1 00:00:01,160 --> 00:00:04,200 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff you missed in History Class from house 2 00:00:04,480 --> 00:00:14,440 Speaker 1: works dot Com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. I'm 3 00:00:14,440 --> 00:00:20,640 Speaker 1: Tracy Wilson. Coal Mining is practically synonymous with West Virginia. 4 00:00:20,720 --> 00:00:23,520 Speaker 1: There are lots of other industries in West Virginia, lots 5 00:00:23,520 --> 00:00:25,720 Speaker 1: of people in West Virginia. You have nothing to do 6 00:00:25,840 --> 00:00:29,479 Speaker 1: with the coal mining industry. But of the twenty five U. 7 00:00:29,600 --> 00:00:32,879 Speaker 1: S States that produce coal, West Virginia's production is the 8 00:00:32,960 --> 00:00:37,960 Speaker 1: second largest behind Wyoming coal production. And all of the 9 00:00:38,000 --> 00:00:40,760 Speaker 1: accidents and the labor disputes that have come along with 10 00:00:40,840 --> 00:00:44,160 Speaker 1: cold with coal production have all just played a really 11 00:00:44,200 --> 00:00:48,520 Speaker 1: central role in West Virginia's history, and today's story played 12 00:00:48,560 --> 00:00:51,600 Speaker 1: a huge part not only in West Virginia's history, but 13 00:00:51,640 --> 00:00:54,600 Speaker 1: also in the greater context of labor rights in the 14 00:00:54,640 --> 00:00:58,600 Speaker 1: rest of the United States. In one coal miners who 15 00:00:58,680 --> 00:01:02,720 Speaker 1: were completely fed up with unfair labor practices and exploitation 16 00:01:02,920 --> 00:01:06,480 Speaker 1: and attempts to prevent them from unionizing, took up arms 17 00:01:06,520 --> 00:01:10,200 Speaker 1: against their employers, and the resulting Battle of Blair Mountain 18 00:01:10,440 --> 00:01:13,600 Speaker 1: went on for five days and has been called the 19 00:01:13,640 --> 00:01:17,640 Speaker 1: biggest armed uprising on US soil since the Civil War. 20 00:01:19,160 --> 00:01:22,520 Speaker 1: In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, the coal 21 00:01:22,600 --> 00:01:26,200 Speaker 1: industry in America was built on company towns and exploited 22 00:01:26,640 --> 00:01:30,560 Speaker 1: labor practices. And this wasn't just the practice of one 23 00:01:30,600 --> 00:01:34,319 Speaker 1: mine or one mining company. Mines with different owners operating 24 00:01:34,360 --> 00:01:37,840 Speaker 1: in different states all basically followed the same system with 25 00:01:37,920 --> 00:01:42,880 Speaker 1: similar labor practices, and if you are not familiar with 26 00:01:42,920 --> 00:01:45,640 Speaker 1: the company town phenomenon, to start off, they did not 27 00:01:45,720 --> 00:01:49,920 Speaker 1: pay an actual money. They paid company script, and company 28 00:01:49,960 --> 00:01:52,720 Speaker 1: script was accepted only at the company store, which was 29 00:01:52,840 --> 00:01:56,360 Speaker 1: also run by the coal company. So since miners weren't 30 00:01:56,360 --> 00:01:59,400 Speaker 1: being paid real money that was legal tender anywhere else, 31 00:01:59,440 --> 00:02:02,360 Speaker 1: they had no option to shop anywhere other than the 32 00:02:02,400 --> 00:02:06,280 Speaker 1: company store, which was owned by their bosses. And it 33 00:02:06,400 --> 00:02:09,320 Speaker 1: is probably no surprise that goods at these company stores 34 00:02:09,360 --> 00:02:12,680 Speaker 1: were expensive thanks to a hefty markup, so if the 35 00:02:12,680 --> 00:02:15,560 Speaker 1: MIND gave its workers a raise, it also raised prices 36 00:02:15,600 --> 00:02:18,200 Speaker 1: at the store, so the increase in wages didn't cut 37 00:02:18,280 --> 00:02:22,160 Speaker 1: into the mind's profits. In addition to the company's store 38 00:02:22,240 --> 00:02:25,840 Speaker 1: was company housing provided by the mines, which deducted the 39 00:02:25,880 --> 00:02:29,600 Speaker 1: rent from the workers pay, and often this housing was 40 00:02:29,680 --> 00:02:33,639 Speaker 1: little better than a shock and miners also frequently had 41 00:02:33,680 --> 00:02:35,960 Speaker 1: to lease the equipment that they needed just to do 42 00:02:36,040 --> 00:02:39,560 Speaker 1: their jobs, and they leased that equipment, of course, from 43 00:02:39,560 --> 00:02:44,280 Speaker 1: the coal company. Instead of being paid an hourly rate 44 00:02:44,400 --> 00:02:47,320 Speaker 1: or some kind of salary, miners were paid by the 45 00:02:47,400 --> 00:02:50,520 Speaker 1: pound of coal that they mind. And to further game 46 00:02:50,600 --> 00:02:53,160 Speaker 1: the system, coal company has used all kinds of tricks 47 00:02:53,200 --> 00:02:55,560 Speaker 1: to alter the apparent weight of the coal that the 48 00:02:55,600 --> 00:02:59,080 Speaker 1: miners were bringing up. So, for example, a cart that 49 00:02:59,120 --> 00:03:02,160 Speaker 1: was supposed to hold two thousand pounds of coal might 50 00:03:02,280 --> 00:03:06,919 Speaker 1: really hold pounds of coal, meaning that the miners were 51 00:03:06,919 --> 00:03:10,000 Speaker 1: mining five hundred extra pounds of coal that they weren't 52 00:03:10,000 --> 00:03:13,760 Speaker 1: being paid for. And miners also had their paid docked 53 00:03:13,840 --> 00:03:16,680 Speaker 1: for anything that was in their cart but was not coal, 54 00:03:16,840 --> 00:03:19,160 Speaker 1: So if there were pieces of rocks in the mix, 55 00:03:19,760 --> 00:03:22,760 Speaker 1: that was also a doct from their pay. And the 56 00:03:22,800 --> 00:03:25,280 Speaker 1: person who made that judgment with someone hired by the 57 00:03:25,280 --> 00:03:29,040 Speaker 1: coal company who was trained to air in the coal 58 00:03:29,040 --> 00:03:32,000 Speaker 1: company's favor. It was not uncommon for the bosses to 59 00:03:32,120 --> 