Unseen Found Footage From Early Days Of Coal Mining

Unseen Found Footage From Early Days Of Coal Mining including Pocahontas Fuel Co. in Virginia and West Virginia - including Boissevain, Itmann & Pocahontas
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[@deborahmccartney5694]

What a wonderful piece of footage of coal mining days gone by. Thank you for sharing Shane and Melody.

[@robinhaupt9119]

That was some incredible footage. Thank you Shane and Melody.

[@tinacloud5888]

My Dad worked in that mine in the 1970’s thanks for the memories . He worked hard for us all his life.

[@lazarusmesserian8186]

Thank you for sharing the footage of days gone bye. Those were some awesome tipples. I remember two in the Williamson area that went over the highway and it was inevitable that when you drove underneath you got hit with bits of coal from the conveyer belt. I bet you have folks that remember the N&W mine at Pond Creek that went over US 119 and the Sycamore Coal Company tipple at Chattaroy that went over the highway. Appreciate your shows as always.

[@gayhendrie84]

My father worked for Eastern coal Corp on pond creek black lung got him

[@iloveamerica3917]

This was great old footage. Amazing to see those old buildings in their hayday and then in their present state if still standing when you visit those towns.

[@bruinsfan8278]

That was real Nice, Love the music! Thanks!

[@beverlyproudfoot583]

Being from Clarksburg, WV, my family didn’t go into the mines. My precious Uncle Beryl was a steam shovel operator for the strip mines. My Grandpa was a steeple Jack. He kept all the coal burning smoke stacks painted and repaired. I love these old videos. Thanks for showing these❤

[@clarkjamieson692]

Thanks for sharing poor people scraping a living as many of us are today .🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🥃🥃🇺🇸.

[@robertcrane6237]

y'all outdid yourselves this time. keep it up and thank you

[@coaldigger1998]

I love these old films, great video. I grew up in a coal camp near Appalachia Va. Worked 45 years underground and have much respect for these old timers. Thanks.

[@thomastommy1192]

For sure one of your better videos. I truly enjoyed it. I will save it always. Where is this Coal Company located? I guess I missed something, lol. Many thumbs up. Thanks for sharing your video. Stay well & safe everyone.

[@wrennieweir6488]

Excellent film footage! What a gem!! The most surprising thing that I caught were the “cozy cottages with all the conveniences”. I bet most were not nearly as nice as pictured by the coal company film. Thanks for sharing 🙂

[@charliepc56]

Awesome! Very much history there! Machines used in the mines have been scrapped to the point that there aren't many left for future generations to see. Thanks!

[@MillerMeteor74]

That's really cool. Up here there are open pit sand and gravel mines all over the southern counties of NJ. Back in the late 1700s and early 1800s glass and bog iron were big deals here. Most of our old ghost town sites were company towns, built by the iron and glass companies. But yeah, that footage was awesome. Very interesting.

[@appalachianqueen8369]

The Itmann Company Store was built in 1923 and closed in 1928 . It was reopened in 1948. In 1990, it was placed on the National Registry of Historic Places. Today it is in an extreme state of disrepair.

[@christiemiles8923]

I love all your videos. Hope you do alot more. I'm here waiting.

[@raquellucas2202]

I’m from south western WV. Lots of coal mines! My Papaw went into the mines ( Logan county WV) at 13, working for scrip! Nobody knows what these men lived through. All of my Uncles, my in-laws worked like this! Would love to see you all do a video on “ coal camps” and how the companies literally owned you. It was as close to slavery as you could get. Love you channel!

[@mikeanderson7165]

Absolutely awesome video y’all. Y’all absolutely rock. Thanks for sharing ❤

[@sandy89107]

Good job with the back and forth banter....even miles apart 😁

[@danielarmstrong9219]

Nice Find! Thanks for sharing!

[@joshanderson7358]

Thanks for sharing.

[@countryboyscooter3402]

Russell County native. My father mined coal for over 20 yrs much of it was for Pittston Coal/Clinch Field Coal he finished mining coal in Kentucky. He went on to teach Miner health and safety among various other industrial trades. I'm proud to be the son of a Coal Miner!

