Moments With Clyde

Waltzing Matilda

2012-01-25T20:09:00.001-05:00

Waltzing Matilda

words by A.B.(Banjo) Patterson

The ballad "Waltzing Matilda" is called by many, as Australia's unofficial national anthem. There are are many
Australians who would love for it to be made the official national anthem.

Millions of people are familiar with the song, world wide. A good number of them know little or nothing of what the song is about. To add to the confusion, there are three different melodies that accompany the lyrics, which have gone through a slight change from the original version.

There is also another song by the same name by Tom Traubert.

"The Band Played Waltzing Matilda", was written by Eric Bogle. It is a very good anti-war song.

"Researchers... now agree that A.B.(Banjo) Patterson wrote original song lyrics in 1895 – a "new bush song" – while he was staying with the Macpherson family on the property, Dagworth Station, approximately 100 kilometres north-west of the town of Winton in Queensland".

"The origins of the melody are more complex and have been subject to much debate. The existence of an original musical manuscript by Christina Macpherson came to public notice in 1971, together with an undated letter by Christina to Thomas Wood recalling the events surrounding the creation of the song. This led to Christina being accredited as the first ‘creator’ of the music. Two versions of this manuscript are now held in the National Library of Australia: MS9065 and MS10086. Yet, as Christina openly acknowledged, she adapted the tune from an existing folk song which she had heard played as a march by a brass band. This website summarises the origins of the song and the multiple musical versions that exist in unpublished, published and oral forms". - National Library of Australia.

"There are three main streams of the ‘Waltzing Matilda’ song, each with its own history, related versions and status. These may be loosely described as:
(1) the Macpherson/Paterson version, based on the 1895 song passed down orally and in manuscript format;
(2) the mainstream, popular version of the song, derived from the edition that first appeared in print in an arrangement by Marie Cowan (c.1903). This varies from both the original Macpherson/Paterson tune and words. It also has a strong melodic relationship to manuscript versions patented by Harry Nathan (1900-1905);
(3) a third, oral tradition, loosely referred to as the Queensland version. This uses a different tune with, essentially, the Paterson lyrics, and exists in two main variants, the Conclurry and the Buderim tunes." - National Library of Australia.

Elderly swagman 1901.

Waltzing Matilda

words by A.B.(Banjo) Patterson

Once a jolly swagman camped by a billabong
Under the shade of the Coolibah tree
And he sang as he watched and waited till his billy boiled
You'll come a waltzing Matilda with me

Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda
You'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me
And he sang as he watched and waited till his billy boiled
You'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me

Then down came a jumbuck to drink at that billabong
Up jumped the swagman and grabbed him with glee
And he sang as he shoved that jumbuck in his tucker bag
You'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me

Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda
You'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me
And he sang as he shoved that jumbuck in his tucker bag
You'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me

Then down came the squatter, mounted on his thoroughbred
Down came the troopers, one two three
Where's that jolly jumbuck that you've got in your tucker bag?
You'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me

So up jumped the swagman and he sprang into that billabong
You'll never take me alive said he
And his ghost may be heard as you pass by that billabong
You'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me

Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda
You'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me
And his ghost may be heard as you pass by that billabong
You'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me.

The song was first recorded in 1926 as performed by John Collinson and Russell Callow. This recording of "Waltzing Matilda" was added to the National Film and Sound Archive's Sounds of Australia Registry in 2008.

"Waltzing Matilda" is a song about an Australian swagman (or hobo), one of the men who used to wander throughout the country areas of Australia.

They often kept their meagre belongings wrapped up in an old blanket, tied up with a piece of string, and carried it across their shoulders; this was called a swag. That is where they got the name "swagman".

These swagmen would refer to their swag as "Matilda", which was often their only companion as they wandered through the bush. That is how the term "Waltzing Matilda" came about. It hass nothing to do with dancing: it refers to carrying the swag (which swings back and forth) on your back through the long lonely stretches of the Australian bush.

A "billabong" is a pool of deep water, or a lagoon

A "billy" is a little tin to boil water for tea.

A jumbuck is a sheep

A "tucker bag" is a bag for carrying "tucker"; tucker is food, so it could just as easily be called a food bag. It served the same purpose as a knapsack.

A squatter (in this context) is a land owner, who usually had a large amount of land. He was called a squatter because most of them had originally just taken the land, without paying for it or without permission from the government.

André Rieu - Waltzing Mathilda

In the song, the hero of "Waltzing Matilda" is a migrant farm laborer ("swagman") who is cornered under a eucalyptus tree ("coolibah") beside a waterhole ("billabong") by a landowner ("squatter") and his hired policemen. After stealing a sheep ("jumbuck," from the Aboriginal word jimbuc) for his dinner ("tucker").

He escapes arrest -- and certain hanging -- by leaping into the billabong, where his ghost may be heard by all who may pass by.

The Real Story is very much different.

For many years, the swagmen had roamed the sheep stations of Queensland, where they hired ot for the shearing of the sheep for the wool. Out of the shearing season, there was much starving and begging. These shearers, believed (rightfully so) that they were bring cheated and exploited by the ranch owners, (many were wealthy, absentee, and British). In 1894, The shearers declared a strike that quickly turned violent.

On a station that was named Dagworth, the striking shearers fired off their rifles and pistols. They put a lot of holes in in the barns, but there were no casualties. They then set fire to the barns, in which many sheep died. A man named Samuel "French" Hoffmeister was one of the ringleaders of the uprising. The troopers searched the surrounding countryside for the shearers. The next day, the troopers found Samuel Hoffmeister, still in his swag, beside a billabong. He had shot himself in the head.

Slim Dusty - Waltzing Matilda

Here is a completely different song with the same title of "Waltzing Matilda" by Tom Traubert.

by André Berlin

by Wolfgang

The song "And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda" was written by Scottish-Australian balladist Eric Bogle in 1971.

The song has imagery of the devastation at the Battle of Gallipoli. It also vividly portrays the aging veterans and younger generations who have become apathetic to the veterans and to their cause.

Eric Bogle avoided denigrating the servicemen who'd suffered and died, while he produced a very strong indictment for those responsible for the tragic loss of life and limb in all wars.

June Tabor - And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda

The expression 'And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda' is central to the chorus, and many of the versions that have been recorded end with a haunting rendition of a few bars of 'Waltzing Matilda.

"And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda" is an anti-war song, about a war that was fought in Gallipoli, in 1915. It was written in the time period of the Vietnam war many thought it was about that war as well. They were different decades and different countries. The message is appropriate for both wars and for any other war: WAR IS HELL!

And the band played "Waltzing Mathilda".

"And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda" is a vivid account of the memories of an old Australian veteran, who had been a part of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps that fought the Battle of Gallipoli. The old man recalled " the hell that they called Suvla Bay we were butchered like lambs at the slaughter".

Joan Baez - "And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda"

Eric Bogle has written a powerful and passionate indictment all wars in general. There are no winners for those who fight the wars! Every combatant becomes a casualty.

John McDermott - The Band Played Waltzing Matilda

Strange Fruit

2012-01-09T19:06:00.007-05:00

Strange Fruit

Thomas Shipp and Abraham Smith

Abel Meeropol, a schoolteacher from the Bronx, saw Lawrence Beitler's photograph of the lynching of two black men, Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith, in Marion, Indiana. With that photograph in mind, he wrote the poem "Strange Fruit".

Strange Fruit
by Lewis Allan, c1940

Southern trees bear a strange fruit
Blood on the leaves and blood at the root
Black bodies swinging in the Southern breeze
Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees

Pastoral scene of the gallant South
The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth
Scent of magnolias, sweet and fresh
Then the sudden smell of burning flesh!

Here is fruit for the crows to pluck
For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck
For the sun to rot, for the tree to drop
Here is a strange and bitter crop

Few of the millions of people who have heard "Strange Fruit" are aware of its history. I had listened to the song "Strange Fruit" as sung by Billie Holiday, hundreds of times. On three occasions, I had the pleasure of hearing her singing it in person. The only thing that I knew about the song was that it was about two black men who had been lynched.
,
It was written in the mid-1930s by a New York City public school teacher by the name of Abel Meeropol.

Abel Meeropol.

Abel Meeropol was born in New York in 1903, into a Jewish immigrant family. Like many others, of his background and his generation, he was radicalized first by the Russian Revolution, then the dangers of Fascism, and finally the Great Depression.

The poem was written in the late 1930s, long before Abel Meeropol would meet Billie Holiday. At that time, he was teaching at De Witt Clinton High School in the Bronx, New York.

"Strange Fruit" was first printed as "Bitter Fruit" in the January 1937 issue of "The New York Teacher", the publication of the Teachers Union, in which the Communist Party, at that time, had an influential role.

Abel Meeropol then wrote under the pen name of Lewis Allan, (which was the names of his two children who were stillborn), He would later set the poem to music on his own. For the first two years after it was written, the song was performed in political circles, at political meetings and benefits, as well as house parties.

Billie Holiday,

In early 1939, Billie Holiday was performing in the newly opened nightclub "Café Society" which was located in lower Manhattan. Abel Meeropol gave the song to Barney Josephson, who was the the owner of the club, and had him ask if Billie Holiday would sing it. There were some accounts that said Billie Holiday was not particularly impressed by the lyrics, other accounts said that she possibly was not aware of the meaning of the song. Billie Holiday later, agreed to sing it. Her rendition of the song made an enormous impression on the Café Society's customers. She was soon singing "Strange Fruit" every night. In April of 1939, Billie Holiday recorded the song..

Billie Holiday on Commodore Records

Getting the song recorded was not an easy task. Columbia Records, which was Billy Holiday's regular record label, refused to have anything to do with it. It was Commodore Records, a small recording company that was run by Milton Gabler, which released the song. Milton Gabler was later interviewed in a film that would be titled the same.

"Strange Fruit" was released on record in 1939, and quickly became well known. It had a particular impact on those who were politically aware, among artists, musicians, actors and other performers, as well as college students and intellectuals.

David Margolick's book, "Strange Fruit: The Biography of a Song" (originally published as "Strange Fruit: Billie Holiday, Café Society and an Early Cry for Civil Rights" by Running Press; it is now available from Harper Perennial), quoting numerous prominent figures, "demonstrates how the song articulated the growing awareness and anger that was to find expression in the rise of the mass civil rights movement of the 1950s and '60s".

At the time. "Strange Fruit" was played only rarely on the radio. There were not very many courageous DJ's at that point in time. America was at war. There had been several racial conflicts in the U.S. Army. It was also a time period when the the segregationist Southern Dixiecrats played a leading role in the Democratic Party and the politics of the United States. It took a mass movement of American citizens to finally expose and dismantle the apartheid system that had formed in American music, American culture and minds. The Dixiecrats were largely responsible for setting the stage for the lynchings of black Americans.

Rubin Stacy - lynched in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on July 19, 1935.

The conservative estimates say that there were more than 4,000 lynchings in the fifty years before 1940. The majority of the lynchings took place in the South, and most of the victims were black. There outcry over these murderous activities, was very little or none: it depended on the American geographical location.

It appears that the Socialistic and communistic leaning Americans shamed the remaining populous, since they were in the forefront of the struggle and outcry against the lynchings in America.

Strange Fruit by Nina Simone.

This history is related in Margolick's book, as well as in the 2002 film, "Strange Fruit". The focus of the book is largely on Billie Holiday and on her relationship to the song "Strange Fruit."

The film, which is directed by Joel Katz, gives the greater emphasis to Abel Meeropol's story. It also presents interviews dealing with the historic and contemporary significance of the song.

The Anti-communist politicians in America generally agreed with the Southern racists that "the fight for racial equality was basically a left-wing plot", The anti-communist crusades did not begin with the alchoholic senator Joseph McCarthy in the postwar period. In 1941, Abel Meeropol was subpoenaed before the witch-hunting "Rapp-Coudert committee", which had been set up by the New York State legislature to investigate alleged Communist influence in the public school system. Mr. Abel Meeropol was asked if "Strange Fruit" had been commissioned by the Communist Party, or whether he had been paid by the party to write it.

Despite this un-American political atmosphere, and the virtual banning of the song from the radio, at one point the song was number 16 on the pop charts.

Diana Ross - Strange Fruit .

During the postwar witch-hunt, the performance of "Strange Fruit" became even more difficult. Some clubs even refused to allow Billy Holiday to sing what had become her signature song.

Billie Holiday insisted on contracts that guaranteed her right to sing it, but even that did not resolve the issue.

Margolick's book tells how at one club on West 52nd Street, Billy Holiday cried after her performance. "Did you see the bartender ringing the cash register all through?" She said: "He always does that when I sing." The bartender was attempting to disrupt he singing of the song.

Strange Fruit,

Today, the interest and awareness of "Strange Fruit" appears to have dropped off.

Is it possible that the segregationists and racists are now getting more Bold and Vicious?

"The county sheriff says that a 26-year-old black man, Frederick Jermaine Carter, found hanged from an oak tree in Greenwood, Mississippi, apparently committed suicide, but the president of the local NAACP challenges that explanation and says the group will monitor developments in the case." - News One

Elijah Parish Lovejoy

2012-01-08T12:59:00.003-05:00

Elijah Parish Lovejoy

The story of Elijah Parish Lovejoy is the story of the vigil for the freedom of thought, the freedom of speech, and the freedom of the press. In 1837, Alton, Illinois, was the scene of a battle for that freedom. It was felt by its citizens across the United States of America.

An American Presbyterian minister, journalist, and newspaper editor by the name of Elijah Lovejoy loged a campaign in his Illinois newspaper on the evils of slavery in America, On November 7, 1837, he was shot and killed, by a local pro-slavery mob, in Alton Illinois.

Elijah Parish Lovejoy was born in Albion, Maine, on November 9, 1802. He would graduate from Waterville College (now Colby College) in 1826 and then move to St. Louis to be a school teacher and write periodicals for the local newspapers. He soon became editor of a paper and wrote articles supporting Henry Clay for President of the United States. Even while he was feeling the pull of a political career, the strong conviction to become a minister overtook him. Elijah Lovejoy returned yo the east, and entered Princeton Theological Seminary. Elijah Lovejoy was licensed to preach in April, 1833, by the Second Presbytery of Philadelphia.

Elijah Parish Lovejoy was ordained by the Presbytery of St. Louis in 1834, and then he was elected its Moderator in 1835.

St. Louis 1830s.

Shortly after returning to St. Louis, Elijah Lovejoy was the pastor of the Des Peres Presbyterian Church (the "Old Meeting House"). He published a religious newspaper that he named "The St. Louis Observer". The first weekly issue was printed in November of 1833. It was a religious oublication. He soon began to argue for the abolition of slavery. Despite the huge amount bitter feelings that were being expressed against him., Elijah Lovejoy persisted in arguing the fights of freedom of the press, freedom of speech, and freedom from slavery.

In 1835, Elijah Lovejoy married Celia Ann French, and they had two children together.

Slavery was not just located in the South. In 1836, there were many slave holders in the northern states as well. And there were many men who did not own slaves, but they were making fortunes from the results of slavery and by participating in the slave trade.

Francis McIntosh
Frances McIntosh was a a free black man who lived in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and was working as a steward on a riverboat running on the Mississippi River. Trouble started when Frances McIntosh interfered with two St. Louis officers who were attempting to arrest two rowdy sailors. Frances McIntosh helped them get away. Because of his actions the two officers then arrested Frances McIntosh. As the officers were taking him to jail, he asked them what they thought his punishment would be. The two officers, as a joke, responded that they thought he would likely be hanged. Taking the comment seriously , Francis McIntosh broke free and stabbed both officers. One officer was dead and the other was severely wounded. Frances McIntosh escaped, but he was later captured by a crowd of people, who took him to jail. The crowd very soon, numbered over a thousand people, and cries for a lynching was heard.

Shortly afterwards, the angry mob forced the sheriff to clear out, they thrn brought Francis McIntosh out of the jail, at Chestnut and Sixth streets, and literally dragged him to near Market and 10th streets. There the mob of rioters chained Francis McIntosh to a tree. The proceeded to stack logs around him, and lit a slow burning fire.

Accounts varied as to how quickly Frances McIntosh died. Those who were sympathetic to the mob claimed that Francis McIntosh was quickly engulfed by the flames and died. Many others claimed that he died a slow, agonizing death, begging to be shot, trying to say prayers and singing hymns throughout. They very slowly burned him to death. After burning alive for 18 minutes, Frances McIntosh died.

Judge Luke E. Lawless.