00:03:35,240 Speaker 1: deliberately overestimate how much rock was in the coal, and 60 00:03:35,280 --> 00:03:38,560 Speaker 1: this is a practice that was known as cribbing. All 61 00:03:38,600 --> 00:03:41,080 Speaker 1: of this really meant that often coal miners were not 62 00:03:41,200 --> 00:03:44,840 Speaker 1: even breaking even, they were effectively losing money by having 63 00:03:44,880 --> 00:03:47,400 Speaker 1: a job working in a coal company or working in 64 00:03:47,400 --> 00:03:49,960 Speaker 1: a coal mine, and on top of that, coal mining 65 00:03:50,200 --> 00:03:54,720 Speaker 1: is dangerous work. It was particularly dangerous in West Virginia 66 00:03:54,760 --> 00:03:57,280 Speaker 1: at this point because the mines in West Virginia weren't 67 00:03:57,320 --> 00:04:00,480 Speaker 1: regulated as well, or they were no by was really 68 00:04:00,520 --> 00:04:04,200 Speaker 1: being regulated extremely well, but the mines in West Virginia 69 00:04:04,560 --> 00:04:07,560 Speaker 1: had less regulation than in other parts of the United States. 70 00:04:08,040 --> 00:04:11,800 Speaker 1: Between eighteen ninety and nineteen twelve, more miners died on 71 00:04:11,840 --> 00:04:14,720 Speaker 1: the job in West Virginia than in any other state 72 00:04:15,600 --> 00:04:20,000 Speaker 1: with similarly exploitative and dangerous conditions all over the country, 73 00:04:20,520 --> 00:04:24,040 Speaker 1: miners tried to unionize so that they could collectively negotiate 74 00:04:24,080 --> 00:04:27,880 Speaker 1: for actual pay with money instead of script, and safer 75 00:04:27,880 --> 00:04:32,080 Speaker 1: working conditions. Immediately, mines had employees signed what was known 76 00:04:32,120 --> 00:04:35,440 Speaker 1: as yellow dog contracts, and these were contracts that basically 77 00:04:35,440 --> 00:04:38,520 Speaker 1: said they would not join a union. In spite of 78 00:04:38,560 --> 00:04:41,640 Speaker 1: all this opposition, the United Mine Workers of America got 79 00:04:41,720 --> 00:04:46,599 Speaker 1: it started Ohio in eighteen nine. The UMW organized miners 80 00:04:46,600 --> 00:04:49,560 Speaker 1: in several states over the next decade, and its first 81 00:04:49,640 --> 00:04:53,160 Speaker 1: recognition in West Virginia was in nineteen o two. As 82 00:04:53,240 --> 00:04:56,720 Speaker 1: is often the case, the process of unionizing workers and 83 00:04:56,800 --> 00:05:01,440 Speaker 1: becoming recognized as a bargaining organization was a long, contentious 84 00:05:01,480 --> 00:05:05,719 Speaker 1: and sometimes violent process. This was true all over and 85 00:05:05,760 --> 00:05:08,360 Speaker 1: in many industries, not just in West Virginia or in 86 00:05:08,400 --> 00:05:13,680 Speaker 1: coal mining. Coal companies would evict striking workers from company 87 00:05:13,680 --> 00:05:16,760 Speaker 1: owned housing, so this caused tense cities to spring up 88 00:05:16,800 --> 00:05:20,719 Speaker 1: around mining towns, and the companies would also hire detective 89 00:05:20,720 --> 00:05:24,159 Speaker 1: agencies to investigate and harass any miners who were talking 90 00:05:24,200 --> 00:05:27,880 Speaker 1: about unionizing. One of the agencies that frequently worked on 91 00:05:27,920 --> 00:05:31,320 Speaker 1: behalf of the mining industry was called the Baldwin Felts Agency, 92 00:05:31,440 --> 00:05:34,880 Speaker 1: which employed all kinds of spy work and intimidation techniques 93 00:05:35,240 --> 00:05:38,880 Speaker 1: on behalf of the mine operators. Yeah, the word detective 94 00:05:38,920 --> 00:05:43,560 Speaker 1: agency in this context is kind of generous. A lot 95 00:05:43,640 --> 00:05:49,080 Speaker 1: of this work was not detective work. It was threatening, bullying, harassment, 96 00:05:49,240 --> 00:05:53,800 Speaker 1: sometimes murdering work. So over the years, as miners tried 97 00:05:53,839 --> 00:05:58,160 Speaker 1: to organize, mine operators and miners alike took up arms 98 00:05:58,200 --> 00:06:01,320 Speaker 1: against one another, and sometimes on the minor sides, these 99 00:06:01,360 --> 00:06:06,440 Speaker 1: weapons were actually provided to them by the union, unionizers 100 00:06:06,480 --> 00:06:08,880 Speaker 1: and mining companies. Where it odds with one another. In 101 00:06:08,880 --> 00:06:11,600 Speaker 1: West Virginia all the way through the nineteen hundreds, and 102 00:06:11,640 --> 00:06:15,280 Speaker 1: the nineteen teens. At one point in nineteen twelve, Governor 103 00:06:15,320 --> 00:06:18,800 Speaker 1: William E. Glassick declared martial law and dispatched the militia 104 00:06:18,839 --> 00:06:22,080 Speaker 1: in response to labor disputes and strikes that had turned violent. 105 00:06:23,200 --> 00:06:26,159 Speaker 1: It was during that particular period that Mary Harris Jones, 106 00:06:26,240 --> 00:06:30,159 Speaker 1: also known as Mother Jones, started advocating for for labor 107 00:06:30,240 --> 00:06:34,240 Speaker 1: rights in West Virginia. Through the men to late nineteen teens, 108 00:06:34,320 --> 00:06:37,080 Speaker 1: relations between the miners and the coal companies were a 109 00:06:37,160 --> 00:06:40,479 Speaker 1: little bit calmer thanks to a changeover in umw A 110 00:06:40,640 --> 00:06:43,640 Speaker 1: leadership and the United States entry into World War One. 111 00:06:44,360 --> 00:06:46,880 Speaker 1: Because of the war, there was a huge demand for coal, 112 00:06:46,920 --> 00:06:48,680 Speaker 1: which meant that there was more work and there was 113 00:06:48,720 --> 00:06:52,760 Speaker 1: also better pay. But even though there wasn't quite so 114 00:06:52,839 --> 00:06:56,400 Speaker 1: much outright conflict between the unions and the coal companies, 115 00:06:56,480 --> 00:06:59,920 Speaker 1: at that particular point, the unions really hadn't been able 116 00:07:00,040 --> 00:07:04,320 Speaker 1: to make much headway in southern and southwestern West Virginia. 