[@johnperdue2327]

Awsome footage ..love old coal history so much. Miss you guys being together tho.

[@kesmarn]

Folks who say history is boring have never taken a look at this kind of history. Just great. This is terrific footage. I'm so glad you found it. It definitely was a film made with an agenda in mind. "The miners' and their families' needs were carefully considered" when the idea of a company store was introduced. (Profiting from the store itself as a business? Why heaven forbid! It never crossed our corporate minds!) Using drills "made the work accurate and easy." Hmmmm... If someone had taken a vote on that among the miners I wonder what the outcome would have been. And the company housing was "cosy." Is that another word for "cramped"? I realize that Pocahontas was considered one of the better companies to work for, but the script that implies that the workers would gladly have paid Pocahontas for the privilege of working there seems like a little bit of a stretch. Still and all it's a gem of a piece of history and I really enjoyed watching it. And it seems that long distance sass works at least as well as the kind that comes from the passenger seat! Congratulations on breaking through that 40K milestone, Shane and Melody. The best is yet to come! (Later edit: Oops... Just noticed that this included footage from Itmann too, so I have to acknowledge that not all the "agenda" came from the Pocahontas company.)

[@dancrofford927]

Just an awesome video of a time long gone, and you guys are over 41k subscribers now so wooooooooooooo

[@benlaw4647]

Thanks guys , appreciate this! God bless y'all...🙏❤

[@markberos8028]

You guys do a great job sure do appreciate all of your videos! Thank you for what you do.

[@realappalachia]

Thanks so much, we appreciate it

[@jameswithrow3666]

Good job guys

[@dennismullins4930]

So many memories. Thanks y’all ☮️

[@thfield2417]

Shared with loads of family. Amazing footage. Gives real context to those coal camps that are empty or nearly so today, as we see them in your videos. Thank you!

[@realappalachia]

That's awesome, we so appreciate it

[@ronaldtiracchia2017]

Wow. What a great video. The best I've seen in awhile. Thanks to you both

[@Anita-hs6ko]

My son is a coalminer started at age 18 & now he is 33 .He loves working in the mines .

[@1940limited]

Wow! That was amazing archival footage. What an industry! Interesting how the small wagon loads were moved around by switchback and cogs in the middle of the track. I see a lot of miners smoking. As if they didn't get enough fumes down there!

[@sstephens2175]

Both of my papaws were coal miners. My mom was the youngest of 10. Her dad was born in 1896. He passed away in 1968. I was born in 1970. After my husband got out of the military in 2000 we moved back to West Virginia for him to attend college with his GI Bill. Around 2002 I was sitting in the allergy doctors waiting room. I struck up a conversation with an old man and woman sitting there. He said they were from Logan. The doctor was in Huntington. I said to him, “my papaw used to work in the mines in Logan.” He said, “what was his name?” I said, “ Johnny Watts, but you wouldn’t know him, because he’s been dead since 68’ and was retired with black lung long before that.” He said, “I knew your papaw. He used to board with my family, and he would take me squirrel hunting.” He proceeded to describe him and the family. I said, “that was him.” I was blown away. What were the chances of me ever randomly meeting someone who knew my papaw? The man knew him when he was but a young boy. I enjoyed talking to them so much. They gave me their address, but with two young kids I never did make it that far, and then we moved to New Mexico. I sure wish I would have went to visit them, and seem their old pictures. What a blast from the past that would have been. I really enjoyed your video. 😊

[@moladhdodhia164]

Great story.

[@accousticdecay]

My grandfather and great-grandfather worked in the mines east of Charleston, WV 100+ years ago. My other grandfather worked in a mine farther north, and was killed in an explosion.

[@1940limited]

The closest I ever came to this industry was running the charge car over the coke ovens at Allied Chemical's Ashland, KY plant in 1972. It was hot, dirty business, but fascinating at the same time. We worked 12 hour shifts. The fumes were incredible. Still, I'm glad I got to do it.