Less than a month after the St. Louis mob's retaliation against Frank McIntosh, a grand jury gathered in a small back room of the old St. Louis courthouse. This is where the grand jury heard arguments concerning persons who were accused of crimes that had been committed during the past year and to decide which offenders deserved to be criminally indicted for their actions.

Toward the end of the day, the grand jury turned its attention to the details of the violent mob action which killed the free black man, Frances McIntosh.

Their charge was to decide which person or persons, if any, deserved to stand trial for their actions on April 28th. Not surprisingly, this case sparked a large amount of local interest. Many people filled the courtroom until all the seats had been taken and people were forced to stand in the back of the chamber or outside. Written accounts of the proceedings tell of the uneasiness and excitement that the capacity crowd brought with it into the courtroom.

Since members of the grand jury usually took their cues from the presiding judge, the key figure in the whole case became Judge Luke E. Lawless.

Judge Lawless had come to the United States from Dublin, Ireland. He had served as a sailor in the British Navy, before beginning his law career in Dublin. His military background and confrontational law practice characterized him as a man who did not shy away from controversy. Despite many repeated moves to unseat Judge Lawless and mutiple letters being sent to the "St. Louis Republican" attacking his caracter and his methods. Judge Luke Lawless held enough political power to make sure that he retained his seat on the bench.

Judge Lawless' record as a lawyer, was highly controversial. On one occasion, a judge before whom he was arguing a case sentenced then Attorney Luke Lawless to eighteen months disbarment and twenty-four hours in jail, for misconduct. Luke Lawless responded to this with a counter-charge accusing the judge of "tyranny, oppression, and usurpation of power." The case eventually ended in the United States Senate where it was shown that Luke Lawless had suppressed evidence, thereby confirming the judge's original sentence of attorney Lawless.

Judge Luke Lawless opinionated style played the major roll in the grand jury's decision. Reading carefully from previously prepared notes, Judge Lawless offered the following advice to the twelve member grand jury:

"Gentlemen of the grand jury, I would here conclude my observation did I not think my fellow citizens might well expect from the judge of this court special notice the dreadful events that have so recently thrown a gloom over our prosperous and generally peaceful city."

"You will at once perceive that I refer to the murder of our respected fellow-citizen, the late deputy sheriff Hammond; to the wounding with an intent to murder him of another meritorious officer, the deputy constable Mull; and lastly to the destruction of the murderer himself, a free colored man whose name I understand was McIntosh, by a force unauthorized by law and by a mode of death forbidden by the Constitution, by a "cruel and unusual punishment" by chaining the prisoner alive to a tree and burning him to ashes... Let us hope that the dreadful retribution which he has met with in this world will plead for him in the world to come."

"If on a calm view of the circumstances attending this dreadful transaction, you shall be of the opinion that it was perpetrated by a definite and, compared to the population of St. Louis, a small number of individuals separate from the mass and evidently taking upon themselves as contradistinguished from the multitude the responsibility of the act, my opinion is that you ought to indict them all without a single exception."

"If, on the other hand, the destruction of the murderer of Hammond was the act, as I have said, of the many, of the multitude in the ordinary sense of those words -- not the act of numerable and ascertainable malefactors, but of congregated thousands seized upon and impelled by that mysterious metaphysical and almost electrical frenzy which in all ages and nations has hurried on the infuriated multitude to deeds of death and destruction -- then, I say, act not at all in the matter. The case then transcends your jurisdiction, it is beyond the reach of human law."

Because a near insane frenzy gripped the mob responsible for Frances McIntosh's death, Judge Luke Lawless instructed the jury not to single out specific people for being responsible. Try as they might, he said, the jury could never understand the mania which seized the masses that day. Therefore, no legal action could be called for by the grand jury because the courtroom was no place to judge such behavior. In this case, there was nothing the legal system could do to protect an individual from a provoked mob action.

Merton Dillon writes that "Judge Lawless has frequently been criticized for his position, both by his legal contemporaries and twentieth century scholars. All agree that by ethical legal standards, he was wrong to impose this decision. However, later portions of his speech to the grand jury revealed several interesting insights into the minds of abolitionists and their opponents. As his comments show, he played on the fear of the citizens who believed that abolitionism was sent by religious zealots from New England to stir up trouble in slave holding states."

Judge Lawless continued: "If the murderer (McIntosh) had been tried by a jury, convicted and executed -- the horror at his crimes would have been unmixed with any other feeling. There could have been no reaction, no pretense for the outcry which now, in all probability, will be raised throughout the Union by the misguided or unprincipled men engaged in the anti- national scheme of abolitionism. The public attention in this state would have been concentrated on what, I am much disposed to think, was the exciting cause of McIntosh's crime and of similar atrocities committed in this and other states by individuals of Negro blood against their white brethren."

"The abolitionist influence upon the passions and intellect of the wretched McIntosh seems to me to be indicated by the peculiar character of his language and demeanor. His deadly hostility to the whole white race -- his hymns and his prayers so profanely and frightfully mixed up with those horrid imprecations seems, I say, to betray the incendiary cause to which I have adverted."

"If this be indeed the case, the murderer of Hammond was, morally speaking, only the blind instrument in the hands of the abolitionist fanatics. They, and not McIntosh, would then be responsible in the sight of God and man."

"[Abolitionists appear] to labor under a sort of religious hallucination -- a monomania -- for which it would perhaps be inconsistent with sound reasoning to hold them morally responsible. . . They seem to consider themselves as special agents... in fact, of Divine Providence. They seem to have their eyes fixed on some mystic vision -- some Zion, as they term it, within whose holy walls they would impound us all, or condemn us to perish on the outside. But, although all this may be very sincere, is it the less pernicious? Are we to be victims of those sanctimonious madmen?"

The judge had successfully turned the law upside down and made those guilty of murdering Frances McIntosh the victims of an abolitionist plot. After establishing this as being fact with the crowd, Judge Lawless then turned his attention specifically to Elijah Lovejoy and his newspaper. And although "The Observer" had never been guilty of calling for a slave rebellion, public opinion swayed on the words of Judge Lawless and presented for a call for action against the publication.

The judge continued: "I have adverted to the abolitionist press in this city, and now I would ask who that has observed its course for a considerable time past has not seen in its publications matter abundantly calculated to fanaticize the Negro and excite him against the white man?"
Judge Luke Lawless then held up an edition of "The Observer" as an example of the destructive force to which he referred. Judge Lawless read several articles from pages of the paper in order to show that Elijah Lovejoy's newspaper editorials were not designed to restore the calm amongst its readers.

Judge Lawless successfully turned the guilt of the crime of burning a man to death, around to accuse Elijah Lovejoy of the crime of attempting to incite revolts throughout the southern states.

Judge Lawless blamed the murder of the officers on abolitionists, whose ideas could supposedly incite blacks into murdering whites, as part of some divine reckoning. Judge Lawless even passed out to the grand jury copies of Elijah Lovejoy's "Observer" and his sermons where Reverand Lovejoy stated, "Slavery is a sin and ought to be abandoned," and that southern slave-owners suffered from an "abandonment of virtue."

Judge Lawless concluded his speech by commenting that, "It seems to me, impossible that while such language is used and published as that which I have cited from the St. Louis Observer, there can be any safety in a slave-holding state."

Not only did the grand jury fail to charge anyone for the murder of Frances McIntosh, but many people in St. Louis began to blame Elijah Lovejoy and other abolishonists for what happened.

In "The St. Louis Observer" on July 21, 1836, Elijah Lovejoy printed the following:

"The Charge of Judge Lawless"

"The horrid transaction which called forth the document to which we now refer, is fresh in the minds of all our readers. A fellow-creature was torn from prison, by an infuriated mob, and burned alive in the city of St. Louis. This deed it became the duty of Judge Lawless to bring before the constituted authorities of the land, and he has done it in the charge to the Grand Jury, now lying before us. In this charge the ground is openly taken that a crime, which if committed, by one or two, would be punishable with death, may be perpetrated by the multitude with impunity!!! "

"Says the Judge: "If, on the other hand, the destruction of the murder of Hammond was the act, as I have said, of the many--of the multitude, in the ordinary sense of these words--not the act of numerable and ascertainable malefactors; but of congregated thousands, seized upon and impelled by that mysterious, metaphysical, and almost electric frenzy, which, in all ages and nations, has hurried on the infuriated multitude to deeds of death and destruction--then, I say, act not at all on the matter; the case then transcends your jurisdiction--it is beyond the reach of human law!!!!!!!" "

"1. In this charge of Judge Lawless we see exemplified and illustrated the truth of the doctrine we have, for years, been endeavouring to impress on the minds of our countrymen, viz. that foreigners educated in the old worked, never can come to have a proper understanding of American constitutional law. Judge Lawless is a foreigner--a naturalized one it is true, but still to all intents and purposes a foreigner--he was educated and received his notions of government amidst the turbulent agitations of Ireland, and at a period too, when anarchy and illegal violence prevailed to a degree unprecedented even in the annals of that wretched, and most unhappy land. Amidst the lawless and violent proceedings of those times Mr. Lawless grew up. He is next found in arms, in the service of France, fighting against the country to whom his allegiance was due. His third appearance in a public capacity, is as Judge in one of the republican state of America, where he delivers such a charge to our Grand Jury, as the one now under our consideration."

"We disclaim all wish or intention to wound the feelings, or injure the personal reputation of Judge Lawless; but we do wish to disarm the monstrous doctrines he has promulgated from the bench, of their power either as a present rule, or a future precedent; and we apprehend that when the school in which the Judge was educated, is know and candidly considered, his notions of practical justice, at once so novel to Americans, so absurd and so wicked, will have little influence with our sound hearted, home educated republicans."

"2. Judge Lawless is a Papist; and in his Charge we see the cloven foot of Jerusalem, peeping out from under the veil of almost every paragraph in the Charge. What is Jesuitism but another name for the doctrine that principles ought to change according to circumstances? And this is the very identical doctrine of the Charge. A horrid crime must not be punished because, forsooth, it would be difficult perhaps to do it. The principles of Justice and of constitutional law, must yield to a doubtful question of present expediency. Doubtless the Judge is not aware whence he derived these notions; and yet it cannot be doubted that they came originally from St. Omers, where so many Irish priests are educated. So true is it, that Popery in its very essential principles is incompatible with regulated, civil or religious liberty. Our warning voice on this subject is lifted up in vain; but some of those who now hear it, will live to mourn over their present incredulity and indifference."

"3. In his answer to the remarks of the New York American, Judge Lawless intimates that the safety of this office is owing to the course he took in this matter. We don not believe him; but if he says true, then what a disgraceful truth to St. Louis! What had the 'Observer' done? It had told the story of the horrid tragedy enacted here in plain, unvarnished terms, just as the affair occurred. No one pretends that our version of the affair was incorrect, and we added nothing more than in the spirit of earnest and solemn warning, to entreat our fellow-citizens to stay such proceedings, or their all was lost. And for this the Judge says, but for his interposition, our office would have been destroyed. That is, a mob in St. Louis burns a man up, and then citizens tear down the office of the press, that dares to reprobate such an act. This assertion of the Judge is a gross libel upon the city, as we verily believe. We have never heard of any threats to pull down our office, which did not originate with his countrymen--mark that."

"But even supposing it true, and that our office was endangered by what we wrote concerning the McIntosh tragedy, we desire no such volunteers as Judge Lawless, with such principles, to come to our rescue. We reject all such. We desire not to be saved at such an expense. To establish our institutions of civil and religious liberty, to obtain freedom of opinion and of the press, guaranteed by constitutional law, cost thousands, yea, tens of thousands of valuable lives. And let them not be parted with, at least, for less than cost. We covet not the loss of property nor the honours of martyrdom; but better, far better, that the office of the 'Observer' should be scattered in fragments to the four winds of heaven; yea, better that editor, printer, and publishers, should be chained to the same tree as McIntosh, and share his fate, than that the doctrines promulgated by Judge Lawless from the bench, should become prevalent in this community. For they are subversive of all law, and at once open the door for the perpetration, be a congregated mob, calling themselves the people, of every species of violence, and that too with perfect impunity. Society is resolved into its first elements, and every man must hold his property and his life, at the point of the dagger."

"Having traveled somewhat extensively of late, we have had opportunity of learning the impression made abroad by recent occurrences in this city. And we know that the feeling excited by this charge of Judge Lawless, is far more unfavourable than that consequent upon the burning of McIntosh. For that, say they, was the act of an excited mob, but here is the Judge on his bench, in effect sanctioning it!!"

"The subject grows upon our hands, but we forbear. We again repeat that we have had no wish in all we have said, to injure the reputation of Judge Lawless. The subject is one altogether too important to allow personal feelings to enter into the discussion of it, either one way or the other. For all that part of his charge where an attempt is made to identify the 'Observer' with Abolitionism, and then charge upon that the McIntosh tragedy, the Judge is perfectly sincere in the expression of this opinion. And the ignorance and prejudice which could lead to such an expression of opinion, however censurable in the Judge is still more pitiable in the man. Of this part of the charge, Charles Hammond, Esq. of the Cincinnati Gazette says, "It is as fanatical as the highest state of Abolition fanaticism can be." "

Elijah Lovejoy's editorials became so strong against slavery that he became an object of hatred by both Southerners and slave-holders. His press was wrecked by a mob in July, 1836.

He purchased a second press and decided to move his paper across the Mississippi to Alton, Illinois.

In 1836, Elijah Lovejoy moved with his family across the river and the next year founded the "Alton Observer". Even though it was in a free state, Alton was also a center for slave catchers trying to capture escaped slaves and for other pro-slavery forces. Alton had also been largely settled by southerners.

College Avenue Presbyterian Church

In Alton, Elijah Lovejoy became the Stated Clerk of the Presbytery in 1837. and the first pastor of the present College Avenue Presbyterian Church. In the begining, the majority of Alton citizens welcomed the arrival of "The Observer". They believed a well-edited, religious newspaper could help the growing city’s national reputation. However, they wanted to hear from Elijah Lovejoy that he would not provoke any kind of controversy in their town, They didn't want him to write about the things that he did while he was in St. Louis.

At a public meeting, te Reverand Elijah Lovejoy assured the crowd that he did not plan to publish as much about slavery because he was now living in a free state. He said the paper would revert back to its roots and concentrate on religious editorials. He did, however, make it quite clear that he reserved the right to set any editorial policy he saw fit, whether that included the slavery issue or not.

He actively supported the organization of the Ant-slavery Society of Illinois, which did not please some of the Alton citizens.

Though Illinois had been a free state since the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, there were pro-slavery aggressors who still plagued Elijah Lovejoy. On July 6, 1837, he published another editorial that again condemned slavery. That night, his printing press was destroyed. He bought a third printing press. It too, was very quickly destroyed.

In a letter to his brother, Joseph Lovejoy, Elijah Lovejoy wrote: "The Observer had been muzzled by the original proprietors. A communication had been sent to me signed by them and by my friend, Mr. Potts, requesting me to say no more on the subject of Slavery. I was accused, by name, in one of the city papers of being an abolitionist in the bitterest manner and the public vengeance's invoked [sic] upon me."

He continued writing and publishing "The Alton Observer" even after three presses had been destroyed and thrown into the Mississippi River.

Elijah Lovejoy wrote in his newspaper: "We distinctly avow it to be our settled purpose, never, while life lasts, to yield to this new system of attempting to destroy, by means of mob violence, the right of conscience, the freedom of opinion, and of the press."

Alton had no police force, but a volunteer militia of sixty men, who were opposed to mob violence, was formed to protect Elijah Lovejoy's next printing press. They acted under the authority and direction of the Alton mayor. The new printing press arrived at the warehouse on November 6, 1837. There was no disturbance that night.

The following night, November 7, only twenty men remained around the warehouse containing the printing press. At about 10 p.m., a mob arrived at the warehouse. They were armed with stones, shotguns, rifles and pistols. The angry mob demanded that they be given the printing press.

"Sir, I dare not flee away from Alton... No sir, the contest has commenced here; and here it must be finished. Before God and you all, I here pledge myself to continue it, if need be, till death. If I fall, my grave shall be made in Alton." - Elijah Lovejoy.

According to "The Alton Observer", the mob fired shots into the warehouse. When Elijah Lovejoy and his 20 militia men returned fire, they hit several people in the crowd. A man by the name of Bishop was killed.

The mayor of Alton ordered the mob to disperse, but he was jeared and mocked for his efforts.