117 00:07:04,560 --> 00:07:07,720 Speaker 1: The mining companies there were taking great pains to make 118 00:07:07,760 --> 00:07:11,320 Speaker 1: sure unions could not get a foothold, and in Logan 119 00:07:11,400 --> 00:07:15,800 Speaker 1: County in particular, mine operators were working directly with Sheriff 120 00:07:15,920 --> 00:07:20,200 Speaker 1: Don Chaffin to keep union organizers out of the area. 121 00:07:20,360 --> 00:07:24,400 Speaker 1: So by West Virginia's Logan and Mingo counties were the 122 00:07:24,480 --> 00:07:29,160 Speaker 1: largest coal producing region that had no union. Before we 123 00:07:29,240 --> 00:07:32,160 Speaker 1: talk a little bit more about specifically what was going 124 00:07:32,200 --> 00:07:35,040 Speaker 1: on in southern West Virginia, Let's take a brief moment 125 00:07:35,200 --> 00:07:38,880 Speaker 1: for a word or responsor. A few things happened to 126 00:07:38,960 --> 00:07:42,400 Speaker 1: turn this situation into a real powder keg in southern 127 00:07:42,400 --> 00:07:46,400 Speaker 1: West Virginia. Word reached the capital of Charleston, West Virginia 128 00:07:46,480 --> 00:07:49,520 Speaker 1: that Sheriff Chafin and his deputies were harassing and beating 129 00:07:49,600 --> 00:07:53,720 Speaker 1: up labor organizers. This led to an armed protest march, 130 00:07:53,760 --> 00:07:56,520 Speaker 1: and the governor, who at that point was John J. Cornwell, 131 00:07:57,000 --> 00:08:00,080 Speaker 1: promised that he would investigate, but the commission that is 132 00:08:00,080 --> 00:08:03,160 Speaker 1: appointed to do the investigation wound up finding in favor 133 00:08:03,200 --> 00:08:06,800 Speaker 1: of the Mind companies. A few months later, union mine 134 00:08:06,840 --> 00:08:09,960 Speaker 1: workers got a raise granted by the US Coal Commission. 135 00:08:10,480 --> 00:08:13,560 Speaker 1: This didn't affect southern West Virginia's non union workers, who 136 00:08:13,640 --> 00:08:17,960 Speaker 1: organized the strike in response. The UMW saw this as 137 00:08:18,040 --> 00:08:21,640 Speaker 1: an opportunity to get Southern mine workers to join the union. 138 00:08:22,360 --> 00:08:25,840 Speaker 1: This wasn't a hundred percent because they wanted to combat 139 00:08:25,960 --> 00:08:28,480 Speaker 1: the unfair labor practices that were going on in southern 140 00:08:28,480 --> 00:08:31,440 Speaker 1: West Virginia. Although that was a factor, a big part 141 00:08:31,480 --> 00:08:34,559 Speaker 1: of it was also that having so many minds operating 142 00:08:34,600 --> 00:08:38,920 Speaker 1: with non union labor, and having those minds be particularly productive, 143 00:08:39,280 --> 00:08:41,960 Speaker 1: had the potential to really undermine the union and the 144 00:08:42,080 --> 00:08:45,640 Speaker 1: union's work elsewhere in the state. In response to the 145 00:08:45,720 --> 00:08:51,319 Speaker 1: UMW activities, uh the coal company operators called in detectives again, 146 00:08:51,760 --> 00:08:54,920 Speaker 1: detectives with the air quotes from the Baldwin Felts Detective 147 00:08:54,960 --> 00:08:58,080 Speaker 1: Agency to try to break the union. They also fired 148 00:08:58,120 --> 00:09:00,520 Speaker 1: everyone who joined the union, and they had victed them 149 00:09:00,520 --> 00:09:05,360 Speaker 1: from their company housing. On May nineteenth, nineteen twenty, things 150 00:09:05,440 --> 00:09:07,760 Speaker 1: took a violent turn in the town of maite Wan. 151 00:09:08,440 --> 00:09:12,319 Speaker 1: Sid Hatfield, also known his two Gun Sid, yes one 152 00:09:12,360 --> 00:09:14,880 Speaker 1: of those hat Fields if you are familiar with the 153 00:09:14,880 --> 00:09:17,480 Speaker 1: story of the hat Fields of the McCoy's, although that 154 00:09:18,160 --> 00:09:21,319 Speaker 1: was long in the past. At this point, Sid Hatfield 155 00:09:21,320 --> 00:09:24,000 Speaker 1: was the police chief of mait Wan, and he encouraged 156 00:09:24,040 --> 00:09:27,559 Speaker 1: residents to arm themselves in response to all this trouble 157 00:09:27,600 --> 00:09:31,000 Speaker 1: that was going on, and they did. When detectives Albert 158 00:09:31,000 --> 00:09:34,640 Speaker 1: and Lee Felts tried to arrest Hatfield, gunfire broke out 159 00:09:34,679 --> 00:09:38,200 Speaker 1: and eleven people were killed, Seven of them were detectives 160 00:09:38,240 --> 00:09:41,160 Speaker 1: and four of them were residents of the town. Among 161 00:09:41,200 --> 00:09:44,319 Speaker 1: the towns dead was the mayor, and among the detectives 162 00:09:44,400 --> 00:09:48,040 Speaker 1: killed were the Felts brothers, who were brothers of Tom Felts, 163 00:09:48,120 --> 00:09:52,920 Speaker 1: the agency's chief. Because Hatfield later married the mayor's widow, 164 00:09:53,160 --> 00:09:56,680 Speaker 1: people speculated that he had pulled the trigger himself. He 165 00:09:56,760 --> 00:09:58,920 Speaker 1: faced charges for it and he became something of a 166 00:09:58,960 --> 00:10:02,480 Speaker 1: folk hero, but he was ultimately acquitted. This was really 167 00:10:02,559 --> 00:10:05,320 Speaker 1: kind of a tipping point, and following the Mate One massacre, 168 00:10:05,920 --> 00:10:09,480 Speaker 1: Union membership grew really quickly, with nine percent of Mingo 169 00:10:09,559 --> 00:10:13,320 Speaker 1: Counties miners being part of the UMW. By July of 170 00:10:13,400 --> 00:10:17,360 Speaker 1: that year was such an upswelling of support, the UMW 171 00:10:17,480 --> 00:10:20,200 Speaker 1: called for a strike to demand better pay and better 172 00:10:20,200 --> 00:10:24,240 Speaker 1: working conditions. The mine operators, on the other hand, brought 173 00:10:24,280 --> 00:10:27,120 Speaker 1: in strike breakers and armed guards, and they carried on 174 00:10:27,200 --> 00:10:30,680 Speaker 1: with business as usual mining coal and in Mingo County, 175 00:10:30,760 --> 00:10:34,199 Speaker 1: people were jailed without bail for everything from carrying union 176 00:10:34,240 --> 00:10:37,679 Speaker 1: literature to carrying a gun. When the Mingo County jail 177 00:10:37,720 --> 00:10:41,480 Speaker 1: was full, they started sending inmates to jails in neighboring counties. 