[@walterlangston4484]

I wish I had the money to restore the it man company store

[@larryshort4796]

I wish my father, George H. Short, had been able to see this when he was alive. We could have talked for hours reliving his experiences in the mines.

[@realappalachia]

That sure would have been a blessing

[@johns294]

That was some awesome footage!!! Wow . I am obsessed with coal mining for a reason I’m not even sure of . Nice to see the real deal and try to imagine the way it was back then . Tough guys and real danger ✌🏼

[@judithhaughtphd9485]

Lived this in Caretta, WVa Was a coal miner’s daughter ❤️❤️

[@drwhatever7103]

Yes....good stuff... y'all need to come...and I'm not sure if u have...to the new river gorge....so many coal mines were there and still ruins remain...including Henry ford's mine...and I'll even take u under that tiny little bridge on the catwalk 876 ft in the air .aka ..new river gorge bridge. 😁

[@clarencewood1363]

I liked that footage. Really great part of American history and culture. Pocahontas used to put little coins that said Pocahontas coal in their coal so you always knew who you got their's. Such a cool video

[@lenettedaugherty287]

Hello, my Grandfather died of black lung from mineing . Rockcreek WVA.🤔😖🤨🤗

[@billmeade9029]

Very cool to see, do you know what year this was filmed? Forgive me if It said and i missed it my cat thinks he a dog and constantly wants in my lap and blocked my view a couple times for a second lol😉

[@kindnessmakesmesmile6583]

I wondered the year of filming also.

[@Desert-Tan-Whiskey]

I really enjoyed this video👍👍👍

[@Zathrian451]

coal miners are very lucky...they actually have two families... wish I could of experienced it myself

[@harrywest2780]

Very nice

[@larrycounce4509]

WOW

[@Jeff-xf7uv]

Great video that’s back when men were men.

[@patriciabogue6811]

Very interesting.

[@petegregory517]

Be great to know what the various machines were called.

[@johnnymayo8534]

Awesome piece of history!

[@kindnessmakesmesmile6583]

Just wondering how much coal mining is done now, compared to back in that time?

[@chubbawubba6959]

Being from a heavy coal area, Shane or Melody may know much more than I do. I want to speculate that maybe 10 to 15% from the glory years at best. Again I could be way off and if anything it would be less in my view. Cheers

[@appalachianqueen8369]

@@chubbawubba6959 I think your 10%-15% estimate is fairly accurate. Coal production in the Appalachian Coal Basin peaked in 1997 @476.8 million tons. In 2021, production was around 41 million tons.

[@chubbawubba6959]

@@appalachianqueen8369 Thank you for the clarification.

[@1940limited]

@@appalachianqueen8369 WV did over 80 million tons in 2021 and is projected to do almost 90 million in 2022. Much of it is for export to India. The industry's still going.

[@m.c.master4622]

What an amazing piece of coal company propaganda!!

[@1940limited]

Yes, I don't think the cottages were all that cozy. Lose your job and you lost the house pronto.

[@boknows3841]

Propaganda, my grandfather was paid a pickle a car to load coal with a shovel and his back and arms. You didn't dare break up the big lumps and he better heap the coal in the car and somehow it still only managed to weigh 2000,lbs and the weigh master pay came out of your pay not the company. Cozy cottage huh l never heard anyone call a company house cozy.

[@talldude5841]

Great footage on these long lost times ago. Another source of why these are hard working family oriented lot. Enjoyed the start of the show. Its nice to watch your vids, and forget about everything else. So peaceful and positive. About what years were this footage taken? I would guess the 30's and 40's?

[@stevenww3560]

I owe my soul to the company store is what is going through my mind right now lol ! The history of the big man owning the little man ! Awesome inspiring yet heart wrenching from all the tough times of these minors fighting from payday to payday!

[@1940limited]

"I loaded 16 tons of #9 coal and the straw boss said Well bless my soul!" 🙂

[@Perfectly-Imperfect]

Awesome 👏 I’ll always be proud of my heritage. Almost all the men where miners here in southern WV until the last few years.

[@1940limited]

You should be. Coal miners were great, hard working people very much unappreciated.

[@Perfectly-Imperfect]

@@1940limited Amen..They sure are.

