Coal Mine explosion

Every time I hear about an accident at a mine, especially a coal mine I think back to what I learned about my father's family. They were from Nelsonville in Southern Ohio and most of them worked in the coal mines.

Mining while still a dangerous and dirty job is safer today than it was during that time period. Miners faced horrible working conditions and were not paid fairly. In Southern Ohio miners were especially hard hit. In 1884 several mines striked, one town in particular New Straitsville had enough. When the mine owners cut wages and threw the miners out of company owned housing the miners set the mine on fire. It is said this fire is still burning and has never been able to be put out. In 1991, a hole about 15 feet across opened, and smoke and flame belched from the earth. This happened on the edge of Wayne National Forest and took about three years to burn itself out and disappear back into the earth, where it is probably still smoldering. Some have called the New Straitsville coal fire the “longest-burning manmade fire in history.”

My grandfather left Nelsonville, opting to join the Army so he could escape a future in the already dying employment situation at the mines there. However the stories I've learned since the make me appreciate what his family and the families of those still working in the mines today go thru to try to support their families. My prayers are with the family of the 13 missing men that they are rescued.