178 00:10:42,559 --> 00:10:45,199 Speaker 1: At this point, the unions and the mines were effectively 179 00:10:45,360 --> 00:10:48,440 Speaker 1: at war with each other. Gunfire was exchanged on a 180 00:10:48,480 --> 00:10:53,040 Speaker 1: regular basis. The pro union forces would attack non union 181 00:10:53,120 --> 00:10:56,240 Speaker 1: mines and miners who weren't in the union. They also 182 00:10:56,320 --> 00:10:59,480 Speaker 1: destroyed railroad tracks that were allowing the mines to get 183 00:10:59,559 --> 00:11:04,840 Speaker 1: their call out to the buyers who needed to receive it. Detectives, guards, 184 00:11:04,920 --> 00:11:08,199 Speaker 1: deputies and others on the anti union side attacked the 185 00:11:08,320 --> 00:11:11,959 Speaker 1: tent colonies where fired workers had been living, and they 186 00:11:12,000 --> 00:11:15,840 Speaker 1: also investigated, threatened, and harassed the striking workers. And this 187 00:11:15,920 --> 00:11:19,600 Speaker 1: conflict went on for more than a year. On August first, 188 00:11:20,720 --> 00:11:24,000 Speaker 1: said Hatfield and another man named Ed Chambers, we're going 189 00:11:24,040 --> 00:11:27,400 Speaker 1: to stand trial on charges of conspiracy stemming to their 190 00:11:27,520 --> 00:11:30,959 Speaker 1: unionizing work. And this conspiracy trial was going to take 191 00:11:31,000 --> 00:11:34,200 Speaker 1: place in McDowell County, where there was really strong anti 192 00:11:34,320 --> 00:11:37,400 Speaker 1: union sentiment. While the two men were on their way 193 00:11:37,440 --> 00:11:40,920 Speaker 1: into the courthouse for their trial, detectives from the Baldwin 194 00:11:41,000 --> 00:11:45,959 Speaker 1: Felt Agency shot and killed them both. Naturally, there was outrage. 195 00:11:46,800 --> 00:11:49,200 Speaker 1: A week later, a crowd of hundreds marched on the 196 00:11:49,240 --> 00:11:52,840 Speaker 1: capitol in Charleston in protest, and they presented a list 197 00:11:52,880 --> 00:11:56,679 Speaker 1: of demands for better conditions to the governor. The governor 198 00:11:56,760 --> 00:11:59,960 Speaker 1: who denied all of them. Ten days later, the mine 199 00:12:00,160 --> 00:12:02,640 Speaker 1: started planning a second march. They were going to gather 200 00:12:02,679 --> 00:12:05,120 Speaker 1: in a town outside of Charleston, and from there they 201 00:12:05,160 --> 00:12:07,559 Speaker 1: were going to march to Mingo County to free all 202 00:12:07,600 --> 00:12:10,839 Speaker 1: of the union organizers and others who were being jailed there. 203 00:12:11,160 --> 00:12:13,320 Speaker 1: And basically they were going to try to force the 204 00:12:13,360 --> 00:12:17,000 Speaker 1: companies that were running the mines to back down. But 205 00:12:17,120 --> 00:12:18,840 Speaker 1: to do this they were going to have to go 206 00:12:18,920 --> 00:12:21,599 Speaker 1: through Logan County, and this was a stronghold of the 207 00:12:21,640 --> 00:12:24,920 Speaker 1: mining companies and of Sheriff Chaffin, who had a long 208 00:12:25,040 --> 00:12:29,120 Speaker 1: history of using strong arm tactics against unions. Sheriff Chase 209 00:12:29,320 --> 00:12:32,480 Speaker 1: Chafin also had the financial backing of the Logan County 210 00:12:32,480 --> 00:12:36,240 Speaker 1: Coal Operators Association, so they funded his efforts to basically 211 00:12:36,360 --> 00:12:39,760 Speaker 1: raise a small army to fend off these miners. As 212 00:12:39,800 --> 00:12:43,040 Speaker 1: all this was going on, Frank Keeney and Bill Blizzard 213 00:12:43,040 --> 00:12:46,000 Speaker 1: of the UMW tried to rally more support among all 214 00:12:46,040 --> 00:12:48,920 Speaker 1: the union members. They were trying to get as much 215 00:12:49,320 --> 00:12:52,959 Speaker 1: backing as as possible for their effort. On the other hand, 216 00:12:53,120 --> 00:12:55,360 Speaker 1: Mother Jones was pretty sure this was not going to 217 00:12:55,480 --> 00:12:57,960 Speaker 1: go in the miners favor, and she was trying to 218 00:12:58,000 --> 00:13:01,880 Speaker 1: dissuade them from taking further action at this point. The 219 00:13:01,920 --> 00:13:05,160 Speaker 1: march to Mingo County started on August twenty four with 220 00:13:05,240 --> 00:13:08,160 Speaker 1: the miners who had armed themselves with all manner of weapons, 221 00:13:08,480 --> 00:13:11,720 Speaker 1: wearing red bandanas so they could easily identify one another. 222 00:13:12,480 --> 00:13:14,880 Speaker 1: A lot of these men were veterans of World War One. 223 00:13:15,280 --> 00:13:17,719 Speaker 1: They were trained in combat, and they had among them 224 00:13:17,760 --> 00:13:21,680 Speaker 1: men with experience and strategy and tax it tactics. They 225 00:13:21,800 --> 00:13:24,520 Speaker 1: developed codes so that they could communicate with each other, 226 00:13:24,880 --> 00:13:28,280 Speaker 1: They cut telephone and telegraph lines so that the mine 227 00:13:28,280 --> 00:13:31,240 Speaker 1: operators would not be able to get information, and they 228 00:13:31,280 --> 00:13:35,720 Speaker 1: generally mounted a pretty organized resistance. UH women played a 229 00:13:35,720 --> 00:13:38,000 Speaker 1: part in all of this as well. They donned nurses 230 00:13:38,080 --> 00:13:41,479 Speaker 1: camps with the umw insignia and prepared for the inevitable 231 00:13:41,520 --> 00:13:44,440 Speaker 1: injuries that they knew were going to need attention, because 232 00:13:44,480 --> 00:13:46,280 Speaker 1: they knew there was a lot of danger and people 233 00:13:46,280 --> 00:13:49,440 Speaker 1: were going to get hurt. In addition to using the 234 00:13:49,480 --> 00:13:52,719 Speaker 1: money that the Mine Operators Association had given him to 235 00:13:53,120 --> 00:13:57,040 Speaker 1: build up his force, Sheriff Chaffin also rallied the strike 236 00:13:57,120 --> 00:14:00,280 Speaker 1: breakers to fight on the anti Union side of the battle. 