[@davidkerns723]

Meigs County ohio here. Great music 🎶

[@debbiecox152]

Amazing footage . My grandpa worked in one of the JenkinJones mines in 1939 when my mom was born,3 of 10 !

[@daviddryden8088]

Am I in railroad heaven? A treasure trove of train history. Amazing footage I have certainly never seen before. Just wow. I can't get the bad taste out of my head over the company store ever since I heard Tennessee Ernie sing about it. 😁 [oh and nice soundtrack Shane]

[@chubbawubba6959]

Glad I was not the only one digging the rare train angle of the video.

[@kesmarn]

"Some people say a man is made outta mud. Poor man's made outta muscle and blood. Muscle and blood and skin and bones. A mind that's weak and a back that's strong." That song definitely did tend to stick with you! (Especially: "One fist of iron. The other of steel. If the right one don't getcha, then the left one will.") They don't write them like that any more!

[@1940limited]

I wish there had been some shots of the N&W locomotives.

[@1940limited]

@@kesmarn I like "Workin' In the Coal Mine" by Lee Dorsey. "Man, I'm so tired."

[@jackiegardner7483]

Great video

[@davevan8864]

I am WV born, family here since it was part of VA. I love the history of WV, warts and all. Lots of bad things happened, people treated poorly etc. But all that made us who we are today. Thanks

[@moladhdodhia164]

Loved the music,so beautiful, thank you.

[@raymartin3527]

Wow, everyone I knew that worked the coal mines around Jolo West Virginia are dead and gone now. Great footage.

[@tonyhoneyman3693]

This is GREAT and SAD 😢 at the same time. To see what was and to know what those places look like now. Thanks for sharing. ❤

[@navydogsadventures3500]

Sad to see this American culture going away. Probably a stupid question but how did it get the name? Also you ever work in a coal mine Shane?

[@seahalk1]

Dad worked in Northfork in the 50s

[@robcrotts]

Another great video! Very interesting watch for "us" who know nothing about the process of coal mining.

[@GoodbyeKamala2024]

Wow, what a great find. I remember my grandpa Clyde and Uncle Jim coming home black as the coal dust and worn out. May they rest in peace, both succumbing to the dreaded black lung. Thanks as always.

[@kevinadkins2299]

Love this video, I had 2 uncles who were coal miners... you guys dica great job on tour videos... keep it up..

[@realappalachia]

Thank ya so much, Kevin

[@kathrynralli4557]

"Electric drills make it accurate and easy". Wow, 6:20....

[@Mercyme8934]

Many relatives on my the Turner family side worked very hard in the coal mining industry. The lived simply, grew there food, loved each other and honored elders. Oh I wish I had known them. Grandma my week with you in 85 is true treasured memories Stacy, Virginia

[@nancymahasky2377]

My grandfather and other relatives worked in the mines of eastern PA--a little town called Jeansville. I imagine the mine was similar to this. Thank you.

[@herdfreak2]

I always enjoy seeing what the coal company stores looked like.

[@ruthdoyle9085]

We want to see the basement of the Itman company store…

[@franknielsen3562]

I started in the coal mines in 1971. This was all before modern mining started taking over, but I can remember jumping on a motor headed to the bottom, so we didn’t have to walk out. One time a fellow miner fell off the motor and was run over by that motor. We were sent home, because they thought he was dead, but to our surprise he survived, but was permanently injured for the rest of his life. The miners usually all took a shift off when someone was killed in the mine, but you wer’ent paid for that day.

[@realappalachia]

It’s hard to imagine for a lot of people just how rough it really was back then.

[@chubbawubba6959]

Just finished watching and very cool, thanks so much for sharing the hidden little gem you two have come across. Have a great weekend and safe travels. Shane damnit Boy! Do you not know to tell the cop you have explosive diarrhea? That has gotten me out 3 tickets in last 10 years and my girlfriend once! Crazy but it works. Usually last thing they want is a mess, just saying. 🤣

[@1940limited]

Nice to know other peopel can suffer from that. If you don't get to a bathroom quickly, you're in trouble!