The mob leaders set up a ladder against the warehouse. They then sent a boy up the ladder, with a torch to set fire to the wooden roof. Elijah Lovejoy and with the support of Royal Weller, went outside and surprised the pro-slavery mob. They pushed over the ladder and quickly retreated back inside the warehouse. The mob put up the ladder again. When Elijah Lovejoy and Royal Weller went out again to overturn it, they were spotted and shot. Elijah Lovejoy was hit with slugs from a doule-barrled shotgun and died immediately. It was later determined that he was hit with 5 slugs. Royal Weller was also wounded.

The last of the militia group who had been guarding the warehouse ran from a final volley of buckshot, to the safety of the river . The victorious mob from Alton, calmly entered the building, walked past the dead body of Elijah Lovejoy, and began the dismantling of his last printing press. Quietly and without celebration, they went about the task of destroying the last of the abolitionist voice in Alton. Several men hoisted the press up to a third floor window and dropped it to the street below.

The mob members on the street picked up up the fallen pieces of the press, and dragged them to the steamboat landing along the Mississippi River. There hammers were used ito smash the parts of the printing press, beyond recognition. Eyewitnesses described the behavior of the group as orderly, although they appeared to be enjoying the final act of destruction. By midnight, the entire tragic incident had become a part of American history.

Later the next day,, after friends had recovered Elijah Lovejoy's body from the warehouse floor, the funeral wagon passed through the streets of Alton to take him home to his wife and two small children. Some onlookers laughed and jeered as the coffin passed through their midst.

Elijah Lovejoy's body was then buried on November 9, 1837 (the day that would have been his 35th birthday) in an unmarked grave in the Alton City Cemetery, the location known by a black man, William "Scotch" Johnston, who assisted in the burial." (Account of the evening as reported by the Alton Observer).

This same man who was so despised by pro-slavers that lived in Alton, was called, a year later, by former president John Quincy Adams, as "the first American Martyr to the Freedom of the Press, and the Freedom of the Slave." That is an assessment that is now shared by most Americans who have taken the time to study about his life.

Years later, through the generosity of Thomas Dimmock, Elijah Lovejoy's body was exhumed and reinterred at the present site,
in Alton Cemetery. Some of his supporters would be later buried near him. Thomas Dimmock also purchased the small but appropriate marble scroll which marks the grave on which is inscribed the Latin words which translates to English: "Here lies Lovejoy - Spare him now the grave." He also purchased the New England granite block beneath the scroll and the wall which encloses the grave site.

Those in St. Louis and Alton who had opposed the ideas of Elijah Lovejoy, thought that he had finally been silenced. Most never realized that the spirit and convictions of Elijah Lovejoy were not so easily silenced. They were repetedly printed and reprintd in newspapers around the country. Men were motivated to speak out and support those who were against America's curse of slavery.

The killing of Elijah Lovejoy became widely known throughout the country.

At a church memorial service for Elijah Lovejoy that was held in Hudson, Ohio, John Brown rose from his seat in church and after raising his right hand, he issued this vow: "Here before God, in the presence of these witnesses, I consecrate my life to the destruction of slavery." Thus, John Brown would begin a journey that would end at Harper's Ferry and immortality.

John Quincy Adams said it had given "a shock as of an earthquake throughout this continent, which will be felt in the most distant regions of the earth."

After Elijah Lovejoy's death, the city of Alton struggled with its new image it had, as a home to lawless mobs.

Ironically, the lucrative Mississippi River boat traffic business moved a few miles south to St. Louis, which was just as lawless. The loss of revenue to the city of Alton was great.

Twenty-eight year old State Representative Abraham Lincoln stated publicly: "Let every man remember that to violate the law, is to trample on the blood of his father, and to tear the charter of his own, and his children's liberty. Let reverence for the laws be breathed by every American mother... in short let it become the political religion of the nation".

Indicted for crimes of Riot were: Winthrop S. Gilman, Enoch Long, Amos B. Roff, George H. Walworth, George Whitney, William Harned, John S. Noble, James Morse, Jr., Henry Tanner, Royal Weller, Rueben Gerry, Thaddeus B. Hurlbut, John Solomon, Levi Palmer, Horace Beall, Josiah Nutter, Jacob Smith, David Butler, William Carr, James M. Rock, Dr. James Jennings, Solomon Morgan and Frederick Bruchy.

Francis Butter Murdoch, the district attorney of Alton, prosecuted Lovejoy's murder case, but no one was ever convicted.

It was widely believed by many who had the best opportunities for knowing. that Rev. Elijah Lovejoy was killed by Dr. James Jennings. It was later said, that James Jennings, was "cut to pieces" and died in a bowie knife fight in a Vicksburg bar room several years later.

Elijah Lovejoy was considered a martyr by the abolition movement. In his name, his brother Owen Lovejoy became the leader of the Illinois abolitionists. Owen and his brother Joseph wrote a memoir about Elijah, which they published in 1838, by the Anti-Slavery Society in New York. The memoir was distributed widely among abolitionists throughout the nation.

***

One of the most committed and outspoken abolitionists to achieve national prominence after the death of Elijah Lovejoy, was his younger brother, Owen. Owen Lovejoy's presence in Alton the night his brother was killed inspired him to continue the work of his older brother. On the day of Elijah Lovejoy's funeral, Owen knelt next to the body, in prayer, and vowed, "I shall never forsake the cause that has been sprinkled with my brother's blood."

Owen Lovejoy's was born in 1811. He was nine years younger than Elijah. As a child, Owen looked up to his older brother and tried to emulate his intellectual nature. Elijah had helped teach his younger brother from the Latin classics when he returned home on breaks from Colby College. Owen made his own mark in the academic world by enrolling in Bowdoin College in 1830. Like his older brother, Owen Lovejoy supported himself and paid for his schooling by teaching school. After their father's death in 1833, Owen Lovejoy left school and returned home.

Owen and John Lovejoy joined Elijah in the St. Louis in 1836. John Lovejoy knew the printing trade and worked for "The Observer". Both brothers took part in organizing the state antislavery society, and encouraged their brother Elijah not to leave Alton.

In 1838, Owen and brother Joseph gained a commission from the American Anti-Slavery Society to publish a memorial volume of their brother's work. The book highlighted Elijah's life and showed the American people how dedicated he was to his abolitionist and religious beliefs. After the completion of the book by the printers, Owen felt the need to return to the west. He heard offers to become an agent in Illinois for the American Anti-Slavery Society, but he aspired to be ordained by the Episcopal convention. Owen, however, never preached for this church, because he refused to sign a pledge from the bishop saying that he would not discuss the subject of abolition from the pulpit.

A recommendation from Rev. Edward Beecher, sent Owen Lovejoy Lovejoy to Princeton, Illinois, in order to relieve an ill pastor. As a religious leader, he used his public status to publicly speak out against slavery. The small community did not initially accept these radical doctrines openly. Owen Lovejoy received several threats of violence, but he refused to back down from the pledge he made at his brother's funeral. Owen Lovejoy's house became one of the busiest stops in Illinois, along the Underground Railroad. He and his wife actively aided runaway slaves. who were attempting to make their way north to freedom.

Pro-slavery elements in Illinois, attempted to break the influence of the Underground Railroad in Princeton by bringing formal charges against Owen Lovejoy in 1843. He was indicted by a grand jury in May and made to stand trial for harboring fugitive slaves in October. Owen Lovejoy and his lawyer argued that since the owner had willingly brought the slaves into the free territory of Illinois, they became free when they touched Illinois soil. They based it on the laws created by the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, and the state constitution, Owen Lovejoy achieved an acquittal.

Owen Lovejoy later took his antislavery views to the United States House of Representatives. He was elected to this office as a representative of the Third Congressional District of Illinois in 1856 and 1858.

Owen Lovejoy became instrumental in the creation of the Republican Party in Illinois, although his abolitionist views helped to label Owen Lovejoy as one of the so called Radical Republicans.

Although their views on slavery differed considerably, Owen Lovejoy supported Abraham Lincoln both in the famous Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858, and the Presidential election of 1860.

Owen Lovejoy died in Brooklyn, New York, on March 25, 1864. Owen Lovejoy did not live to see the introduction of the Thirteenth Amendment to Congress, it occurred two weeks after his death.

A letter from President Abraham Lincoln summed up both the private and public life of Owen Lovejoy: "My personal acquaintance with him commenced only about ten years ago, since when it has been quite intimate; and every step in it has been one of increasing respect and esteem, ending, with his life, in no less than affection on my part. It can be truly said of him that while he was personally ambitious, he bravely endured the obscurity which the unpopularity of his principles imposed, and never accepted official honors, until those honors were ready to admit his principles with him.

Throughout my heavy, and perplexing responsibilities here, to the day of his death, it would scarcely wrong any other to say, he was my most generous friend. Let him have the marble monument, along with the well-assured and more enduring one in the hearts of those who love liberty, unselfishly, for all men."

***

Joseph P. and Owen Lovejoy -

The Martyrdom of Lovejoy,
An Account of the Life, Trials,
and Perils of Rev. Elijah P. Lovejoy
(1838)

On November 2, 1837, five days before his death, Elijah Lovejoy had given the following speech in Alton on the slavery question.

"It is not true, as has been charged upon me, that I hold in contempt the feelings and sentiments of this community, in reference to the question which is now agitating it. I respect and appreciate the feelings and opinions of my fellow citizens, and it is one of the most painful and unpleasant duties of my life, that I am called upon to act in opposition to them. If you suppose, sir, that I have published sentiments contrary to those generally held in this community, because I delighted in differing from them, or in occasioning a disturbance, you have entirely misapprehended me. But, sir, while I value the good opinion of my fellow-citizens, as highly as any one, I may be permitted to say, that I am governed by higher considerations than either the favor or the fear of man. I am impelled to the course I have taken, because I fear God. As I shall answer it to my God in the great day, I dare not abandon my sentiments, or cease in all proper ways to propagate them."

"I, Mr. Chairman, have not desired, or asked any compromise. I have asked for nothing but to be protected in my rights as a citizen--rights which God has given me, and which are guaranteed to me by the constitution of my country. Have I, sir, been guilty of any infraction of the laws? Whose good name have I injured? When, and where, have I published any thing injurious to the reputation of Alton?"

"Have I not, on the other hand, labored, in common with the rest of my fellow-citizens, to promote the reputation and interests of this City? What, sir, I ask, has been my offence? [sic] Put your finger upon it -- define it -- and I stand ready to answer for it. If I have committed any crime, you can easily convict me. You have public sentiment in your favor. You have [your] juries, and you have your attorney [looking at the attorney-general], and I have no doubt you can convict me. But if I have been guilty of no violation of law, why am I hunted up and down continually like a partridge upon the mountains? Why am I threatened with the tar-barrel? Why am I waylaid every day, and from night to night, and my life in jeopardy every hour?

"You have, sir, made up, as the lawyers say, a false issue; there are not two parties between whom there can be a compromise. I plant myself, sir, down on my unquestionable rights, and the question to be decided is, whether I shall be protected in the exercise and enjoyment of those rights,--that is the question, sir; -- whether my property shall be protected; whether I shall be suffered to go home to my family at night without being assailed, and threatened with tar and feathers, and assassination; whether my afflicted wife, whose life has been in jeopardy, from continued alarm and excitement, shall, night after night, be driven from a sick-bed into the garret, to save her life from the brick-brats and violence of the mobs; that, sir, is the question." [Here, he reportedly broke into tears, then continued.]

"Forgive me, sir, that I have thus betrayed my weakness. It was the allusion to my family that overcame my feelings. Not, sir, I assure you, from any fears on my part. I have no personal fears. Not that I feel able to contest the matter with the whole community; I know perfectly well I am not. I know, sir, you can tar and feather me, hang me up, or put me into the Mississippi, without the least difficulty. But what then? Where shall I go? I have been made to feel that if I am not safe at Alton, I shall not be safe anywhere. I recently visited St. Charles to bring home my family, and was torn from their frantic embrace by a mob. I have been beset night and day at Alton. And now, if I leave here and go elsewhere, violence may overtake me in my retreat, and I have no more claim upon the protection of any other community than I have upon this; and I have concluded, after consultation with my friends, and earnestly seeking counsel of God, to remain at Alton, and here to insist on protection in the exercise of my rights. If the civil authorities refuse to protect me, I must look to God; and if I die, I have determined to make my grave in Alton."

***

In 1897, sixty years after the tragedy, Alton erected a monument over his grave.

The monument (110 feet tall) consists of a 93 foot tall main shaft topped by a 17 foot tall winged statue of victory, which stands over 300 feet above the Mississippi river below. There two side mounted by eagles, as well as two bronze lion chalice statures, and a stone whispering wall bench that wraps all the way around the central spire. The whispering wall allows you to hear someone whispering completely out of sight on its opposite side of the monument.

The four sides of the central spire's pedestal contain quotes by Elijah Lovejoy. The focusf on each aspect of his life:

Because the monument is based on the top of the river bluffs, it is easily seen from a distance, even when you are crossing the bridge over the Mississippi river, from Missouri into Illinois.

In Gratitude To God,
And In The Love Of Liberty,

The State Of Illinois And Citizens of Alton,

Erect This Monument,

1896-7.

By the steps are two granite sentinel columns 30 feet high mounted by bronze eagles eight feet over the wings. On each side of the die is a bronzed panel, four in all, devoted to excerpts from the life of Elijah P. Lovejoy.

Monument Inscriptions

The program for the dedication of the Lovejoy monument indicates that the original idea of the monument association was to let Lovejoy speak for himself in his three occupations of editor, minister, and opponent of slavery. Accordingly, a writing from each capacity was placed on three of the four sides of the monument base.

A fourth inscription honors the men who helped to defend the warehouse and press the night that Elijah Lovejoy was killed.

On The South Front

Elijah P. Lovejoy,

Editor Alton Observer,

Albion, Maine, Nov. 8, 1802

Alton, Ill., Nov. 7, 1837.

A Martyr to Liberty.

"I have sworn eternal opposition to slavery, and by the blessing of God, I will never go back."

***

On The North Front

Champion of Free Speech.

"But, gentlemen, as long as I am an American citizen, and as long as American blood runs in these veins, I shall hold myself at liberty to speak, to write, to publish whatever I please on any subject--being amenable to the laws of my country for the same."

***

On The West Front

Salve, Victores!

This monument commemorates the valor, devotion and sacrifice of the noble Defenders of the Press, who, in this city, on Nov. 7, 1837, made the first armed resistance to the aggressions of the slave power in America.

***

On The East Front

Minister of the Gospel.

Moderator of Alton Presbytery,

"If the laws of my country fail to protect me I appeal to God, and with him I cheerfully rest my cause. I can die at my post but I cannot desert it."

***

Beautification and Rededication of the Lovejoy Monument

In 1969, a local civic group in Alton took over the responsibility of urging the State of Illinois to renovate the Lovejoy Monument and encourage the city of Alton, Alton Cemetery Board of Directors, and people living in the immediate area to participate in beautification programs around the grounds. The monument and the grave site of Elijah Lovejoy each received a thorough cleaning, and a large rededication ceremony was held on the grounds of the cemetery.

Second Rededication Ceremony

On November 8, 1997, a group of about 200 people met at the sight of the Lovejoy Monument in Alton to again rededicate the memory of Reverend Elijah Lovejoy. Speaker and Alton Township supervisor Donald Huber remembered Lovejoy by quoting from former Illinois Senator Paul Simon's book Elijah P. Lovejoy: Freedom's Champion. The keynote speaker was the Reverend George Humbert, pastor of College Avenue Presbyterian Church, the very same ministry that Elijah Lovejoy served over 160 years before. Newspaper reports mentioned the musical highlight of the ceremony was Doris Frazier singing "The Battle Hymn of the Republic".

HONORS

    1838, his brothers Joseph P. and Owen Lovejoy wrote a memoir about him and his defense of the free press, which they published in New York, under the title: Memoir of the Rev. Elijah P. Lovejoy: Who was Murdered in Defence of the Liberty of the Press at Alton, Illinois, Nov. 7, 1837

    In 1897, Alton citizens erected a monument to Elijah Lovejoy at the cemetery.

    The majority African-American village of Brooklyn, Illinois, located just north of East St. Louis, is popularly known as Lovejoy in his honor.

    The Lovejoy Library at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville is named in his honor; some had proposed naming the university after him.

    The Elijah Parish Lovejoy Award was established by Colby College in his honor, and is awarded annually to a member of the newspaper profession who "has contributed to the nation's journalistic achievement." A major classroom building at Colby is also named for Lovejoy.

    Elijah Lovejoy is recognized by a star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame along Delmar Boulevard.

    In 2003 Reed College established the Elijah Parish and Owen Lovejoy Scholarship, which it awards annually.