237 00:14:00,600 --> 00:14:04,160 Speaker 1: That kind of fleshed out the ranks of detectives, mine guards, 238 00:14:04,160 --> 00:14:06,720 Speaker 1: and state police who were all set to defend the 239 00:14:06,760 --> 00:14:11,360 Speaker 1: mine operators. The mine workers vastly outnumbered Chaffin's force, but 240 00:14:11,480 --> 00:14:14,640 Speaker 1: Chaffin's people had far better weapons, including machine guns and 241 00:14:14,640 --> 00:14:18,520 Speaker 1: an artillery piece. The governor, who could see that things 242 00:14:18,559 --> 00:14:22,400 Speaker 1: were really escalating, asked Washington, d C. For help, and 243 00:14:22,480 --> 00:14:25,280 Speaker 1: at first the federal response was to send them Brigadier 244 00:14:25,320 --> 00:14:29,479 Speaker 1: General Harry Bandholt to try to keep the peace. The miners, 245 00:14:30,080 --> 00:14:33,600 Speaker 1: knowing that the federal government had been called in, actually 246 00:14:33,640 --> 00:14:35,960 Speaker 1: thought that the federal support was going to be on 247 00:14:36,120 --> 00:14:40,400 Speaker 1: their side. But atmosphere at this point was extremely anti 248 00:14:40,520 --> 00:14:43,360 Speaker 1: unionization in the United States. A lot of states had 249 00:14:43,440 --> 00:14:45,520 Speaker 1: anti union laws on the books, and a lot of 250 00:14:45,560 --> 00:14:48,360 Speaker 1: business leaders were certain that unions would just put a 251 00:14:48,440 --> 00:14:52,600 Speaker 1: damper on post war growth. Wanting to end things without 252 00:14:52,640 --> 00:14:57,360 Speaker 1: further bloodshed, Bandholds quite candidly told UMW leaders Frank Kenney 253 00:14:57,400 --> 00:14:59,920 Speaker 1: and Fred Mooney that if they could just get them 254 00:15:00,000 --> 00:15:03,400 Speaker 1: miners to go home, it would all be over. The 255 00:15:03,440 --> 00:15:05,640 Speaker 1: two of them did try to get the miners to 256 00:15:05,640 --> 00:15:08,240 Speaker 1: go home, and some of the miners did start on 257 00:15:08,280 --> 00:15:11,400 Speaker 1: their way back, but before long, one of the state 258 00:15:11,440 --> 00:15:14,800 Speaker 1: police captains, who was on the side of the mine operators, 259 00:15:15,000 --> 00:15:18,280 Speaker 1: started a fight with some armed miners, and at least 260 00:15:18,360 --> 00:15:22,520 Speaker 1: one person was killed in the resulting fray. Many of 261 00:15:22,560 --> 00:15:25,120 Speaker 1: the miners who had agreed to go home turned around 262 00:15:25,120 --> 00:15:27,640 Speaker 1: and went back to the march really ready for a fight. 263 00:15:27,720 --> 00:15:31,880 Speaker 1: On August twenty nine, Keeney and Mooney fled. At this point. 264 00:15:32,320 --> 00:15:35,360 Speaker 1: Both of them were facing murder charges due to earlier events, 265 00:15:35,440 --> 00:15:37,400 Speaker 1: and they knew that they'd have no sympathy now that 266 00:15:37,440 --> 00:15:40,640 Speaker 1: they'd failed to keep the peace bill. Blizzard took their 267 00:15:40,640 --> 00:15:45,040 Speaker 1: place as the top um w leader. The miners forces 268 00:15:45,080 --> 00:15:48,080 Speaker 1: met up with hate with Chaffin's hastily built army on 269 00:15:48,200 --> 00:15:51,680 Speaker 1: Blair Mountain, and the mountain basically lay in the miner's 270 00:15:51,760 --> 00:15:55,200 Speaker 1: path to Mingo County. They had really no choice other 271 00:15:55,240 --> 00:15:56,720 Speaker 1: than they could go over it or they could go 272 00:15:56,760 --> 00:16:00,400 Speaker 1: around it. While the miners had much better numbers in 273 00:16:00,440 --> 00:16:03,920 Speaker 1: addition to their better firepower, Chaffin's men also had the 274 00:16:04,000 --> 00:16:08,000 Speaker 1: high ground. As the miners tried to break through the 275 00:16:08,000 --> 00:16:11,600 Speaker 1: defenders lines, chief and dropped tear gas and bombs on 276 00:16:11,640 --> 00:16:16,680 Speaker 1: them from Chartered biplanes. When it became extremely clear that 277 00:16:16,720 --> 00:16:20,480 Speaker 1: their efforts to end things peacefully had failed, Brigadier General 278 00:16:20,520 --> 00:16:24,000 Speaker 1: ban Holtz sent in the troops from Fort Thomas, Kentucky. 279 00:16:24,200 --> 00:16:26,800 Speaker 1: The first of these troops arrived on September one and 280 00:16:26,920 --> 00:16:31,120 Speaker 1: mostly did reconnaissance work. Infantry started arriving in Logan and 281 00:16:31,200 --> 00:16:35,480 Speaker 1: Mingo Counties on September three, and the miners, who were 282 00:16:35,560 --> 00:16:39,280 Speaker 1: not really keen on the idea of fighting against the 283 00:16:39,360 --> 00:16:43,320 Speaker 1: actual army, started to surrender, although some of them continued 284 00:16:43,400 --> 00:16:46,840 Speaker 1: fighting into the fourth of September. And even though the 285 00:16:46,840 --> 00:16:50,280 Speaker 1: miners ultimately surrendered, many really look at this as a 286 00:16:50,360 --> 00:16:53,920 Speaker 1: moral victory. Uh it was the federal troops and not 287 00:16:54,040 --> 00:16:58,520 Speaker 1: the mine companies that they had surrendered. For about a 288 00:16:58,680 --> 00:17:03,960 Speaker 1: thousand miners of the estimated ten thousand who fought officially surrendered. 