Posts by Dolores Riggs Davis
When death came knocking at the door of Hanna Coal Company’s No. 10 Mine at Willow Grove, its icy fingers entombed more than seventy men in a matter of seconds at eleven o’clock on Saturday morning, March 16, 1940.
Death Comes a Knocking – Willow Grove, Ohio 1940 Read More »
LITTLE EGYPT LOST WRECKAGE OF HAVACO MINE – JANUARY 15, 1946 McDowell County, West Virginia is the most southern county of the state, and they hold the record for the largest number of explosions in the state. The mining town of Jed, located two miles north of Welch, lost eighty-three men when the mine blew
Little Egypt Lost – Havaco Mine – JANUARY 15, 1946 Read More »
At the time of the accident 45 men were inside the mine, however the explosion was confined to only one section. Thirteen men were working in the section that blew, and eleven men were killed Shortly after the explosion, a motorman delivering a trip of empty cars near the site noticed smoke and dust in the haulageway. He immediately notified the outside mine office of his findings, and Superintendent T. L. Lambert, went underground to investigate.
Tragedy at Burning Springs – Kermit 1951 Read More »
GRADE FOUR 1946 – 1947 If you can identify any of the students please e-mail me. Row one: teacher: Evelyn Lewis, Donald Hughes, Dolores Riggs, Billy Joe Molnar, Johnnie Fleming, Lowell Reynolds, ?, Riley Fleming, Mary Ellen Hatton Row two: Jerry Vaughn, Ginger McNeely, Bobby Wagner, unidentified, Ruth Ann Lester, Billy Roberts Row three: Joyce
On Wednesday, January 10, 1940, the Pond Creek No. 1 Mine at Bartley, West Virginia owned by Pocohontas Coal Corporation, exploded at exactly 2:30 in the afternoon killing ninety-one men.
A Time to Weep – Bartley 1940 Read More »
REV. ARCHIE CONWAY Photo by: Dolores Riggs – 1958 LYBURN MINE FIRE On Sunday morning at seven o’clock on August 14, 1932, four men entered the Croaton Coal Company Mine at Lyburn. The mine was empty, and they were cleaning up slate so Monday’s shift could start on time. At approximately ten o’clock that morning
High on the mountain . . . winds a blowing free . . . standing all alone . . .wondering where the days of my life have gone. Augusto “Patsy” Tobia & Alice Virginia Burns Tobis Patsy was born in Rome, Italy, and came to America at age 17 with his brother to find employment.
Where Have the Days of Our Lives Gone? Read More »
THE HINCHMAN HOUSE, HINCHMAN AND COLE STREET, LOGAN WV U.B. “Beck” Buskirk, a lumber entrepreneur, began construction on a home in the city of Logan on Cole Street in the winter of 1893. It was a masterpiece of late nineteenth century architecture, and became a well known landmark in Logan. Buskirk’s wife was from Cincinnati,
The Historical Hinchman House Read More »
“. . . and departing leave behind us, footprints in the sands of time.” – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow from “Psalm of Life” As my husband and I departed for our home in the chilly north from Panama City Beach, Florida, in March of 1998 a sign on the beach called out to me. The sign
Footprints in the Sands of Time Read More »
By Dolores Riggs Davis (1936-2014) Author, Thomas Wolfe said, “You can’t go home again,” . . . and for many of us that’s true. Like Dehue, most of the once bustling mining towns in Logan County have fallen by the wayside. However, once a year on the second Saturday of August we gather at the
You Can Go Home Again Read More »