Thomas Dimmock,

Dedication of the Lovejoy Monument,

November 8, 1898

"But his spirit, 'the vital spark of heavenly flame' that made him what he was, still lives and breathes and burns - not only here among us today, but wherever his story has been told the wide world over. And so it must always be - as long as unselfish and heroic manhood is recognized and appreciated on this earth."

Coal Mining In America

2011-12-12T21:43:00.007-05:00

Coal Mining In America

From its very inception, Coal Mining in America was and is a hard, dirty, and very often, a dangerous job. Injuries or death, due to cave ins or explosions have always been a constant threat... every day... every moment.

Coal miners face daily dangers and hardships that the rest of the American public would not tolerate in their daily lives.

The earliest known use of coal in the Americas was by the Aztecs who used coal for fuel.

Due to its abundance, coal has been mined in various parts of the world throughout history and continues to be an important economic activity today. Compared to wood fuels, coal yields a higher amount of energy per mass and could be obtained in areas where wood is not readily available. Historically coal was used as a means of household heating and the making of coke for the steel industry.. Today,coal is now mostly used in smelting and alloy production, as well as electricity generation.

I am making this post as a remembrance and tribute to my grandfather Andrew Boyle who went into the mines when he was nine years old and dug coal for the next 56 years and every other man or boy (from anyplace in the world) who made the journey underground to mine coal.

It is also a recognition of the (every profane name you can think of) mine owners and operators that killed so many thousands of coal miners.

In 1959, the owners of the Knox Mine in Pennsylvania, got greedy and had workers dig within 5-6 feet of the Susquehanna’s river bed (30 feet is the normal stopping distance). The river broke through the thin rock layer and immediately began to flood the mines. Luckily, most of the miners managed to escape, but the twelve miners who didn’t escape were never found. Water poured into the mine so rapidly that a whirlpool was visible on the river’s surface. Anything within reach was thrown into the river in attempts to plug up the hole. They included mining carts.

Today, a small marker can be found along a hiking trail in Pittston, Pennsylvania, memorializing the disaster and those who were never found. Farther up the trail is another marker, indicating an air shaft through which nearly half the escapees used to get out of the mine.

The nation's Single Deadiest Mining Disaster was in 1907, when 362 coal miners were killed in an explosion near Monongah, West Virginia.

The Monongah mine explosion occurred on December 6, 1907 at Monongah, West Virginia. The blast spread through two of Fairmont Coal Company's mines, No. 6 and No. 8, connected underground. At 10:30 a.m., "the earth shook as far as eight miles away, shattering buildings and pavement, hurling people and horses violently to the ground, and knocking streetcars off their rails".

As we examine the numbers, let us remember that they represent men and boys who were fathers, husbands, and sons.

The nation's single Deathliest Mining Disaster was in 1907, when 362 men and boys were killed in an explosion near Monongah, West Virginia.

The following is the official total number of coal miners in the United States coal mines and the number who were killed in those coal mines. The years are from when they began to keep account in 1900 until now.

1900 employed 448,581     number of fatalities   1,489
1901 employed 485,544     number of fatalities   1,574
1902 employed 518,197     number of fatalities   1,724
1903 employed 566,260     number of fatalities   1,926
1904 employed 593,693     number of fatalities   1,995
1905 employed 626,045     number of fatalities   2,232
1906 employed 640,780     number of fatalities   2,138
1907 employed 680,492     number of fatalities   3,242
1908 employed 690,438     number of fatalities   2,445
1909 employed 666,552     number of fatalities   2,642
1910 employed 725,030     number of fatalities   2,821
1911 employed 728,348     number of fatalities   2,656
1912 employed 722,662     number of fatalities   2,419
1913 employed 747,644     number of fatalities   2,785
1914 employed 763,185     number of fatalities   2,454
1915 employed 734,008     number of fatalities   2,269
1916 employed 720,971     number of fatalities   2,226
1917 employed 757,317     number of fatalities   2,696
1918 employed 762,426     number of fatalities   2,580
1919 employed 776,569     number of fatalities   2,323
1920 employed 784,621     number of fatalities   2,272
1921 employed 823,253     number of fatalities   1,995
1922 employed 844,807     number of fatalities   1,984
1923 employed 862,536     number of fatalities   2,462
1924 employed 779,613     number of fatalities   2,402
1925 employed 748,805     number of fatalities   2,518
1926 employed 759,033     number of fatalities   2,234
1927 employed 759,177     number of fatalities   2,231
1928 employed 682,831     number of fatalities   2,176
1929 employed 654,494     number of fatalities   2,187
1930 employed 644,006     number of fatalities   2,063
1931 employed 589,705     number of fatalities   1,463
1932 employed 527,623     number of fatalities   1,207
1933 employed 523,182     number of fatalities   1,064
1934 employed 566,426     number of fatalities   1,226
1935 employed 565,202     number of fatalities   1,242
1936 employed 584,582     number of fatalities   1,342
1937 employed 589,856     number of fatalities   1,413
1938 employed 541,528     number of fatalities   1,105
1939 employed 539,375     number of fatalities   1,078
1940 employed 533,267     number of fatalities   1,388
1941 employed 546,692     number of fatalities   1,266
1942 employed 530,861     number of fatalities   1,471
1943 employed 486,516     number of fatalities   1,451
1944 employed 453,937     number of fatalities   1,298
1945 employed 437,921     number of fatalities   1,068
1946 employed 463,079     number of fatalities     968
1947 employed 490,356     number of fatalities   1,158
1948 employed 507,333     number of fatalities     999
1949 employed 485,306     number of fatalities     585
1950 employed 483,239     number of fatalities     643
1951 employed 441,905     number of fatalities     785
1952 employed 401,329     number of fatalities     548
1953 employed 351,126     number of fatalities     461
1954 employed 283,705     number of fatalities     396
1955 employed 260,089     number of fatalities     420
1956 employed 260,285     number of fatalities     448
1957 employed 254,725     number of fatalities     478
1958 employed 224,890     number of fatalities     358
1959 employed 203,597     number of fatalities     293
1960 employed 189,679     number of fatalities     325
1961 employed 167,568     number of fatalities     294
1962 employed 161,286     number of fatalities     289
1963 employed 157,126     number of fatalities     284
1964 employed 150,761     number of fatalities     242
1965 employed 148,734     number of fatalities     259
1966 employed 145,244     number of fatalities     233
1967 employed 139,312     number of fatalities     222
1968 employed 134,467     number of fatalities     311
1969 employed 133,302     number of fatalities     203
1970 employed 144,480     number of fatalities     260
1971 employed 142,108     number of fatalities     181
1972 employed 162,207     number of fatalities     156
1973 employed 151,892     number of fatalities     132
1974 employed 182,274     number of fatalities     133
1975 employed 224,412     number of fatalities     155
1976 employed 221,255     number of fatalities     141
1977 employed 237,506     number of fatalities     139
1978 employed 255,588     number of fatalities     106
1979 employed 260,429     number of fatalities     144
1980 employed 253,007     number of fatalities     133
1981 employed 249,738     number of fatalities     153
1982 employed 241,454     number of fatalities     122
1983 employed 200,199     number of fatalities      70
1984 employed 208,160     number of fatalities     125
1985 employed 197,049     number of fatalities      68
1986 employed 185,167     number of fatalities      89
1987 employed 172,780     number of fatalities      63
1988 employed 166,278     number of fatalities      53
1989 employed 164,929     number of fatalities      68
1990 employed 168,625     number of fatalities      66
1991 employed 158,677     number of fatalities      61
1992 employed 153,128     number of fatalities      55
1993 employed 141,183     number of fatalities      47
1994 employed 143,645     number of fatalities      45
1995 employed 132,111     number of fatalities      47
1996 employed 126,451     number of fatalities      39
1997 employed 126,429     number of fatalities      30
1998 employed 122,083     number of fatalities      29
1999 employed 114,489     number of fatalities      35
2000 employed 108,098     number of fatalities      38
2001 employed 114,458     number of fatalities      42
2002 employed 110,966     number of fatalities      28
2003 employed 104,824     number of fatalities      30
2004 employed 108,734     number of fatalities      28
2005 employed 116,436     number of fatalities      23
2006 employed 122,975     number of fatalities      47
2007 employed 122,936     number of fatalities      34
2008 employed 133,827     number of fatalities      30
2009 employed 133,433     number of fatalities      18
2010 employed 129,631     number of fatalities      48

The Price Of Coal

Mine Disasters that had 5 or more Deaths

03/18/1839 - Black Heath -
Richmond, Virginia 53 Deaths Explosion
06/15/1844 - Black Heath -
Richmond, Virginia 11 Deaths Explosion
01/12/1846 - No. 1 -
Carbondale, Pennsylvania 14 Deaths Cave-in
02/19/1847 - Spencer -
Pottsville, Pennsylvania 7 Deaths Explosion
11/30/1850 - Cox's Pit, Clover Hill -
Winterpock, Virginia 7 Deaths Explosion
05/15/1854 - Chesterfield -
New Richmond, Virginia 20 Deaths Explosion
03/19/1855 - Midlothian -
Coalfield, Virginia 55 Deaths Explosion
04/13/1859 - Bright Hope -
Winterpock, Virginia 9 Deaths Explosion
11/30/1863 - Raccoon, Clover Hill -
Winterpock, Virginia 17 Deaths Explosion
04/03/1867 - Bright Hope -
Winterpock, Virginia 69 Deaths Explosion
09/06/1869 - Avondale -
Plymouth, Pennsylvania 110 Deaths Fire
03/22/1870 - Potts -
Locustdale, Pennsylvania 5 Deaths Explosion
08/10/1870 - Heins & Glassmire -
Middleport, Pennsylvania 9 Deaths Cage fall (shaft)
08/29/1870 - Preston No. 3 -
Girardville, Pennsylvania 7 Deaths Cage fall (shaft)
05/27/1871 - West Pittston -
West Pittston, Pennsylvania 20 Deaths Smoke
08/14/1871 - Eagle Shaft -
Pittston, Pennsylvania 17 Deaths Explosion
10/02/1871 - Otto Red Ash -
Branch Dale, Pennsylvania 5 Deaths Explosion
07/03/1872 - Atwater Slope -
Atwater Township,Ohio 10 Deaths Fire
06/10/1873 - Henry Clay -
Shamokin, Pennsylvania 10 Deaths Fire
05/20/1876 - Midlothian -
Coalfield, Virginia 8 Deaths Fire
07/24/1876 - Black Diamond -
Nortonville, California 6 Deaths Fire
05/09/1877 - Wadesville -
Wadesville, Pennsylvania 7 Deaths Explosion
07/11/1877 - Brookfield -
Brookfield, Ohio 7 Deaths Suffocation
01/15/1878 - Potts -
Locust Dale, Pennsylvania 5 Deaths Explosion
11/21/1878 - Sullivan -
Sullivan, Indiana 8 Deaths Explosion
05/06/1879 - Audenried -
Audenried, Pennsylvania 6 Deaths Explosion
11/02/1879 - Mill Creek -
Mill Creek, Pennsylvania 5 Deaths Explosion
03/05/1880 - No. 2 Shaft -
Nanticoke, Pennsylvania 6 Deaths Explosion
05/03/1880 - Lykens Valley -
Shamokin, Pennsylvania 5 Deaths Explosion
02/10/1881 - Robbins -
Robbins, Ohio 6 Deaths Explosion
03/04/1881 - Almy -
Almy, Wyoming 38 Deaths Explosion
02/03/1882 - Midlothian -
Coalfield, Virginia 32 Deaths Explosion
05/24/1882 - Kohinoor -
Shenandoah, Pennsylvania 5 Deaths Explosion
01/09/1883 - Coulterville -
Coulterville, Illinois 10 Deaths Explosion
02/16/1883 - Diamond -
Braidwood, Illinois 69 Deaths Inrush of water
01/24/1884 - Crested Butte -
Crested Butte, Colorado 59 Deaths Explosion
02/20/1884 - West Leisenring -
West Leisenring, Pennsylvania 19 Deaths Explosion
03/13/1884 - Laure -
Pocahontas, Virginia 112 Deaths Explosion
08/21/1884 - Buck Ridge -
Shamokin, Pennsylvania 7 Deaths Fire
10/27/1884 - Youngstown -
Uniontown, Pennsylvania 14 Deaths Explosion
04/06/1885 - Cuyler -
Raven Run, Pennsylvania 10 Deaths Roof fall
08/11/1885 - West End -
Mocanaqua, Pennsylvania    10 Deaths Gas/boiler fire
10/21/1885 - Plymouth No. 2 -
Plymouth, Pennsylvania 6 Deaths Explosion
12/18/1885 - Slope No. 1 -
Nanticoke, Pennsylvania 26 Deaths Inrush of water
01/12/1886 - Almy No. 4 -
Almy, Wyoming 13 Deaths Explosion
01/21/1886 - Newburg -
Newburg, W est Virginia    39 Deaths Explosion
03/08/1886 - Uniondale -
Dunbar, Pennsylvania 6 Deaths Explosion
08/30/1886 - Fair Lawn -
Scranton, Pennsylvania    6 Deaths Explosion
09/13/1886 - Marvine -
Scranton, Pennsylvania 8 Deaths Suffocated by gas
11/26/1886 - Conyngham -
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania 12 Deaths Explosion
04/04/1887 - Old Savanna No. 2 -
Savanna, Oklahoma 18 Deaths Explosion
04/27/1887 - Tunnel -
Ashland, Pennsylvania 5 Deaths Suffocated by gas
10/01/1887 - Bast -
Ashland, Pennsylvania 5 Deaths Suffocated by gas
03/29/1888 - Keith & Perry No. 6 -
Rich Hill, Missouri 24 Deaths Explosion
11/03/1888 - Kettle Creek -
Clinton Co., Pennsylvania 17 Deaths Explosion
11/09/1888 - Shaft No. 2 -
Frontenac, Kansas 40 Deaths Explosion
05/09/1889 - Kaska William -
Middleport, Pennsylvania 10 Deaths Mine car fell on men in cage
09/09/1889 - White Ash -
Golden, Colorado 10 Deaths Inrush of water
02/01/1890 - Nottingham -
Plymouth, Pennsylvania 8 Deaths Explosion
03/03/1890 - Shaft No. 3 -
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania 8 Deaths Fire
04/02/1890 - Susquehanna No. 4 -
Nanticoke, Pennsylvania 5 Deaths Explosion
05/15/1890 - Jersey No. 8 -
Ashley, Pennsylvania 26 Deaths Explosion
06/16/1890 - Hill Farm -
Dunbar, Pennsylvania 31 Deaths Fire
01/27/1891 - Mammouth -
Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania 109 Deaths Explosion
02/04/1891 - Spring Mountain -
Jeanesville, Pennsylvania 9 Deaths Inrush of water
05/22/1891 - Pratt No. 1 Shaft -
Pratt City, Alabama 11 Deaths Explosion
10/23/1891 - Richardson -
Glen Carbon, Pennsylvania 7 Deaths Suffocation by gas
11/08/1891 - Susquehanna No. 1 -
Nanticoke, Pennsylvania 12 Deaths Explosion
01/07/1892 - No. 11 - Krebs,
Oklahoma 100 Deaths Explosion
04/20/1892 - Lytle -
Minersville, Pennsylvania 10 Deaths Inrush of water
05/10/1892 - Roslyn -
Roslyn, Washington 45 Deaths Explosion
07/23/1892 - York Farm -
Pottsville, Pennsylvania 15 Deaths Explosion
01/10/1893 - Como -
King, Colorado 24 Deaths Explosion
02/14/1893 - Chicago and Iowa -
Albia,    Iowa 8 Deaths Explosion
03/13/1893 - Choctaw -
Alderson, Oklahoma 9 Deaths Explosion
04/01/1893 - Neilson -
Shamokin, Pennsylvania 10 Deaths Fire
06/22/1893 - Susquehanna No. 1 -
Nanticoke, Pennsylvania 5 Deaths Explosion
09/21/1893 - Lance No. 11 -
Plymouth, Pennsylvania 6 Deaths Explosion
02/13/1894 - Gaylord -
Plymouth, Pennsylvania 13 Deaths Roof fall
07/17/1894 - West Slope No. 1 -
Stockton, Pennsylvania    8 Deaths Dynamite explosion
08/24/1894 - Franklin -
Franklin, Washington 37 Deaths Fire
10/08/1894 - Luke Fidler -
Shamokin, Pennsylvania 5 Deaths Fire
10/11/1894 - Henry Clay -
Shamokin, Pennsylvania 6 Deaths Boiler explosion
11/20/1894 - Blanche -
Standard, Washington 8 Deaths Explosion
01/22/1895 - Tate - Sturgis,
Kentucky 5 Deaths Powder explosion
02/18/1895 - West Bear Ridge -
Mahanoy Plane, Pennsylvania 5 Deaths Explosion
02/27/1895 - White Ash -
Cerrillos, New Mexico    24 Deaths Explosion
03/20/1895 - Red Canyon -
Red Canyon. Wyoming 62 Deaths Explosion
04/08/1895 - Blue Canyon -
Lake Whatcom, Washington 23 Deaths Explosion
10/07/1895 - Dorrance -
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania 7 Deaths Explosion
12/19/1895 - Cumnock -
Cumnock, North Carolina    39 Deaths Explosion
12/20/1895 - Nelson -
Dayton, Tennessee 28 Deaths Explosion
02/18/1896 - Vulcan -
New Castle, Colorado 49 Deaths Explosion
03/23/1896 - Berwind -
Dubois, Pennsylvania 13 Deaths Explosion
06/28/1896 - Twin Shaft -
Pittston, Pennsylvania 58 Deaths Roof fall
10/29/1896 - Shaft No. 3 -
South Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania 6 Deaths Explosion
12/26/1896 - Oswald -
Princeton, Indiana 7 Deaths Explosion
01/04/1897 - No. 1 -
Alderson, Oklahoma 5 Deaths Explosion
01/13/1897 - Wadesville -
Wadesville, Pennsylvania 5 Deaths Crosshed fell/shaft
03/04/1897 - Kansas & Texas No. 44 -
Huntington, Arizona 14 Deaths Explosion
09/03/1897 - Sunshine -
Sunshine, Colorado 12 Deaths Explosion
09/20/1897 - Belle Ellen -
Belle Ellen, Alabama 5 Deaths Fire
09/28/1897 - Jermyn No. 1 -
Rendham, Pennsylvania 5 Deaths Fire
10/30/1897 - Von Storch -
Scranton, Pennsylvania 6 Deaths Fire
03/19/1898 - No. 2 Slope -
Unknown Alabama 6 Deaths Explosion
05/26/1898 - Kaska Williams -
Middleport, Pennsylvania 6 Deaths Inrush of water
09/23/1898 - Umpire -
Brownsville, Pennsylvania 8 Deaths Explosion
10/01/1898 - Midvale -
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania 5 Deaths Fire
11/05/1898 - Exeter -
West Pittston, Pennsylvania 9 Deaths Cage accident
02/21/1899 - Blocton No. 2 -
Blocton, Alabama 5 Deaths Explosion
04/21/1899 - Cook & White -
Madrid, New Mexico 5 Deaths Explosion
05/23/1899 - Cumnock -
Cumnock, North Carolina 23 Deaths Explosion
07/24/1899 - Grindstone -
Grindstone, Pennsylvania 5 Deaths Explosion
12/09/1899 - Carbon Hill No. 7 -
Carbonado, Washington 31 Deaths Explosion

