, mine was on the 27th

[@dorothybentley3808]

Happy birthday Leo a d many more !🙂

[@user-sn1ft4dg8r]

Happy belated birthday Leo.

[@debpalm8667]

Watched again. The greed of coal companies is a lot of the reason they are despised today.😢

[@joycehussung446]

Love your videos. You do a great job. I have a cousin in southern Il. You sure sound like him.😊😊

[@Theaterbuddy717]

HBTY! You must be in great shape by now!

[@michelefigone3261]

Happy belated birthday 😊! Thank you for this story

[@deltonwatts9726]

Thanks Leo for making us aware of so many great people from the past. Blessings.

[@pathughes4921]

Yall are doing a great job . Enjoy them so much. Tex

[@brianlykins6663]

Hey, guy's, great video. It's ironic, I heard the song that has the line" I was a damn builder & fell into the wet concrete below." I instantly thought of the coal miners that had been killed while mining. What a shame that those owners put profits ahead of human life. Not only the dangers of mining, but air quality and the way they treated miners and families at the company stores. I suppose if you could turn back the hands of time, mining and wars would've been entirely different if the mine owners and politicians' sons and relatives were in both places on the front lines, not in an ofgice position. It might not have dissuaded their opinions, but I bet the wifes at home would. I also thought about how much I look forward to and have learned from ya'lls videos. God bless ya'll for what you do and all the information ya'll provide to the descendants of your stories. Ya'll stay safe out there digging up these storie.

[@user-uz9gc5tk1h]

My papaw worked in the mines, was injured in a cave in died of black lung. My uncle's and cousins work 😅in the mines also.

[@smooth50590]

Thanks Leo, very good video. Happy Birthday

[@patricatfurever4051]

How sad about Troy Vance 😔

[@45beetle]

I had a great uncle and his only son that worked the mines lost them both the son first from leukemia the the father from black lung working the mines is very dangerous

[@wandapennington3826]

Happy Birthday

[@connie2558]

Happy belated birthday. Have you and Heather watched the movie, The Hunger Games? It starts with the district that produced coal for the Capitol.

[@gregorygibson5455]

Hello Leo and Heather

[@michelefigone3261]

My Grandpa worked in the coal mine in Iowa was he was young. He got black lung from it.

[@gayeyount7948]

Just came on to give you a thumbs up and now I'm going to watch on my tv. At my age I need large screen to see. Lol. Love all you're videos.

[@jeffsherwood9151]

How u doing thanks for the tour

[@denisehibbs9576]

It's so sad and tragic. Yes these men should be remembered. They gave their lives for coal companies. That is a horrible way to die. RIP coal miners !

[@robinpeyton3602]

Happy birthday 🎉

[@icetrucker7037]

i find your videos very interesting on Hatfield's and other people from years past BUT why don't u do any videos on McCoy's ? where r they buried and what happen to some of them?

[@thehillbillyfiles]

We have several on them, and have plans for more.

[@donniewilliams2484]

Timber cutters and loggers right there with the coal miners in danger.

[@edwardstroko4665]

Is everyone buried there a relation to the Hatfields??

[@thehillbillyfiles]

No, not all.

[@scottbenjamine4890]

its so sad to see these stories where back in the day the minerals and wealth were all that mattered, and the workers and families were simply held down in almost lifetime poverty to keep them there. oh,,,wait a minute,,,has that really changed over the decades for us working class?,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,nope,,,,,,,,,,,,

[@lisamikitaroff6016]

Hey Leo one of your biggest fans texting from Detroit Michigan , just a question for you , are there still active coal mines ? and do people still work in them ?

[@thehillbillyfiles]

Yes. There are still some operating. Nothing like there used to be though.

[@marvinjohnson424]

😢🇺🇸

[@pakedermsfavs9080]

Happy birthday 🎉