289 00:17:04,440 --> 00:17:06,639 Speaker 1: They were supposed to turn in their weapons, but the 290 00:17:06,680 --> 00:17:09,960 Speaker 1: miners only turned in about four hundred guns. The rest 291 00:17:10,000 --> 00:17:13,080 Speaker 1: of the weapons were dropped or hidden, or smuggled back 292 00:17:13,080 --> 00:17:16,119 Speaker 1: to the miners homes. The death toll of the Battle 293 00:17:16,119 --> 00:17:19,359 Speaker 1: of Blair Mountain was somewhere between thirty and fifty, which 294 00:17:19,359 --> 00:17:22,320 Speaker 1: is surprising considering how many men fought and what kinds 295 00:17:22,320 --> 00:17:24,960 Speaker 1: of weapons had been employed. This seems to have been 296 00:17:24,960 --> 00:17:27,359 Speaker 1: because a lot of the fighting happened through brush without 297 00:17:27,400 --> 00:17:30,520 Speaker 1: a clear line of sight on either party's part. The 298 00:17:30,600 --> 00:17:33,439 Speaker 1: miners who surrendered were allowed to go home, and some 299 00:17:33,520 --> 00:17:36,479 Speaker 1: of them were transported there by train. The idea was 300 00:17:36,520 --> 00:17:39,120 Speaker 1: that the leaders of this resistance were the ones who 301 00:17:39,119 --> 00:17:42,120 Speaker 1: were going to be held responsible. All in all, there 302 00:17:42,160 --> 00:17:46,080 Speaker 1: were one thousand, two hundred seventeen indictments that came down 303 00:17:46,400 --> 00:17:48,679 Speaker 1: from a grand jury as a result of the battle. 304 00:17:49,320 --> 00:17:51,760 Speaker 1: Three d and twenty five of these indictments were for 305 00:17:51,920 --> 00:17:56,160 Speaker 1: murder and twenty four were for treason. Most of these 306 00:17:56,240 --> 00:17:59,280 Speaker 1: eventually led to acquittals, or they were thrown out, or 307 00:17:59,320 --> 00:18:03,159 Speaker 1: they just never aimed to trial. But because of the 308 00:18:03,200 --> 00:18:07,600 Speaker 1: battle and the surrender, the Union itself, especially its presence 309 00:18:07,600 --> 00:18:12,280 Speaker 1: in southern West Virginia, was almost destroyed. Membership in southern 310 00:18:12,280 --> 00:18:16,159 Speaker 1: West Virginia dropped just precipitously, and it took almost a 311 00:18:16,240 --> 00:18:20,119 Speaker 1: decade for the UMW to regroup and start advocating for 312 00:18:20,160 --> 00:18:24,720 Speaker 1: better working conditions again. In two thousand eight, the site 313 00:18:24,760 --> 00:18:26,920 Speaker 1: of the battle was nominated to be placed on the 314 00:18:27,040 --> 00:18:31,040 Speaker 1: National Register of Historic Places. Before a property can be 315 00:18:31,119 --> 00:18:34,000 Speaker 1: listed on the register, owners of the property have the 316 00:18:34,080 --> 00:18:37,479 Speaker 1: chance to object to its being listed. The back and 317 00:18:37,560 --> 00:18:40,320 Speaker 1: forth that went on about whether the Blair Mountains site 318 00:18:40,320 --> 00:18:43,919 Speaker 1: should be listed was pretty long. Originally there were sixty 319 00:18:44,000 --> 00:18:47,000 Speaker 1: six owners who were identified as owning land that was 320 00:18:47,040 --> 00:18:49,640 Speaker 1: part of the site, but that number rose as high 321 00:18:49,760 --> 00:18:52,720 Speaker 1: as sixty eight and dropped as low as fifty seven 322 00:18:52,960 --> 00:18:56,720 Speaker 1: over the back and forth. The number of objections to 323 00:18:56,920 --> 00:19:00,119 Speaker 1: the site being listed on the register also changed a 324 00:19:00,160 --> 00:19:03,919 Speaker 1: lot based on who was doing the counting, environmental groups 325 00:19:04,040 --> 00:19:08,159 Speaker 1: or coal companies. Consequently, the battlefield was briefly placed on 326 00:19:08,200 --> 00:19:10,800 Speaker 1: the National Register of Historical Places, and then it was 327 00:19:10,880 --> 00:19:15,320 Speaker 1: removed from the register after only a few months. Several 328 00:19:15,400 --> 00:19:18,800 Speaker 1: conservation groups, including the Sierra Club, sued the U S 329 00:19:18,840 --> 00:19:22,719 Speaker 1: Department of the Interior over the battlefields delisting. The U 330 00:19:22,800 --> 00:19:25,560 Speaker 1: S District Court for the District of Columbia upheld the 331 00:19:25,560 --> 00:19:31,440 Speaker 1: decision in so the battlefield is not currently on the register. Yeah, 332 00:19:31,520 --> 00:19:34,240 Speaker 1: environmental groups were really hoping that having it listed on 333 00:19:34,320 --> 00:19:37,720 Speaker 1: the Register of Historic Places, while that would not give 334 00:19:37,720 --> 00:19:41,320 Speaker 1: it complete protection from an environmental standpoint, it would offer 335 00:19:41,720 --> 00:19:45,119 Speaker 1: some protection. One of the reasons that people are so 336 00:19:45,200 --> 00:19:49,320 Speaker 1: interested in this is because of mountaintop removal mining. There's 337 00:19:49,359 --> 00:19:52,360 Speaker 1: an ongoing struggle between people who really want to preserve 338 00:19:52,440 --> 00:19:55,119 Speaker 1: the mountain and people who want to mine it, and 339 00:19:55,200 --> 00:20:00,200 Speaker 1: in June of eleven, environmentalists and historians recreated the nine 340 00:20:00,960 --> 00:20:03,560 Speaker 1: March to Blair Mountain as part of a big protest 341 00:20:03,680 --> 00:20:07,520 Speaker 1: and rally for preservation efforts. On the other hand, people 342 00:20:07,520 --> 00:20:10,840 Speaker 1: who supported the coal industry basically lined the root of 343 00:20:10,880 --> 00:20:14,359 Speaker 1: the march with their own counter protest. The battle and 