You'll Never Get Out Of Harlan Alive
written by Darrell Scott.

12/23/1899 - Sumner -
Sumner, Pennsylvania 19 Deaths Explosion
03/06/1900 - Red Ash -
Red Ash, West Virgnia 46 Death Explosion
05/01/1900 - Winter Quarters 1 & 4 -
Scofield, Utah 200 Deaths Explosion
05/23/1900 - Cumnock -
Cumnock, North Carolina    23 Deaths Explosion
08/21/1900 - Issaqua No. 4 -
Issaquah, Washington 5 Deaths Fire
11/09/1900 - Buck Mountain -
Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania 7 Deaths Explosion
02/25/1901 - Diamondville No. 1 -
Diamondville,    Wyhoming 26 Deaths Fire
04/29/1901 - McAlester No. 5 -
Alderson, Oklahoma 6 Deaths Explosion
05/15/1901 - Chatham -
Farmington, West Virginia 10 Deaths Explosion
05/27/1901 - Richland -
Dayton, Tennessee 20 Deaths Explosion
06/10/1901 - Port Royal No. 2 -
Port Royal, Pennsylvania 19 Deaths Explosion
09/16/1901 - Spring Gulch -
Spring Gulch, Colorado 6 Deaths Explosion
10/25/1901 - Buttonwood -
Plymouth, Pennsylvania 6 Deaths Explosion
10/26/1901 - Diamondville -
Diamondville, Wyoming 22 Deaths Explosion
11/14/1901 - Pocahontas -
Pocahontas, Virginia 17 Deaths Fires (11th & 14th)
12/28/1901 - No. 1 -
Hartshorne, Oklahoma 6 Deaths Haulage
01/13/1902 - Milby & Dow -
Dow, Oklahoma 10 Deaths Fire
01/24/1902 - Lost Creek No. 2 -
Oskaloosa, Iowa 20 Deaths Explosion
03/06/1902 - Catsburg -
Monongahela, Pennsylvania 5 Deaths Explosion
03/31/1902 - Nelson -
Dayton, Tennessee 16 Deaths Explosion
05/19/1902 - Fraterville -
Coal Creek, Tennessee 184 Deaths    Explosion
07/10/1902 - Rolling Mill -
Johnstown, Pennsylvania 112 Deaths Explosion
08/07/1902 - Bowen -
Bowen, Colorado 13 Deaths Explosion
09/15/1902 - Algoma No. 7 -
Algoma, West Virginia 17 Deaths Explosion
09/22/1902 - Stafford -
Stafford, West Virginia 6 Deaths Explosion
10/01/1902 - Lawson -
Black Diamond, Washington 11 Deaths Explosion
11/29/1902 - Luke Fidler -
Shamokin, Pennsylvania 7 Deaths Explosion
03/15/1903 - Cardiff -
Cardiff, Illinois 5 Deaths Explosion
03/23/1903 - Athens, No. 2 -
Athens, Illinois 6 Deaths Explosion
03/31/1903 - Sandoval -
Sandoval, Illinois 8 Deaths Explosion
04/12/1903 - Central Slope 77 -
Carbon,    Oklahoma 6 Deaths Explosion
06/19/1903 - Blossburg, No. 3 -
Blossburg, New Mexico 5 Deaths Explosion
06/30/1903 - Hanna, No. 1 -
Hanna, Wyoming 169 Deaths Explosion
11/20/1903 - Bonanza No. 20 -
Bonanza, Arizona 11 Deaths Explosion
11/21/1903 - Ferguson -
Connellsville, Pennsylvania 17   Deaths Explosion
01/25/1904 - Harwick -
Cheswick, Pennsylvania 179 Deaths Explosion
04/20/1904 - Stearns No. 5 -
Stearns, Kentucky 5 Deaths Explosion
05/05/1904 - Locust Gap -
Locust Gap, Pennsylvania 5 Deaths Fire
05/11/1904 - Big Muddy -
Herrin, Illinois 10 Deaths Explosion
10/28/1904 - Tercio -
Terico, Colorado 19 Deaths Explosion
11/02/1904 - Auchincloss -
Nanticoke, Pennsylvania 10 Deaths Haulage
12/04/1904 - Horton -
Horton, West Virginia 7 Deaths Fire
12/07/1904 - No. 5 -
Burnett, Washington 17 Deaths Explosion
01/16/1905 - No. 1 -
Decatur, Illinois 6 Deaths Fire
02/18/1905 - Lytle -
Minersville, Pennsylvania 5 Deaths Haulage
02/20/1905 - Virginia City -
Virginia City, Alabama 112 Deaths Explosion
02/26/1905 - Grapevine -
Wilcoe, West Virginia    6 Deaths Explosion
03/09/1905 - Clear Spring -
West Pittston, Pennsylvania 7 Deaths Haulage
03/18/1905 - Rush Run & Red Ash -
Red Ash, West Virginia 24 Deaths Explosions
03/22/1905 - Oswald -
Princeton, Indiana 9 Deaths Explosion
04/03/1905 - Zeigler -
Zeigler, Illinois 49 Deaths Explosion
04/20/1905 - Cabin Creek -
Kayford, West Virginia 6 Deaths Explosion
04/26/1905 - Conyngham -
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania 10 Deaths Haulage
04/27/1905 - Eleanora -
Dubois, Pennsylvania 13 Deaths Explosion
04/30/1905 - No. 19 -
Wilburton, Oklahoma 13 Dead Explosion
07/05/1905 - Tidewater -
Vivian, West Virginia    5 Deaths Explosion
07/06/1905 - Fuller -
Searight, Pennsylvania 6 Deaths Explosion
10/13/1905 - Clyde -
Fredericktown, Pennsylvania 6 Deaths Fire
10/29/1905 - Hazel Kirk No. 2 -
Monongahela, Pennsylvania 5 Deaths Explosion
11/14/1905 - Tidewater -
Vivian, West Virginia    7 Deaths Explosion
11/15/1905 - Braznell -
Bentleyville, Pennsylvania 7 Deaths Explosion
12/02/1905 - Diamondville No. 1 -
Diamondville,    Wyoming 18 Dead Explosion
01/04/1906 - Coaldale -
Coaldale, West Virginia 22 Deaths Explosion
01/18/1906 - Detroit -
Detroit, West Virginia 18 Deaths Explosion
01/24/1906 - Poteau No. 6 -
Witteville, Oklahoma 14 Deaths Explosion
02/08/1906 - Parral -
Parral, West Virginia 23 Deaths Explosion
02/19/1906 - Maitland -
Walsenburg, Colorado 14 Deaths Explosion
02/27/1906 - Little Cahaba -
Piper, Alabama 12 Deaths Explosion
03/22/1906 - Century No. 1 -
Century, West Virginia 23 Deaths Explosion
04/22/1906 - Cuatro -
Tercio, Colorado 18 Deaths Explosion
06/07/1906 - Red Lodge -
Red Lodge, Montana 8 Deaths    Fire
08/06/1906 - Susquehanna No. 7 -
Nanticoke, Pennsylvania 6 Deaths Explosion
10/03/1906 - Pocahontas -
Pocahontas, Virginia    36 Deaths Explosion
10/05/1906 - Dutchman -
Blossburg. New Mexico 10 Deaths Explosion
10/24/1906 - Rolling Mill -
Johnstown, Pennsylvania 7 Deaths Explosion
11/03/1906 - San Toy No. 1 -
San Toy, Ohio 5 Deaths Haulage
12/22/1906 - Breese-Trenton -
Breese, Illinois 6 Deaths Haulage
01/14/1907 - Deering No. 7 -
Clinton, Indiana 7 Deaths Explosion
01/23/1907 - Primero -
Primero, Colorado 24 Deaths Explosion
01/26/1907 - Lorentz -
Penco, West Virginia 12 Deaths    Explosion
01/29/1907 - Stuart -
Stuart, West Virginia 84 Deaths Explosion
02/04/1907 - Thomas No. 25 -
Thomas, West Virginia 25 Deaths Explosion
03/02/1907 - Holden -
Taylor, Pennsylvania 7 Deaths Explosion
03/16/1907 - Bond & Bruce -
Tacoma, Virginia 11 Deaths Explosion
04/26/1907 - Morgan -
Black Diamond. Washington 7 Deaths Explosion
05/01/1907 - Whipple -
Scarboro, West Virginia 16 Deaths Explosion
05/19/1907 - Engleville -
Engleville, Colorado 5 Deaths Fire
06/18/1907 - Johnson No. 1 -
Priceburg, Pennsylvania 7 Deaths Explosion
08/17/1907 - Sonman -
Portage, Pennsylvania 5 Delete Haulage
12/01/1907 - Naomi -
Fayette City, Pennsylvania 34 Deaths Explosion
12/06/1907 - Monongah No. 6 and 8 -
Monongah, West Virginia 362 Deaths Explosions
12/16/1907 - Yolande -
Yolande, Alabama 57 Deaths Explosion
12/19/1907 - Darr -
Van Meter, Pennsylvania 239 Deaths Explosion
12/31/1907 - Bernal -
Carthage, New Mexico 11 Deaths Explosion
01/30/1908 - Backman -
Hawks Nest, West Virginia 9 Deaths Explosion
02/10/1908 - Moody -
South Carrolton, Kentucky 9 Deaths Explosion
03/28/1908 - Hanna No. 1 -
Hanna, Wyoming 59 Deaths Explosion
05/12/1908 - Mount Lookout -
Wyoming, Pennsylvania 12 Deaths Explosion
05/13/1908 - Prospect -
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania 5 Deaths Roof fall/bump
07/15/1908 - Williamstown -
Williamstown, Pennsylvania 6 Deaths Explosion
08/26/1908 - Hailey-Okla. No. 1 -
Haileyville, Oklahoma 29 Deaths Fire
08/28/1908 - Warrior Run -
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania 6 Deaths Haulage
11/16/1908 - Pratt No. 3 -
Ensley, Alabama 8 Deaths Fire
11/20/1908 - Red Lodge -
Red Lodge, Montana 9 Deaths Fire
11/28/1908 - Rachel and Agnes -
Marianna, Pennsylvania    154 Deaths Explosion
12/29/1908 - Lick Branch -
Switchback, West Virginia 50 Deaths Explosion
01/10/1909 - Carbon Hill,
Gayton, Virginia 6 Deaths Explosion
01/10/1909 - Zeigler -
Zeigler, Illinois 26 Deaths Explosion
01/12/1909 - Lick Branch -
Switchback, West Virginia 67 Deaths Explosion
01/19/1909 - Stone Canyon -
Chancellor, California 6 Deaths Explosion
01/25/1909 - Orenda No. 2 -
Boswell, Pennsylvania 5 Deaths Explosion
01/25/1909 - Washington No. 5 -
Franklin, Maryland 5 Death Haulage
02/02/1909 - Short Creek -
Short Creek, Alabama 18 Deaths Explosion
03/02/1909 - No. 14 -
Pittston, Pennsylvania 8 Deaths Explosion
03/20/1909 - Sunnyside -
Evansville, Indiana 6 Deaths Explosion
03/31/1909 - Echo -
Buery, West Virginia 6 Deaths Explosion
04/09/1909 - Eureka No. 37 -
Winber, Pennsylvania 7 Deaths Explosion
06/23/1909 - Lackawanna No. 4 -
Wehrun, Pennsylvania 21 Deaths Explosion
07/06/1909 - Toller -
Tollerville, Colorado 9 Deaths Explosion
10/03/1909 - Northwestern -
Roslyn, Washington 10 Deaths Explosion
10/21/1909 - Rock Island No. 8 -
Hartshorne, Oklahoma 10 Deaths Explosion
10/31/1909 - Franklin No. 2 -
Johnstown, Pennsylvania    13 Deaths Explosion
11/09/1909 - Auchincloss -
Nanticoke, Pennsylvania 9 Deaths Fire
11/13/1909 - Cherry -
Cherry. Illinois 259 Deaths Fire
12/11/1909 - Baker No. 5 -
Clay, Kentucky 7 Deaths Explosion
12/23/1909 - Mine A -
Herrin. Illinois 8 Deaths Explosion
01/11/1910 - Nottingham -
Plymouth, Pennsylvania 7 Deaths Explosion
01/31/1910 - Primero -
Primero, Colorado 75 Deaths Explosion
02/01/1910 - Browder -
Browder, Kentucky 34 Deaths Explosion
02/05/1910 - Ernest No. 2 -
Ernest, Pennsylvania 12 Deaths Explosion
02/08/1910 - Barthell No. 1 -
Stearns, Kentucky 6 Deaths Explosion
03/12/1910 - South Wilkes-Barre No. 5 -
South Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania 7 Deaths Explosion
03/31/1910 - Great Western No. 2 -
Wilburton, Oklahoma 6 Deaths Explosion
04/20/1910 - Mulga -
Mulga, Alabama 40 Deaths Explosion
04/21/1910 - Amsterdam -
Amsterdam, Ohio 15 Deaths Explosion
05/05/1910 - Palos No. 3 -
Palos, Alabama 84 Deaths Explosion
10/08/1910 - Starkville -
Starkville, Colorado 56 Deaths Explosion
11/03/1910 - Yolande No. 1 -
Yolande, Alabama 5 Deaths Explosion
11/06/1910 - Lawson -
Black Diamond, Washington 16 Deaths Explosion
11/08/1910 - Victor American No. 3 -
Delagua, Colorado 79 Deaths Explosion
11/11/1910 - Shoal Creek No. 1 -
Panama, Illinois 6 Deaths Explosion
11/25/1910 - Providence No. 3 -
Providence, Kentucky 10 Deaths Explosion
12/14/1910 - Leyden -
Leyden, Colorado 10 Deaths Fire
12/14/1910 - Greeno -
Tacoma, Virginia 8 Deaths Explosion
12/31/1910 - Lick Fork -
Thacker, West Virginia 10 Death Haulage
01/20/1911 - Carbon Hill -
Carbon Hill, Virginia 7 Deaths Explosion
02/09/1911 - Cokedale -
Trinidad, Colorado 17 Deaths Explosion
03/18/1911 - No. 16 -
Mineral, Kansas 5 Deaths Explosion
03/22/1911 - Hazel -
Canonsburg, Pennsylvania 9 Deaths Haulage
04/07/1911 - Price-Pancoast -
Troop, Pennsylvania 73 Deaths Fire
04/08/1911 - Banner -
Littleton, Alabama 128 Deaths Explosion
04/24/1911 - Ott No. 20 -
Elk Garden, West Virginia 23 Deaths Explosion
05/10/1911 - Boston -
Larksville, Pennsylvania 5 Deaths Fire
05/27/1911 - Cameron -
Shamokin, Pennsylvania 5 Deaths Explosion
07/15/1911 - Sykesville -
Syskesville, Pennsylvania 21 Deaths Explosion
08/01/1911 - Standard -
Welch, West Virginia 6 Deaths Explosion
10/03/1911 - Drifton -
Freeland, Pennsylvania    5 Deaths Suffocation
10/23/1911 - O'Gara No. 9 -
Harrisburg, Illinois 8 Deaths Explosion
11/09/1911 - Adrian -
Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania 8 Deaths Explosion
11/18/1911 - Bottom Creek -
Vivian, West Virginia   18 Deaths Explosion
12/09/1911 - Cross Mountain -
Briceville, Tennessee 84 Deaths Explosion
01/09/1912 - Parrish -
Plymouth, Pennsylvania 6 Deaths Explosion
01/16/1912 - Carbon Hill -
Carbon Hill, Virginia 5 Deaths Explosion
01/19/1912 - Central -
Central City, Kentucky 5 Deaths Explosion
01/20/1912 - Kemmerer No. 4 -
Kemmerer, Wyoming 6 Deaths Explosion
02/22/1912 - Western No. 5 -
Lehigh, Oklahoma 9 Deaths Fire
03/20/1912 - San Bois No. 2 -
McCurtain, Oklahoma 73 Deaths Explosion
03/26/1912 - Jed - Jed,
West Virginia 81 Deaths Explosion
04/21/1912 - Coil - Madisonville,
Kentucky 5 Deaths Explosion
06/18/1912 - Hastings -
Hastings, Colorado 12 Deaths Explosion
07/11/1912 - Panama -
Moundsville, West Virginia 8 Deaths Explosion
07/16/1912 - Carbon Hill -
Gayton, Virginia 8 Deaths Explosion
07/24/1912 - Superba and Lemont -
Evans Station, Pennsylvania 18 Deaths Inundation
08/13/1912 - Abernant -
Abernant, Alabama 18 Deaths Explosion
02/19/1913 - Seagraves -
Eldorado, Illinois 5 Deaths Explosion
04/23/1913 - Cincinnati -
Finleyville, Pennsylvania 98 Deaths Explosion
05/06/1913 - Taylor Mine -
Beaver Dam, Kentucky 5 Deaths Suffocation
05/17/1913 - Noble -
Belle Valley, Ohio 15 Deaths Explosion
08/02/1913 - East Brookside -
Tower City, Pennsylvania 20 Deaths Explosion
10/22/1913 - Stag Canon No. 2 -
Dawson, New Mexico 263   Deaths Explosion
11/18/1913 - Acton No. 2 -
Acton, Alabama 24 Deaths Explosion
12/16/1913 - Vulcan -
New Castle, Colorado 37 Deaths Explosion
01/10/1914 - Rock Castle -
Rock Castle, Alabama 12 Deaths Explosion
01/14/1914 - No. 7 -
Mulberry, Kansas 6 Deaths Haulage
04/28/1914 - Eccles No. 5 & No. 6 -
Eccles, West Virginia 181 Deaths Explosion
04/30/1914 - No. 2 -
Cumberland, Wyoming 5 Deaths Haulage
05/29/1914 - Maryd -
Maryd, Pennsylvania 6 Deaths Haulage
06/30/1914 - No. 1 -
Cinderella, West Virginia 5 Deaths Fire
09/04/1914 - No. 1 - Adamson,
Oklahoma 13 Death Roof fall/bump
09/16/1914 - Lehigh No. 4 -
Lansford, Pennsylvania 7 Deaths Explosion
10/05/1914 - Mulga - Mulga,
Alabama 16 Deaths Explosion
10/27/1914 - North or No. 1 -
Royalton, Illinois 52 Deaths Explosion
12/09/1914 - Tripp -
Scranton, Pennsylvania 13 Deaths Haulage
02/06/1915 - Carlisle -
Carlisle, West Virginia 21 Death Explosion
02/17/1915 - Prospect -
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania 13 Death Explosion
02/18/1915 - New Home No. 2 -
Rich Hill, Missouri 5 Deaths Explosion
03/02/1915 - Layland No. 3 -
Layland, West Virginia 115 Deaths Explosion
04/05/1915 - Shoal Creek -
Panama, Illinois 11 Deaths Explosion
05/24/1915 - Smokeless Valley No. 1 -
Johnstown, Pennsylvania 9 Deaths Explosion
07/27/1915 - United Coal No. 1 -
Christopher, Illinois 9 Deaths Explosion
07/30/1915 - Patterson No. 2 -
Elizabeth, Pennsylvania 9 Deaths Haulage
08/31/1915 - Orenda -
Boswell, Pennsylvania   19 Deaths Explosion
11/16/1915 - Northwestern -
Ravensdale, Washington 31 Deaths Explosion
11/30/1915 - Boomer No. 2 -
Boomer, West Virginia 23 Deaths Explosion
02/08/1916 - Lance -
Plymouth, Pennsylvania 7 Deaths Explosion
02/11/1916 - Ernest No. 2 -
Ernest, Pennsylvania 27 Deaths Explosion
03/01/1916 - Davis No. 42 -
Kempton, Maryland 16 Deaths Explosion
03/09/1916 - Hollenback -
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania 6    Deaths Explosion
03/28/1916 - King -
Kimball, West Virginia 10 Deaths Explosion
03/30/1916 - Robindale -
Seward, Pennsylvania 8 Deaths Explosion
08/08/1916 - Woodward -
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania 6 Deaths Explosion
10/19/1916 - Jamison No. 7 -
Barrackville, West Virginia 11 Deaths Explosion
10/22/1916 - Roden -
Marvel, Alabama 18 Deaths Explosion
11/04/1916 - Bessie -
Palos, Alabama 30 Deaths Explosion
11/18/1916 - Ocean Mine -
Greensbury, Pennsylvania 8 Deaths Roof fall
12/13/1916 - Fidelity No. 9 -
Stone City, Kansas 20 Deaths Explosion
03/13/1917 - Henderson No. 1 -
Hendersonville, Pennsylvania 14 Deaths    Explosion
04/18/1917 - Lynden -
Mason, West Virginia 5 Deaths Explosives
04/27/1917 - Hastings -
Hastings, Colorado   121 Deaths    Explosion
06/02/1917 - Rend No. 2 -
Herrin, Illinois 9 Deaths Explosion
06/13/1917 - Banner -
Banner, Alabama    6 Deaths Explosion
08/04/1917 - West Kentucky No. 7 -
Clay, Kentucky 62 Deaths Explosion
09/17/1917 - Orient -
Orient, Illinois 5 Deaths Haulage
11/29/1917 - Old Ben No. 11 -
Christopher, Illinois 18 Deaths    Explosion
12/15/1917 - Yukon No. 1 -
Bluefield, West Virginia   18   Deaths    Explosion
12/17/1917 - Wilkeson -
Wilkeson, Washington 6    Deaths    Inundation
12/20/1917 - No. 3 -
Catoosa, Tennessee 11 Deaths Explosion
05/20/1918 - Villa -
Villa, , West Virginia 13   Deaths    Fire
08/07/1918 - Hamar -
Harmarville, Pennsylvania    8 Deaths Explosion
08/28/1918 - Burnett -
Burnett, Washington 12 Deaths Explosion
09/28/1918 - North -
Royalton, Illinois 21 Deaths Explosion
03/31/1919 - Empire -
Aguilar. Colorado 13 Deaths Explosion
04/29/1919 - Majestic -
Majestic, Alabama 22 Deaths Explosion
06/05/1919 - Baltimore Tunnel #2 -
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania 92 Deaths Explosives
06/30/1919 - Alderson No. 5 -
Alderson, Oklahoma 15 Deaths Explosion
07/08/1919 - Lansford Colliery -
Lansford, Pennsylvania    8 Deaths Explosion
07/18/1919 - Carswell -
Kimball, West Virginia 6 Deaths Explosion
08/06/1919 - Weirwood -
Weirwood, West Virginia 7 Deaths Explosion
08/18/1919 - Oakdale -
LaVeta,    Colorado 18 Deaths Explosion
10/29/1919 - No. 2 -
Amsterdam,    Ohio 20 Deaths Fire
12/03/1919 - No. 3 -
Jacksonville, Indiana 6 Deaths Explosion

