Being a coal miner’s daughter, the song “Dark As A Dungeon” always runs chills up my spine. It tells young men to listen to this song, and not to seek their fortune in a dreary coal mine. It goes on to say, that danger is double, pleasures are few, and that the rain never falls, or the sun never shines inside the mines. Merle Travis sings that he hopes when he is gone that the ages will roll while his body blackens and turns into coal. Then, he will look from the door of his heavenly home, and pity the miner who is diggin’ his bones. My dad, Rev. Emmett B. Riggs, Sr. often referred to the inside of a mine as the “bowels of the earth,” and that sounded so ominous it increased my fears for his safety.
I was born in the mining town of Dehue in Logan County, West Virginia, and delivered at home by Dr. Fred Brammer who was the company doctor. It was at Dehue where I learned about death in a dreary coal mine.
My first taste of death was at age twelve when our neighbor, Serafin Nieves died in a slate fall. He had worked for the Youngstown Mine Corporation at Dehue for 15 years when was killed at age 50 on Tuesday, August 2, 1949. He was the eighteenth mine fatality in Logan County that year.
Mr. Nieves wife, Sara was visiting relatives in Warren, Ohio, when the accident occurred. He was laid-out at home which was the custom at that time, and I went with my parents to pay our respects. When we arrived a huge crowd of people had already gathered. Sara kept sobbing that she had a premonition of her husband’s death, and had dreamed over and over about a large crowd of people in front of their house. . . . “Danger is double and pleasures are few.”
DEADLY GAS KILLS 18 AT ISLAND CREEK NO. 22
On Tuesday, March 8, 1960 the Holden Mine at Island Creek No. 22 caught fire in the coal seam, and it created a carbon monoxide gas which killed eighteen men by asphyxiation. The men were trapped shortly after entering the mine at seven in the morning. The last word from them came about 8:30 that morning shortly before the telephone lines burned. I worked for the Logan Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company, and our office was flooded with calls as the word of the disaster spread.
Twenty men went into the Holden Mine on this snowy March morning, and not long after work a slate fall occurred in the tunnels between the men and the shaft bottom. Officials blamed the fire on a cable or trolley line which was suspected to have been knocked down near a wooden timber that arced until the wood caught fire. The coal then caught on fire causing a raging inferno to roar through the tunnels inside the mine. The men knew this, but were sealed off from the fire by the slate fall. Rescue workers poured water into the mine using as many as twelve different water-hose, but freezing temperatures soon froze the lines on the surface. Finally, when the fire was contained, teams of 40 men working around the clock slogged though knee-deep water in the smoke and steam hoping to rescue the men. Veteran rescue workers called it “hell’s fire.”
Ventilation expert, Willis Carter who was one of the trapped miners, volunteered to crawl through a narrow passageway to try an find a way out. A young miner, Kyle Blair agreed to follow him. The others decided to wait for fire fighters and the rescue team. Carter said Blair blacked out for about twenty-five minutes as they crawled toward the surface. After that, Carter’s repeated remarks of encouragement kept Blair moving with him through a circular route in old mine workings. When they finally reached safety, Blair said he remembered little of their four hour ordeal except that Willis kept talking. Blair said, “I just grabbed the right man.”
Carter was asked if there was panic among the men. He said, “No, I don’t think so, except for a time right at the first. I thought Donaldson was in some sort of shock. He wouldn’t even answer me when I told him the men could not get out through the Elk Creek Slope. He kept telling Josh Chafin, a section foreman, to take his men and head for the Elk Creek Slope.” Donaldson was a safety inspector who just happened to be with them when the fire broke out. Company officials hoped he could direct survival tactics by putting up brattices (canvas walls) to block off heat and fumes. Carter said he thought all of the men could have escaped if they had followed him.
As daylight came on Friday, the rescue teams were no closer to reaching the miners. Most of the family members and friends held vigil at their homes hoping for a miracle. Newspaper men became restless and dissatisfied with the information being handed to them by the officials. One reporter complained there was to much confusion in the reports from the rescue teams.
Roma Sargent’s older brother, Orville was one of the trapped miners. Roma was a cab driver in Dearborn, Michigan, and rushed to the scene as soon as he got word of the disaster. He said he had never worked a day in the mines in his life, and after this he said they couldn’t lower him into one. “I’d starve to death first,” he said. His father, Alvin B. Sargent of nearby Mud Fork had ten sons and a daughter, and was a retired coal miner. Roma said his sister lost her husband in a mining accident about six months before the Holden disaster.