344 00:20:14,400 --> 00:20:16,720 Speaker 1: the miners who originally fought it have been brought up 345 00:20:16,720 --> 00:20:19,000 Speaker 1: as a symbol of the fight to preserve the mountain 346 00:20:19,440 --> 00:20:23,600 Speaker 1: or to stop mountaintop removal mining entirely. Opponents point out 347 00:20:23,640 --> 00:20:26,399 Speaker 1: that this is really inappropriation. They weren't fighting for the 348 00:20:26,440 --> 00:20:28,840 Speaker 1: mountain at all. They were fighting for safer jobs with 349 00:20:28,880 --> 00:20:32,439 Speaker 1: fair pay and non exploited business practices, as well as 350 00:20:32,480 --> 00:20:36,200 Speaker 1: the right to unionize. Coal continues to be a major 351 00:20:36,280 --> 00:20:40,000 Speaker 1: industry in West Virginia, but new mining techniques and new 352 00:20:40,040 --> 00:20:43,040 Speaker 1: methods mean that there are fewer jobs within the industry. 353 00:20:43,440 --> 00:20:47,800 Speaker 1: So while overall the coal industry pays pretty well now 354 00:20:48,440 --> 00:20:52,200 Speaker 1: um there are far fewer jobs available, so the people 355 00:20:52,280 --> 00:20:55,119 Speaker 1: mining coal are making a much better living today than 356 00:20:55,160 --> 00:20:59,719 Speaker 1: they were in nine but unemployment is a huge issue 357 00:21:00,040 --> 00:21:03,119 Speaker 1: in the regions of West Virginia where the main industry 358 00:21:03,160 --> 00:21:05,840 Speaker 1: has always been coal mining. And sort of as a 359 00:21:05,920 --> 00:21:10,560 Speaker 1: coda note on the word redneck, about six of the 360 00:21:10,600 --> 00:21:13,119 Speaker 1: people who requested this episode, because we've had quite a 361 00:21:13,200 --> 00:21:16,240 Speaker 1: number of requests, have mentioned in their request that the 362 00:21:16,240 --> 00:21:20,000 Speaker 1: Battle of Blair Mountain was where the word redneck originated 363 00:21:20,760 --> 00:21:23,240 Speaker 1: to mean a white rural person that you believe to 364 00:21:23,280 --> 00:21:26,880 Speaker 1: be poorer and more ignorant than you are. Uh. First 365 00:21:26,880 --> 00:21:29,480 Speaker 1: of all, redneck is actually considered a slur. It is 366 00:21:29,520 --> 00:21:33,520 Speaker 1: no more acceptable than any derogatory word for people from 367 00:21:33,560 --> 00:21:37,600 Speaker 1: other regions that people might use. Second of all, the 368 00:21:37,640 --> 00:21:40,360 Speaker 1: word redneck actually appeared in print for the first time 369 00:21:40,400 --> 00:21:44,240 Speaker 1: in eighteen thirty, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, and 370 00:21:44,400 --> 00:21:47,280 Speaker 1: Newport Royal reported it as quote a name bestowed on 371 00:21:47,320 --> 00:21:51,280 Speaker 1: Presbyterians in Fayetteville. She was writing about Fayetteville, North Carolina. 372 00:21:51,600 --> 00:21:55,560 Speaker 1: It's not totally clear how the word redneck more from 373 00:21:55,720 --> 00:22:00,520 Speaker 1: that use into today's sort of hillbilliesque flavor, but it 374 00:22:00,560 --> 00:22:04,600 Speaker 1: was used as a synonym for hayseed bye and was 375 00:22:04,680 --> 00:22:09,399 Speaker 1: also used to mean an uncouth countryman by so it 376 00:22:09,560 --> 00:22:13,280 Speaker 1: was definitely established in the vernacular with the meaning pretty 377 00:22:13,359 --> 00:22:16,560 Speaker 1: much like it means today before the events in nine 378 00:22:17,160 --> 00:22:21,639 Speaker 1: one at Blair Mountain. So while the miners were wearing 379 00:22:21,640 --> 00:22:24,840 Speaker 1: red bandanas and they probably were called rednecks because they 380 00:22:24,880 --> 00:22:28,520 Speaker 1: had read red bandanas on that use is not where 381 00:22:28,520 --> 00:22:33,480 Speaker 1: the word redneck came from. The more you know, the 382 00:22:33,560 --> 00:22:37,480 Speaker 1: more you know. Yeah, it drives me kind of crazy 383 00:22:37,680 --> 00:22:42,679 Speaker 1: when people use that word, uh, because it's it's a 384 00:22:42,840 --> 00:22:45,600 Speaker 1: very derogatory term. I know that there are many people 385 00:22:45,640 --> 00:22:47,640 Speaker 1: who use the word with pride, as there are many 386 00:22:47,680 --> 00:22:51,440 Speaker 1: people who use many slurs to talk about themselves with pride. 387 00:22:51,920 --> 00:22:54,240 Speaker 1: But I cannot think of any time that I have 388 00:22:54,359 --> 00:22:56,880 Speaker 1: used one or I've heard one person say that word 389 00:22:56,880 --> 00:23:02,040 Speaker 1: about another person without casting huge, sparaging judgment on them. 390 00:23:02,200 --> 00:23:06,359 Speaker 1: He Yeah, it usually does come with a healthy dose 391 00:23:06,600 --> 00:23:10,240 Speaker 1: of superiority. Uh. Do you have a little bit of 392 00:23:10,280 --> 00:23:13,040 Speaker 1: listener mail as well for him? Okay, I do have 393 00:23:13,119 --> 00:23:16,159 Speaker 1: listener mail. It is from Anna and Anna writes about 394 00:23:16,160 --> 00:23:19,320 Speaker 1: our podcast on the yah As Sound Wad War of Independence. 