Coal Mining Man

04/14/1920 - Stag Canon Nos. 1 & 6 -
Dawson. New Mexico 5 Deaths Explosion
05/03/1920 - Submarine -
Clinton, Indiana 5 Deaths Explosion
05/22/1920 - Mallory No. 3 -
Mallory, West Virginia 5 Deaths Roof fall/bump
06/02/1920 - Ontario -
Cokeburg, Pennsylvania 6 Deaths Explosion
07/19/1920 - Renton No. 3 -
Renton, Pennsylvania 9 Deaths Explosion
07/26/1920 - No. 6 -
Sublet, Wyoming 8 Deaths Exposives
08/21/1920 - No. 19 -
Degnan, Oklahoma    10 Deaths Explosion
11/16/1920 - Arnold -
Earlington, Kentucky 6 Deaths Fire
11/23/1920 - Parrish -
Parrish,    Alabama 12 Deaths Explosion
02/12/1921 - Moffat Nos. 1 & 2 -
Oak Hill, Colorado 5 Deaths Explosion
02/23/1921 - Kathleen -
Dowell, Illinois 7 Deaths Fire
03/09/1921 - Rahn No. 11 -
Seek, Pennsylvania 5 Deaths Explosion
08/31/1921 - Harco -
Harrisburg, Illinois 12 Deaths Explosion
12/13/1921 - Satanic -
Morrison, Colorado 6 Deaths Fire
01/30/1922 - Layman -
Hulen, Kentucky 6 Deaths Explosion
02/02/1922 - Belle Ellen No. 2 -
Belle Ellen, Alabama    9 Deaths Explosion
02/02/1922 - Gates No. 2 -
Gates, Pennsylvania 25 Deaths Explosion
02/07/1922 - Marietta -
Pinson Fork, Kentucky    9 Deaths Explosion
03/20/1922 - Dilltown No. 1 -
Dilltown, Pennsylvania 5 Deaths Explosion
03/24/1922 - Sopris No. 2 -
Sopris, Colorado 17 Deaths Explosion
05/25/1922 - Acmar No. 3 -
Acmar, Alabama 11 Deaths Explosion
06/25/1922 - Central Coal & Coke -
Huntington, Arkinsas    5 Deaths Suffocation
09/23/1922 - Raleigh-Wyoming #2 -
Glen Rogers, West Virginia 5 Deaths    Haulage
09/29/1922 - Lake Creek -
Johnston City, Illinois 5 Deaths Explosion
10/11/1922 - No. 11 Progressive -
McCurtain, Oklahoma 8 Deaths Explosion
11/05/1922 - #4 Anthracite Mine -
Madrid, New Mexico 7 Deaths Explosion
11/06/1922 - Reilly No. 1 -
Spangler, Pennsylvania 79 Deaths Explosion
11/22/1922 - Dolomite No. 3 -
Dolomite, Alabama 90 Deaths Explosion
11/25/1922 - No. 4 -
Cerillos, New Mexico 12 Deaths Explosion
01/10/1923 - Dolomite No. 1 -
Dolomite, Alabama 5 Deaths Explosion
02/08/1923 - Stag Canon No. 1 -
Dawson,    Minnesota 120 Deaths Explosion
02/21/1923 - Alliance -
Kaska, Pennsylvania 5 Deaths Explosion
03/02/1923 - Arista -
Arista, West Virginia 10 Deaths Explosion
05/05/1923 - Southwestern -
Aguilar, Colorado 10 Deaths Explosion
06/26/1923 - Richards Colliery -
Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania 5 Deaths Explosion
08/14/1923 - Frontier No. 1 -
Kemmerer, Wyoming 99 Deaths Explosion
10/07/1923 - Midwest -
Palisades, Colorado 6 Deaths Explosion
11/06/1923 - Glen Rogers -
Beckley, West Virginia 27 Deaths Explosion
12/07/1923 - Black Hawk -
Happy, Perry Co., Kentucky 9 Deaths    Explosion
12/08/1923 - Mount Jessup No. 1 -
Jessup, Pennsylvania 5 Deaths Roof fall / bump
01/25/1924 - McClintock -
Johnston City, Illinois 33 Deaths Explosion
01/26/1924 - Lancashire No. 18 -
Shanktown, Pennsylvania 36 Deaths Explosion
03/08/1924 - No. 2 -
Castle Gate, Utah 172 Deaths Explosion
03/28/1924 - Yukon No. 2 -
Yukon, West Virginia 26 Deaths Explosion
04/28/1924 - Benwood -
Benwood, West Virginia 119 Deaths Explosion
06/06/1924 - Loomis Colleries -
Nanticoke, Pennsylvania 14 Deaths Explosion
07/25/1924 - Gates No. 1 -
Brownsville, Pennsylvania 10 Deaths Explosion
09/16/1924 - Sublet No. 5 -
Sublet, West Virginia 39 Deaths Explosion
09/21/1924 - Rains -
Rains, Utah 5 Deaths Explosion
12/17/1924 - Burnett -
Burnett, Washington 7 Deaths Explosion
01/15/1925 - Diamond No. 1 -
Providence, Kentucky 6 Deaths Explosion
02/20/1925 - City -
Sullivan, Indiana 52 Deaths Explosion
03/17/1925 - Barrackville -
Barrackville, West Virginia 33 Deaths    Explosion
04/26/1925 - Hutchison -
Millgrove, Pennsylvania 5 Deaths Explosion
04/26/1925 - New Slope -
Sewickley, Pennsylvania 5 Deaths Explosion
05/22/1925 - Woodward -
Edwardsville, Pennsylvania 7 Deaths Explosion
05/27/1925 - Carolina -
Farmville, North Carolina 53 Deaths Explosion
05/31/1925 - No. 2 -
Piper, Alabama 6 Deaths Explosion
06/08/1925 - No. 9 -
Sturgis, Kentucky 17 Deaths Explosion
07/23/1925 - Rockwood -
Rockwood, Tennessee 10 Deaths Explosion
08/03/1925 - Dorrance -
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania 10 Deaths Explosion
11/13/1925 - Finley -
Madisonville, Kentuckey    5 Deaths Explosion
12/10/1925 - Overton No. 2 -
Irondale, Alabama    53 Deaths Explosion
12/14/1925 - Wilkeson -
Tacoma,    Washington 5 Deaths Explosion
12/22/1925 - Webb -
Bellaire, Ohio 9 Deaths Fire
01/13/1926 - No. 21 -
Wilburton, Oklahoma 91 Deaths Explosion
01/14/1926 - amison No. 8 -
Farmington, West Virginia 19 Deaths Explosion
01/29/1926 - Mossboro No. 1 -
Helena, Alabama    27 Death Explosion
01/29/1926 - New Orient No. 2 -
West Frankfort,    Illinois 5 Deaths Explosion
02/03/1926 - Horning No. 4 -
Horning, Pennsylvania 20 Deaths Explosion
02/16/1926 - Nelson, -
Nelson, Kentucky 8 Deaths Explosion
03/08/1926 - Eccles No. 5 -
Eccles, West Virginia, 19 Deaths Explosion
05/06/1926 - Randolph Colliery -
Port Carbon, Pennsylvania 5 Deaths Explosion
07/03/1926 - Pettebone Colliery # 6 -
Kingston, Pennsylvania 7 Deaths Explosion
07/21/1926 - Dixie -
Moffat, Alabama 9 Deaths Explosion
08/26/1926 - Clymer No. 1 -
Clymer, Pennsylvania 44 Deaths Explosion
09/03/1926 - Tahona -
Tahona, Oklahoma 16 Deaths Explosion
10/04/1926 - Rockwood -
Rockwood, Tennessee 27 Deaths Explosion
10/30/1926 - Colliery No. 7 -
Nanticoke, Pennsylvania    9 Deaths Explosion
11/15/1926 - Mound -
Moundsville, West Virginia 5 Deaths Explosion
12/09/1926 - Francisco No. 2 -
Francisco, Indiana 37 Deaths Explosion
01/31/1927 - Nortonville Mining -
Nortonville, Kentucky 5 Deaths Explosion
03/30/1927 - Saline No. 2 -
Ledford, Illinois 8 Deaths Explosion
04/02/1927 - No. 53 -
Cokeburg, Pennsylvania 6 Deaths Explosion
04/08/1927 - Carbonado -
Carbonado, Washington    7 Deaths Inundation
04/30/1927 - Federal No. 3 -
Everettville, West Virginia 97 Deaths Explosion
05/13/1927 - Shanon Branch No. 3 -
Caples, West Virginia 8 Deaths Explosion
05/26/1927 - Woodward No. 3 -
Edwardsville, Pennsylvania 7 Deaths Explosion
05/27/1927 - Delagua -
Delagua    County 7 Deaths Explosion
08/03/1927 - West Kentucky No. 7 -
Death Clay, Kentucky 15 Deaths Explosion
12/20/1927 - Franco No. 1 -
Johnston City, Illinois 7 Deaths Explosion
01/09/1928 - No. 18 -
West Frankfort, Illinois 21 Deaths Explosion
02/20/1928 - Kinloch -
Parnassus, Pennsylvania    12 Deaths Explosion
02/24/1928 - Mama No. 3 -
Jenny Lind, Arkansas 13 Deaths Explosion
04/02/1928 - Keystone No. 2 -
Keystone, West Virginia 8 Deaths Explosion
05/19/1928 - Mather No. 1 -
Mather, Pennsylvania 195 Deaths Explosion
05/22/1928 - No. 30 -
Kenvir, Kentucky 8 Deaths Explosion
05/22/1928 - No. 1 -
Yukon, West Virginia 17 Deaths Explosion
05/25/1928 - Baltimore No. 5 -
Parsons, Pennsylvania 10 Deaths Explosion
06/20/1928 - No. 1 -
National, West Virginia 6 Deaths    Explosion
08/09/1928 - Hillside -
Johnstown, Pennsylvania    5 Deaths Explosion
08/15/1928 - Irvons No. 3 -
Coalport, Pennsylvania 13 Deaths Explosion
10/22/1928 - McAlpin -
McAlpin, West Virginia    6 Deaths Explosion
11/30/1928 - Princess Poca -
Roderfield, West Virginia 6 Deaths Explosion
12/18/1928 - No. 2 -
Drakesboro, Kentucky 6 Deaths Explosion
01/26/1929 - Kingston No. 5 -
Kingston, West Virginia    14 Deaths Explosion
03/21/1929 - Kinloch -
Parnassus, Pennsylvania    46 Deaths Explosion
05/27/1929 - Connellsville -
Yolande, Alabama 10 Deaths Explosion
06/05/1929 - Halcon -
Wise, Virginia    5 Deaths Roof fall/bump
09/27/1929 - Covington -
Tahona, Oklahoma 8 Deaths Explosion
12/01/1929 - Old Ben No. 8 -
West Frankfort, Illinois 7 Deaths Explosion
12/17/1929 - Old Town -
McAlester, Oklahoma   61 Deaths Explosion
01/13/1930 - Peerless -
Straven, Alabama 7 Deaths Explosion
01/19/1930 - No. 1 -
Lillybrook, West Virginia 8 Deaths Explosion
02/06/1930 - Standard -
Standardville, Utah 23 Deaths Explosion
03/08/1930 - New Peerless -
Lynn, Utah     5 Deaths Explosion
03/26/1930 - Yukon -
Arnettsville, West Virginia 12 Deaths Explosion
03/30/1930 - Pioneer-
Kettle Island, Ktucky    16 Deaths Explosion
04/12/1930 - Carbonado -
Carbonado, Washington    17 Deaths Explosion
08/08/1930 - Gilberton -
Gilberton, Pennsylvania 8 Deaths Roof fall/bump
10/27/1930 - Wheatley No. 4 -
McAlester, Oklahoma 30 Deaths Explosion
11/05/1930 - No. 6 -
Millfield,    Ohio 82 Deaths Explosion
11/29/1930 - Lutie No. 5 -
Lutie, Oklahoma 15 Deaths Explosion
12/06/1930 - Lamb -
Madrid, New Mexico 5 Deaths Explosion
01/03/1931 - Midvale No. 4 -
Midvale, Ohio 5 Deaths Explosion
01/06/1931 - No. 2 -
Glen Rogers, West Virginia 8 Deaths Explosion
01/28/1931 - Little Betty -
Dugger, Idiana 28 Deaths Explosion
05/29/1931 - Richards Colliery -
Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania 5 Deaths Explosion
11/03/1931 - No. 20 -
Holden, West Virginia 5 Deaths Explosion
12/28/1931 - Overton No. 1 -
Irondale, Alabama 5 Deaths Explosion
01/18/1932 - Parrott -
Parrott, Virginia 6 Deaths Explosion
02/27/1932 - Boissevain -
Boissevain, Virginia    38 Deaths Explosion
06/13/1932 - Splashdam No. 6 -
Splashdam, Virginia 10 Deaths Explosion
12/07/1932 - Morgan-Jones -
Madrid, New Mexico    14 Deaths Explosion
12/09/1932 - Zero -
Yancey, Kentucky 23 Deaths Explosion
12/24/1932 - Moweaqua -
Moweaqua, Illinois 54 Deaths Explosion
09/11/1933 - Oakmont -
Barking, Pennsylvania 7 Deaths Explosion
03/12/1934 - No. 10 -
Wheatcroft, Kentucky 5 Deaths Fire
08/06/1934 - Derby No. 3 -
Big Stone Gap, Virginia 17 Deaths Explosion
01/21/1935 - Gilberton -
Gilberton, Pennsylvania 13 Deaths Explosion
05/07/1935 - South Wilkes Barre -
Wilkes-Barre,    Pennsylvania 7 Deaths Haulage
05/11/1935 - No. 41 -
Barrackville, West Virginia 6 Deaths Fire
07/17/1935 - No. 155 -
Van Lear, Kentucky 9 Deaths Explosion
01/20/1936 - Monarch No. 2 -
Broomfield, Colorado 8 Deaths Explosion
08/01/1936 - Kathleen -
Dowell,    Illinois 9 Deaths Fire
08/24/1936 - Clear Spring -
West Pittston, Pennslvania 5 Deaths Explosion
09/02/1936 - Macbeth -
Macbeth, West Virginia    10 Deaths Explosion
11/19/1936 - Bates -
Bates, Arizona 5 Deaths Explosion
03/11/1937 - Macbeth -
Macbeth, West Virginia    18 Deaths Explosion
03/28/1937 - Kramer -
Dubois, Pennsylvania 9 Deaths Explosion
06/21/1937 - Rupert Mine -
Keystone, Ohio 6 Deaths Explosives
07/15/1937 - Baker -
Sullivan, Indiana    20 Deaths Explosion
10/15/1937 - Mulga -
Mulga, Alabama 34 Deaths Explosion
10/26/1937 - Jonesville -
Jonesville, Arkansas    14 Deaths Explosion
01/12/1938 - Harwick -
Harwick, Pennsylvania   10 Deaths Explosion
02/11/1938 - Vail (Star Valley) -
Afton, Wtoming 5 Deaths Explosion
04/22/1938 - Keen Mountain -
Hanger, Virginia 45 Deaths Explosion
04/27/1938 - No. 1 Slope -
Pottsville, Pennsylvania 8 Deaths Explosion
06/02/1938 - Butler Slope -
Pittston, Pennsylvania 10 Deaths Explosion
07/01/1938 - Praco No. 7 -
Praco, Alabama 6 Deaths Roof Fall/Bump
07/14/1939 - Duvin -
Providence, Kentucky 28 Deaths Explosion

The Muddy Coal Mine

01/10/1940 - Pond Creek No. 1 -
Bartley, West Virginia    91 Deaths Explosion
03/16/1940 - Willow Grove No. 10 -
St. Clairsville, Ohio 72 Deaths Explosion
07/15/1940 - Sonman -
Portage, Pennsylvania 63 Deaths Explosion
08/27/1940 - No. 2 -
Bates, Arkansas   10 Deaths Explosion
11/29/1940 - Nelms -
Cadiz, Ohio 31 Deaths Explosion
12/17/1940 - No. 4 -
Raleigh, West Virginia 9 Deaths Explosion
01/22/1941 - Carswell -
Kimball, West Virginia    6 Deaths Explosion
02/14/1941 - Fidelity -
DuQuoin, Illinois 7 Deaths Explosives
05/18/1942 - Hitchman -
Benwood, West Virginia    5 Deaths Explosion
05/22/1941 - Panhandle No. 2 -
Bicknell, Indiana 14 Deaths Explosion
06/04/1941 - Docena -
Adamsville, Alive 5 Death Explosion
06/30/1941 - Kent No. 2 -
McIntyre, Pennsylvania 7 Deaths Explosion
07/10/1941 - Acmar No. 6 -
Acmar. Alabama 11 Deaths Explosion
10/27/1941 - Daniel Boone -
Daniel Boone, Kentucky 15 Deaths Explosion
12/28/1941 - No. 47 -
Harco, Illinois    8 Deaths Explosion
01/27/1942 - Wadge -
Mount Harris, Colorado 34 Deaths Explosion
05/11/1942 - Peerless No. 2 -
Excelsior, Arizona 6 Deaths Explosion
05/12/1942 - Christopher No. 3 -
Osage, West Virginia 56 Deaths Explosion
07/09/1942 - Pursglove No. 2 -
Pursglove, West Virginia 20 Deaths Explosion
11/30/1942 - West KY No. 10 -
Wheatcroft, Kentucky 6 Deaths Explosion
12/15/1942 - Laing No. 1 -
Laing, West Virginia 5 Deaths Haulage
01/08/1943 - No. 15 -
Pursglove, West Virginia 13 Deaths Fire
02/27/1943 - Smith -
Washoe, Montana 74 Deaths Explosion
05/05/1943 - NuRex -
LaFollette, Tennessee 10 Deaths Explosion
05/11/1943 - Praco No. 10 -
Praco, Alabama 12 Deaths Explosion
08/28/1943 - Sayreton, No. 2 -
Sayreton, Alabama 28 Deaths Explosion
09/16/1943 - 3 Point -
Three Point, Kentucky    12 Deaths Explosion
09/24/1943 - Primrose Colliery -
Minersville, Pennsylvania 14 Deaths Explosion
11/06/1943 - Nellis No. 3 -
Madison, West Virginia 11 Deaths Explosion
03/24/1944 - Katherine No. 4 -
Lumberport, West Virginia 16 Deaths Explosion
06/07/1944 - Emerald -
Clarksville, Pennsylvania   6 Deaths Fire
07/05/1944 - Powhatan -
Powhatan Point,   Ohio 66 Deaths Fire
07/28/1944 - Brilliant No. 2 -
Brilliant, New Mexico 6 Deaths Explosion
01/17/1945 - Bond Valley -
Haileyville, Oklahoma 9 Deaths Explosion
03/12/1945 - Crucible -
Crucible, Pennsylvania 5 Deaths Roof/bump
03/14/1945 - Kennilworth -
Kennilworth, Utah 7 Deaths Explosion
05/09/1945 - No. 1 -
Sunnyside, Utah 23 Deaths Explosion
12/26/1945 - Belva No. 1 -
Fourmile, Kentucky 25 Deaths Explosion
01/15/1946 - Havaco No. 9 -
Havaco, West Virginia 15 Deaths Explosion
04/18/1946 - Great Valley -
McCoy, Virginia 12 Deaths Explosion
01/15/1947 - Nottingham -
Plymouth, Pennsylvania 15 Deaths Explosion
03/25/1947 - No. 5 -
Centralia, Illinois 111 Deaths Explosion
04/10/1947 - Schooley -
Exeter, Pennsylvania 10 Deaths Explosion
04/30/1947 - Spring Hill -
Terre Haute, Indiana 8 Deaths Explosion
07/24/1947 - Old Ben No. 8 -
W. Frankfort, Illinois 27 Deaths Explosion
12/11/1947 - Franklin -
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania 8 Deaths Explosion
02/08/1948 - Sun Excelsior -
Excelsior, Arkansas 8 Deaths Explosion
05/20/1948 - No. 2 -
Dante, Virginia 6 Deaths Roof / bump
07/27/1948 - King -
Princeton, Indiana 13 Deaths Explosion
07/30/1948 - Edgewater -
Birmingham, Alabama 11 Deaths Explosion
08/06/1948 - No. 11 -
Capels, West Virginia 6 Deaths Roof fall/bump
11/04/1948 - Milt No. 1 -
Kitzmiller, Maryland 5 Deaths Fire

The Coal Miner's Song

01/18/1951 - Burning Springs -
Kermit, West Virginia 11 Deaths Explosion
03/29/1951 - Buttonwood -
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania 5 Deaths Explosion
10/15/1951 - Bunker -
Cassville, West Virginia 10 Deaths Explosion
10/31/1951 - United Gas No. 1 -
United, West Virginia 12 Deaths Explosion
12/21/1951 - Orient No. 2 -
West Frankfort. Illinois 119 Deaths Explosion
02/02/1952 - Carpentertown -
Carpentertown, Pennsylvania 6 Deaths Explosion
03/27/1952 - Holmes Slope -
Forrestville, Pennsylvania 5 Deaths Inundation
03/30/1953 - O'Brien -
Lovilia, Iowa 5 Deaths Explosion
11/13/1954 - Jamison No. 9 -
Farmington, West Virginia 16 Deaths Explosion
01/18/1957 - van Jones -
Jonesville, Alaska 5 Deaths Explosion
02/04/1957 - Bishop No. 34 -
McDowell County, West Virginia 37 Deaths Explosion
09/23/1957 - Marianna No. 58 -
Marianna, Pennsylvania 6 Deaths Explosion
12/09/1957 - Glen Rogers No. 2 -
Glen Rogers, West Virginia 5 Deaths Roof fall/bump
12/27/1957 - Amonate No. 31 -
McDowell Co., West Virginia 11 Deaths Explosion
02/12/1958 - Lundale -
Lundale, West Virginia 6 Deaths Roof fall/bump
10/27/1958 - Bishop No. 34 -
McDowell County, West Virginia 22 Deaths Explosion
10/28/1958 - Burton Mine -
Craigsville, West Virginia 14 Deaths Explosion
01/22/1959 - River Slope -
Port Griffith, Pennsylvania 12 Deaths Inundation
03/23/1959 - Phillips and West -
Robbins, Tennessee 9 Deaths Explosion
03/08/1960 - No. 22 -
Pine Creek, West Virginia 18 Deaths Fire
03/02/1961 - Viking Mine -
Terre Haute, Indiana 22 Deaths Explosion
01/10/1962 - Blue Blaze No. 2 -
Herrin    Illinois 11 Deaths Explosion
12/06/1962 - Robena No. 3 -
Carmichaels, Pennsylvania 37 Deaths Explosion
04/25/1963 - Compass No. 2 -
Dola, West Virginia 22 Death Explosion
12/16/1963 - Carbon Fuel No. 2 -
Helper, Utah 9 Deaths Explosion
05/24/1965 - C. L. Cline No. 2 -
Robbins, Tennessee 5 Deaths Explosion
10/16/1965 - Mars No. 2 -
Wilsonburg, West Virginia   7 Deaths Explosion
12/28/1965 - Dutch Creek Mine -
Redstone, Colorado 9 Deaths Explosion
06/01/1966 - Dora No.2 -
Dora, Pennsylvania 5 Deaths Suffocation
07/23/1966 - Siltex Mine -
Mt. Hope, West Virginia 7 Deaths Explosion
08/07/1968 - River Queen -
Greenville, Kentucky 9 Deaths Explosion
11/20/1968 - Consol No. 9 -
Farmington, West Virginia 78 Deaths Explosion
12/30/1970 - Finley Coal No. 15 & 16 -
Hyden, Kentucky    38 Deaths Explosion
02/26/1972 - Buffalo Mining Co. -
Saunders, West Virginia 114 Deaths Dam failure
07/22/1972 - Blacksville No. 1 -
Blacksville, West Virginia 9 Deaths Fire
12/16/1972 - Itmann No. 3 -
Itmann, West Virginia 5 Deaths Explosion
03/09/1976 - Scotia -
Ovenfork, Kentucky 15 Deaths Explosion
03/11/1976 - Scotia (second) -
Ovenfork, Kentucky 11 Deaths Explosion
03/01/1977 - Porter Tunnel -
Tower City, Pennsylvania 9 Deaths Flood
04/04/1978 - Moss No. 3 -
Duty, Virginia 5 Deaths Suffocation (oxygen deficient air)
11/07/1980 - Ferrell No. 17 -
Uneeda, West Virginia 5 Deaths Explosion
04/15/1981 - Mid-Continent Resources Dutch Creek #1 -
Redstone, Colorado 15 Deaths    Explosion
12/07/1981 - Adkins Coal Mine #11 -
Kite, Kentucky 8 Deaths Explosion
12/08/1981 - Grundy Mining Co. Mine #21 -
Whitewell, Tennessee 13 Deaths Explosion
01/20/1982 - RHF No. 1 -
Craynor, Kentucky 7 Deaths Explosion
06/21/1983 - McClure #1 Mine -
McClure, Virginia 7 Deaths Explosion
12/19/1984 - Wilberg Mine -
Orangeville, Utah 27 Deaths Fire
02/06/1986 - Loveridge No. 22 - Fairview,
West Virginia 5 Deaths Collapsed coal pile - suffocation
09/13/1989 - William Station No. 9 Mine -
Sullivan, Kentucky 10 Deaths Explosion
12/07/1992 - No. 3 Mine -
Norton, Virginia 8 Deaths Explosion
09/23/2001 - No. 5 Mine -
Brookwood, Alabama 13 Deaths Explosion
01/02/2006 - Sago Mine -
Buckhannon, West Virginia 12 Deaths Explosion
05/20/2006 - Darby Mine No. 1 -
Middlesboro, Kentucky 5 Deaths Explosion
08/06/2007 - Crandall Canyon Mine -
Huntington, Utah 6 Deaths   Fall of face or rib
04/05/2010 - Upper Big Branch Mine-South -
Montcoal, West Virginia 29 Deaths Ignition or explosion of gas or dust