395 00:23:19,880 --> 00:23:21,800 Speaker 1: She says, I was so excited to see that you 396 00:23:21,840 --> 00:23:24,200 Speaker 1: had done a podcast on the ya As Sound Wold War, 397 00:23:24,400 --> 00:23:27,600 Speaker 1: as I just visited Ghana last March. I work at 398 00:23:27,640 --> 00:23:31,439 Speaker 1: North Carolina, anti historically black university that also has a 399 00:23:31,480 --> 00:23:34,760 Speaker 1: fascinating history in terms of civil rights. I was so 400 00:23:34,840 --> 00:23:36,919 Speaker 1: excited to see that you had done a podcast on 401 00:23:36,960 --> 00:23:39,560 Speaker 1: the Yaha sound walld war as I just visited Ghana 402 00:23:39,640 --> 00:23:42,440 Speaker 1: last March. She goes on to talk about working at 403 00:23:42,440 --> 00:23:45,280 Speaker 1: North Carolina A and T, which is a historically black 404 00:23:45,400 --> 00:23:48,639 Speaker 1: university that played a part in the civil rights movement 405 00:23:48,640 --> 00:23:50,760 Speaker 1: in the United States because it was for A and 406 00:23:50,840 --> 00:23:54,560 Speaker 1: T University freshman who started to sit in at the 407 00:23:54,600 --> 00:23:59,240 Speaker 1: Greensboro Woolworth. She says, we took a group of students 408 00:23:59,240 --> 00:24:02,200 Speaker 1: to Ghana where we visited Kumasi in the former Assante 409 00:24:02,320 --> 00:24:07,120 Speaker 1: Palace which is now the Manhea Palace Museum. The old 410 00:24:07,160 --> 00:24:09,679 Speaker 1: palace itself looks more like a regular big old house, 411 00:24:10,040 --> 00:24:12,680 Speaker 1: which is very cool in that there are all these 412 00:24:12,680 --> 00:24:15,600 Speaker 1: peacocks wandering around the grounds which connect to the current 413 00:24:15,640 --> 00:24:19,400 Speaker 1: Monkeya Palace. I hope I'm pronouncing that right. I apologize 414 00:24:19,440 --> 00:24:22,720 Speaker 1: if I have slurred it in some way. One reason 415 00:24:22,760 --> 00:24:25,520 Speaker 1: in particular that I like Yah, other than the fact 416 00:24:25,520 --> 00:24:27,640 Speaker 1: that she is so badass, is that she and I 417 00:24:27,720 --> 00:24:31,280 Speaker 1: share the same Assanti name. Assanti names are assigned based 418 00:24:31,280 --> 00:24:33,280 Speaker 1: on the day of the week you were born. We 419 00:24:33,320 --> 00:24:35,840 Speaker 1: can guess that Kofi Annan, for instance, was born on 420 00:24:35,880 --> 00:24:38,120 Speaker 1: a Friday because Kofe is one of the names given 421 00:24:38,160 --> 00:24:41,479 Speaker 1: to boys born on Fridays. They're also names dealing with 422 00:24:41,560 --> 00:24:45,240 Speaker 1: birth order and twins. Most Ghanians are given both Christian 423 00:24:45,280 --> 00:24:47,399 Speaker 1: and Assanti names, and they will choose which to go 424 00:24:47,440 --> 00:24:49,880 Speaker 1: by when they get older. This is why you often 425 00:24:49,880 --> 00:24:51,679 Speaker 1: meet a lot of folks from Ghana who have the 426 00:24:51,720 --> 00:24:56,120 Speaker 1: same name. I know a lot of Kakus, which means 427 00:24:56,240 --> 00:24:59,080 Speaker 1: I know a lot of people who were born on Wednesday. 428 00:24:59,480 --> 00:25:02,399 Speaker 1: I'm a ta watching a few textile pictures that I 429 00:25:02,440 --> 00:25:05,800 Speaker 1: think Holly might appreciate. The clothing and Ghana is absolutely 430 00:25:05,800 --> 00:25:09,000 Speaker 1: beautiful and colorful, and when we were over the exchange 431 00:25:09,080 --> 00:25:11,119 Speaker 1: rate was so good that we could get beautiful handmade 432 00:25:11,119 --> 00:25:14,400 Speaker 1: outmit outfits for not much. The pictures I am including 433 00:25:14,400 --> 00:25:17,040 Speaker 1: are of can tape cloth being woven. This is the 434 00:25:17,040 --> 00:25:21,040 Speaker 1: cloth worn by royalty. The hand cranked sewing machine that 435 00:25:21,080 --> 00:25:24,000 Speaker 1: the women who made our clothes used. Power can be 436 00:25:24,080 --> 00:25:27,919 Speaker 1: intermittent in Ghana. As we learned the entrance to the 437 00:25:27,960 --> 00:25:30,800 Speaker 1: slave river, we visited This is where slaves who were 438 00:25:30,800 --> 00:25:34,120 Speaker 1: often sold to the various European conquerors by local tribes 439 00:25:34,160 --> 00:25:37,520 Speaker 1: took their last bath after walking across Ghana and being 440 00:25:37,560 --> 00:25:41,760 Speaker 1: put into the slave dungeons. She also talks about the 441 00:25:41,840 --> 00:25:43,920 Speaker 1: outfit that her tour guide was wearing, which is a 442 00:25:43,920 --> 00:25:47,640 Speaker 1: pretty cool outfit. She says that people in Ghana were 443 00:25:47,720 --> 00:25:50,399 Speaker 1: a mixture of traditional and western wear, so it's not 444 00:25:50,480 --> 00:25:53,439 Speaker 1: uncommon to see people in the street wearing many different 445 00:25:53,440 --> 00:25:56,760 Speaker 1: types of clothing. Um, and she said a picture of peacocks. 446 00:25:57,520 --> 00:26:00,960 Speaker 1: She talks about how Ghana is a fascinating place to 447 00:26:01,040 --> 00:26:04,399 Speaker 1: visit and it's um the official languages English, they are 448 00:26:04,400 --> 00:26:08,520 Speaker 1: incredibly friendly people and amazing clothing, and she says to 449 00:26:08,600 --> 00:26:11,080 Speaker 1: keep up the excellent work on the show. Thank you 450 00:26:11,119 --> 00:26:13,840 Speaker 1: so much, Anna. Yes, I loved the pictures. I actually 451 00:26:13,880 --> 00:26:16,000 Speaker 1: have a treadle machine very similar to the one that 452 00:26:16,040 --> 00:26:20,680 Speaker 1: she sent the photo of, so yeah, we have several. Yeah, 453 00:26:20,680 --> 00:26:23,199 Speaker 1: we have several machines like that in my family at 454 00:26:23,280 --> 00:26:26,119 Speaker 1: various places that most of them belonged to grandmothers and 455 00:26:26,119 --> 00:26:29,280 Speaker 1: great grandmothers. Yep I inherited mine through Brian's family who 456 00:26:29,359 --> 00:26:31,399 Speaker 1: have had it for more than a hundred years so, 457 00:26:31,840 --> 00:26:34,119 Speaker 1: and those things will go forever if you just do 458 00:26:34,160 --> 00:26:37,639 Speaker 1: a little bit of maintenance on them. Yep. So, if 459 00:26:37,680 --> 00:26:39,480 Speaker 1: you would like to write to us about this or 460 00:26:39,480 --> 00:26:42,800 Speaker 1: any other subject, we are at History Podcast at housework 461 00:26:42,880 --> 00:26:45,760 Speaker 1: dot com. 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