In the United States alone, it is estimated that 10,000 deaths occur each year due to routine industrial accidents; another 100,000 deaths occur due to occupational disease; and 30,000 deaths and 20,000,000 serious injuries due to unsafe consumer products.

This does not include wars over oil and other natural resources, or deaths and destruction due to accidents at weapons plants or armories.

Simo Häyhä

2011-11-26T15:40:00.000-05:00

Simo Häyhä

Simo Hayha was was a quiet Finnish farmer and the world's greatest sniper. He was credited with 505 confirmed kills in 100 days, which makes him the deadliest sniper in military history. He used a standard iron-sighted, bolt-action rifle.

Finland is a republic, and is the most sparsely populated country in the European Union. It's one of the most economically competitive in the world, has the third-highest graduation rate in the world, and ranks as the best country in the world in the Newsweek survey based on health, economic dynamism, education, political environment and quality of life. That same survey even labelled it the world's "most stable country".

Simo Hayha was born in 1906 or 1905 (there are two different dates that are recorded of his birth depending on the reference materials) in Rautajärvi, Finland.

The town was near the border of the Soviet Union. Like many of the towns and villages of this region the area was rural, and Mr. Häyhä was a farmer and an outdoorsman who spent much of his time outside.

In 1925, young Mr. Häyhä joined the Finnish Army for his one year of Finnland's mandatory military service. During the year's time in the Army, he had achieved the rank of corporal.

Simo Häyhä is in the middle of the front row.

Later Simo Häyhä joined the Suojelskunta (Finnish Civil Guard) serving in his home district. The Civil Guard is a an organization similar to a well trained United States National Guard Unit.

The Soviet Union invaded Finland at the end of November 1939. This invasion was supposed to be the end of Finland. The "Winter War" began with all odds against Finland remaining a free country. The Soviet forces had three times as many soldiers as the Finns, 30 times as many aircraft, and a hundred times as many tanks. During the -45°F winter, many Finnish troops had to make do with very little warm clothing.

Before the war, Simo Häyhä was a skilled marksman, but he was generally known more for his quiet disposition and good nature. While he was an expert marksman, he was a man of peace that enjoyed the simple life around him.

Now as an older man, he rejoined the army to fight the Soviet invaders of his homeland. Simo Häyhä became a a sniper in the Jaeger Regiment 34. He dressed completely in white camouflage clothing as were his comrades in arms, and he packed a Mosine carbine with iron sights.

Simo Häyhä managed to put down 505 (confirmed kills, some say 542) men with his Mosin-Nagant Model 28 rifle, during a three month period. Simo Häyhä became a most feared sniper during the 1939-40 (November 30, 1939 - March 14, 1940). Simo Häyhä was called "Belaya Smert" (White Death) by the Soviet troops he stalked in the forests of Finland.

The Soviet military leaders were infuriated at their inability to kill him, and multiple teams were sent out after him:. They all failed. Many of them were killed by his gunfire. The Soviets tried several ways to specifically get rid of him. Teams of Soviet snipers aided by artillery were deployed with the sole purpose of eliminating the tiny Finnish 'cuckoo'. Finnish snipers were called cuckoos by Russians, because they thought that all Finnish snipers were located in trees (and all the trees contained snipers!).

Most of his shots were taken while acting alone, shooting from a sitting position at ranges at or over 400 meters. Simo Häyhä used a Finnish variant, M/28, of the Soviet Mosin-Nagant rifle (it was known as "Pystykorva" rifle, meaning "spitz"), because it suited his small frame (5 ft 3 in.). He preferred to use iron sights rather than telescopic sights since they presented a smaller target (the sniper must raise his head higher when using a telescopic sight), to prevent visibility risks (a telescopic sight's glass can fog up easily), and aid in his concealment (sunlight glare in telescopic sight lenses can reveal a sniper's position).

Another tactic that Simo Häyhä used was to compact the snow in front of him so that the shot wouldn't disturb the snow, and reveal his position.

He would also keep some snow in his mouth so that his mouth would cool the air he was breathing and wouldn't reveal his position..

On March 6, 1940, Simo Häyhä was shot in the jaw with an exploding bullet while he was on the frontline and went into a coma. He was found by another solider.When he came out of his coma in the hospital, nine days later, the day the "Winter War" ended.

Finland had lost the war.

Simo Häyhä was promoted to lieutenant, personally, by the Finnish commander Baron Field Marshal Mannerhiem. His 'confirmed kills' were listed at 542 with another two hundred unconfirmed.

He was also an expert with the Suomi K31 SMG. A large number (over 200 unconfirmed kills) of the Soviets that he killed were with his K31.

Along some parts of the battlefront the Soviet Army outnumbered the Finnish defenders in ratios as high as 100:1. The Finnish Army made the Soviets pay dearly for their invasion of their homeland. Finland may have lost the "Winter War", but it cost the Soviets 1,000,000 men killed, out of the 1,500,000 man invading force. Finland lost a total of 25,000 men.

Many had called the Finnish Army's defense of this key region "fanatical", and it was in the Kollaa area were the famous battle of "Killer Hill" took place with 32 Finns battling 4,000 Soviet soldiers. These were also the hunting grounds of Simo Häyhä. At the end of the war, even against massive odds, it should be noted that the Kollaa positions were still in Finnish hands.

It took several years for him to recuperate from his wound. The bullet had crushed his jaw and blown off his left cheek. Simo Häyhä made a full recovery.

The town of Rautjärvi, where he was born, was lost to the Soviets in the peace settlement and remains part of that country that is now Russia, to this day.

Simo Häyhä spent his last years in a small village called Ruokolahti which is located in the south-east of Finland near the Russian border. He hunted moose and became a successful dog breeder.

When Simo Häyhä was asked how he had become such a good shot, he answered, "Practice with your weapon... and clear days."

When he was asked if he regretted killing so many people, he has said "I did what I was told to, as well as I could."

Like most snipers Simo Häyhä preferred to shoot officers and weapons crews.

Simo Häyhä died on April 1, 2002, in Rautjärvi, at the age of 97 years.

Simo Häyhä is a symbol of the courage of the Finnish soldier. He represents the true meaning of the word "sisu", which can be loosely translated, in English it would be "Guts" .

He my have been small in stature, but he had the courage of a giant.

***

The following is a short dedication video to the memory of Simo Häyhä.

White Death

Winter War

Giving Thanks On Thanksgiving Day

2011-11-23T17:45:00.000-05:00

Tramp's Dinner

1905
by Maxfield Parrish

Still, Scotland The Brave

2011-11-17T18:41:00.002-05:00

Still, Scotland The Brave

On Friday, January 22, 2010, I made a post in which I discussed my ancestory from Scotland and some of my feelings about Scotland. In this post I will be repeating some of that information, I will also include some pictures and music videos from Scotland.

Kinlochleven Scotlandl.

On my paternal side of the family my ancestor John MacDonald was from the Glencoe area of the Highlands in Scotland. He was sent by the government to the Ulster region of Ireland because he was a known "trouble maker", in the year 1690.

After the infamous betrayal and massacre at Glencoe, John sent for his childhood sweetheart who had somehow survived the attack. They were married in Ireland and shortly thereafter, they left for America in 1692.

In the streets of Edinburgh.

On my maternal side of the family, my grandmother (Peden) came from Edinburgh to America when she was 9 years old. My grandfather's parents (Boyle) were Scots who came to America from England, where they had been living.

Edinburgh.

My mother was born with an automatic dual citizenship. Her mother, my grandmother Boyle was aware of the British laws and with her urging (more like insistence,) my parents registered my birth with the British consulate, which gave me dual citizenship as well. It was from these grandparents that I acquired my sense of pride in my heritage and my interest in politics.

Scotland The Brave

Flower Of Scotland

by the Corries

A Scotish Soldier

by Steve McDonald

There is a second flag which is associated with Scotland, the "Rampant Lion", or Royal Flag of Scotland. Although it is based on an older Scottish flag than the St. Andrew's Cross, it should, strictly speaking, now only to be used by the monarch in relation to her capacity as Queen in Scotland.. However, it is widely used as a second national flag.

The Rampant Lion flag flies over the offices of the Secretary of State for Scotland (who is the representative of the United Kingdom government in Scotland); that is the Dover House in London and the New St Andrew's House in Edinburgh.

It is however not allowable to fly the flag without permission, on a flag-pole or from a building.

Culloden

by Steve McDonald

The Highland Farewell

by Steve McDonald

Going Home

by Phil Coulter

Scottish Soldiers Killed In Action,

by Susan Boyle

Lay Me Doone

A Farewell to the Brave

Robert the Bruce, King of Scots, 1306 – 1329″.

A Scottish Soldier

As they have for centuries, the young men of Scotland have left their homes and families and gone off to foreign lands to fight to defend their country and their allies. The men fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan have once again proven that Scotland is still a land of the BRAVE.

Hymne Flower of Scotland

Live On, My Warrior Son

by Steve McDonald

Going Home - Sissel

Political Accusations And Lies

2011-11-14T15:28:00.001-05:00

Political Accusations And Lies

Joseph McCarthy was essentially a paranoid United Senator Republican Senator and drunk, who, starting in February 1950, began to see Communists everywhere, and decided to initiate a witch-hunt, which was largely trying to prove that everyone in power, or who was famous, was essentially, a Communist. Joseph McCarthy then tried to destroy their lives. He started with the American State Department. He kept on going by attacking President Truman, and then the United States Army.

Drunken, Fascist, U. S. Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin, and his lying minister of propaganda, Richard Nixon (who would later be the only United States President to resign in disgrace).

Somewhere along the way Joseph McCarthy decided to aim at the entertainment industry, amongst whom, it was well known, (so they say) pretty much everyone had leftist sympathies. There were some had been members of the Communist party during the Great Depression, when most people who cared about politics were trying to figure out a solution. The most famous case was when Charlie Chaplin had to leave the United States, after Joseph McCarthy had accused him on being a Communist.

"The Weavers" realized that they were a target of Joseph McCarthy, and as long as they could, the group tried to avoid anything that would cause controversy.

Zena, Zena, Zena

Around The Corner

Goodnight Irene

The Sinking Of The Reuben James

If you examine the songs that "The Weavers" released, you will not find anything subversive in there.

At the height of "The Weavers" popularity, a man by the name of Harvey Job Matusow (a campaign aide to Joseph McCarthy) announced that "The Weavers" were Communists, and suddenly the group's music was blacklisted from radio playlists. It destroyed "The Weavers" career, right then and there. Of course, it turned them into martyrs and legends amongst the folk music community.

In 1955, Harvey Matusow published a book, "False Witness", in which he discloses that he was an FBI agent and was paid to lie about members of the American Communist Party. He also claimed in the book, that Joseph McCarthy and Roy Cohn had encouraged him to lie. Because of his book, Harvey Matusow was found guilty of perjury, jailed for nearly three years, and ultimately blacklisted.

Harvey Matusow once reported that 126 Communists worked in the Sunday Department of the New York Times, even though the total number of employees was only 100.

The HUAC (House UnAmerican Committee) hearings and Senator Joseph McCarthy led to a general distrust in the government by the American people.The HUAC came into being because they wanted to prove that a lot of actors and writers were communists. They thought that movies were brainwashing Americans and putting communist propaganda into their heads. The HUAC probed Hollywood and the entertainment community, but they never confirmed that any of the charges were true. They even questioned 10-year-old Shirley Temple.

Just to be associated with someone who was suspected of communism was enough to ruin a career. The HUAC blacklisted many innocent people. Blacklisting means putting people on a list of suspected communists. It meant that their professional reputation was destroyed, and that no one would hire them for fear of being thought to be a communist.

The committee immediately blacklisted the ones who refused to cooperate. As a result of this, people who were afraid that they were going to be charged gave the names of people that they knew were not really communists.

Joseph McCarthy made reckless, unsubstantiated accusations, as well as demagogic attacks on the character and patriotism against thousands of American Citizens. He accused officials in the government of communism. He accused officials of the Army of communism.

The primary targets of such suspicions were government employees, those in the entertainment industry, educators and union activists. Suspicions were often given credence, despite inconclusive or questionable evidence, and the level of threat posed by a person's real or supposed leftist associations, or beliefs, was often greatly exaggerated

Edward R. Murrow was the only major News personality to openly confront the ego-maniac. He exposed Joseph McCarthy for what he was, by largely using video taped messages of his own comments.

Joseph McCarthy never proved any of his charges, and his ideas were discredited by Edward R. Morrow. Nobody believed his claims anymore.

Many American citizens suffered greatl osses, the loss of employment and /or the destruction of their careers, Some Americans even suffered imprisonment. Most of these punishments came about through trial verdicts that would later be overturned, and laws that would be declared unconstitutional,

Even while the HUAC hearings were going on, in the height of the "˜red' scare', many people knew that the hearings were unfair, nd unjust. They knew that the blacklists were wrong. The public was asking, could a government that would allow these unfair practices be unfair in other ways?

Reform groups in America suffered much during the McCarthy era. They were often accused of having communist or socialist leanings, and support for reform wavered and in some cases stopped altogether. Fewer social reform bills were passed. The American people didn't want to be called a communist, and America's poor, especially the children, suffered because of it.

McCarthyism was a major factor in a change in feelings about both politics and society. The distrust of the government and the political activism in the 1960's can be directly attributed to Joseph McCarthy and our government officials who supported him or were afraid to oppose him..

That hunt for scapegoats (someone to nlame for all of our troubles) is a dark spot on America's history. Many American lives were ruined. Some committed suicide and some left the country.

The American national anthem calls the United States the land of the free. People in America are supposed to be able to hold any belief that they want. Americans are supposed to have friends that they shoose. They are supposed to be able to publically speak out against things they oppose. They are supposed to worshp or not worship God in their own way. Too many American men and women have died for those rights, to have some loud mouthed politicians take it away.

Senator Joseph McCarthy forgot that. During the Senate hearings, many Americans forgot that.

There are some in this country, TODAY, who would put our country through such things again. You can never predict who they might attack. And this time, it might even be YOU!

When The Saints Go Marching In

Robin Williams as the American Flag

2011-11-13T22:02:00.000-05:00

Robin Williams portrays

The American Flag

America The Beautiful

2011-11-11T13:57:00.000-05:00

America The Beautiful

sung by Ray Charles