On Tuesday at three o’clock in the afternoon, eight days after the fire began rescue workers came upon 13 bodies. All had died within hours after the accident of carbon monoxide gas. None of the bodies were burned, and the men appeared to have been relaxed when death made its silent approach. Two men were eating from their lunch buckets. One man was found in a kneeling position with his arms encircling a timber, and was apparently praying when he was over-come with the deadly gas. Freda Enyart Horvath, wife of Berti, believed this to be her husband, and wrote him a goodbye letter after she heard the news.
Josh Chafin, Jr. of Pine Creek was found still clutching the note he had written to his wife. The note was delivered to his wife twelve hours before the first body was brought to the surface. The note read: Mable, I love you more than you will ever know. Take care of the kids and raise them to serve the Lord.” It was signed, “Jr.” . . . the name he went by. Josh and his wife were members of the Central Baptist Church on Holden Road.
The bodies were wrapped in blankets and plastic bags, and carried to the base of a 485-foot elevator shaft. They were lined up neatly to await their return to the surface. A heavy wet snow fell covering the ground. The men were taken to the Harris Funeral Home which was chosen as a central station where families could claim the remains and make funeral arrangements. The last two miners to be recovered were Charles Adams and Louis Workman.
By Thursday afternoon all the bodies had been recovered. It had taken nine days. Seventy-two children were left fatherless and sixteen wives were made widows by the holocaust. I pity the miner a diggin’ my bones . . . deep in the mines that is as dark as a dungeon.
A LIST OF THE EIGHTEEN VICTIMS
| Name | Age | survivors |
|---|---|---|
| Charles Adams | 46 | wife and 7 children |
| Frank Ardis | 63 | wife and 4 children |
| Ernest Bevins | 35 | wife and 7 children |
| Okey Bryant | 49 | widower and 5 children |
| James Carter | 30 | wife and 6 children |
| Josh Chafin, Jr. | 37 | wife and 4 children |
| Roy Lee Dempsey | 52 | 9 children |
| William Donaldson | 53 | wife and 1 child |
| Garfield Hensley | 43 | wife and 5 children |
| Berti Horvath | 32 | wife and 4 children |
| Flint Lock Jarrells | 39 | wife and 6 children |
| Albert Marcum, Jr. | 34 | wife and 5 children |
| Melvin Newsom | 46 | wife and 1 child |
| Isom Ooten | 43 | wife and 6 children |
| James V. Lundell | 26 | wife and 2 children |
| Orville Sargent | 32 | wife and 1 child |
| Clyde White | 39 | wife and 3 children |
| Louis Workman | 32 | wife and 1 child |
According to John Stepp from Logan County, Kyle Blair who escaped death at the Holden 22 mine disaster, died tragically in another mining accident about 1974. He was a mine foreman on the tipple at a Boone County mine, and fell into a coal crusher.
Betty Sheppard Dulcie lived at Holden at the time of the disaster, and her husband, Matt helped bring out the first four bodies. One of them he brought out was James Carter, brother of Willis who escaped death by crawling to safety through a tunnel. She said, James was to big to fit into the tunnel, and that he was known by the way he always squatted down when he rested.
A MESSAGE TO BERTI
Dear Beloved Husband and Father,
Honey, I am thinking of you this morning. I know you don’t know this, but while you are resting, I am thinking of you at 12:25 a.m. I can’t sleep. You are on my mind and I can’t seem to get you off my mind.
I love you very much and always will. I was talking to Carl Dixon at the funeral home and he said that it seemed to him that you had been praying. So, when I read it in the paper I just knew it was you. So, I know you are in Heaven. I am satisfied now.
The kids and I are going to miss you very much. I still have your picture. I love it very much and always will. Diana and Garry said we have no Daddy now, but we will always have your memory.
If only you knew how nice you were put away you would be so happy. The only thing I didn’t like was that I couldn’t see you or bring you home for the last time. But it was impossible.
I am going to make me a scrapbook of everything I have involving your death. If Rev. Cosby and all my good friends hadn’t stood by me, bless their hearts, I don’t know what I would have done. I wish to thank every one who helped to comfort me. So don’t worry about the children. They will be brought up the same way you wanted them to be. I will do my best.
Diana and Garry tell you good night every night. I have your picture on the back of my bed so I can see it every night and kiss you good night. That is all I have of you now, but I’ll think of you every minute. I love you. We were very happy together. I am going back to bed now and try to rest some . . . like you are.
As the Lord sayeth, He giveth, and the Lord also taketh. So God be with me and the children to be strong and keep on living without you. I love you, God, and will try to change my way of living when you reach my heart.
Good Night Berti
Your wife and four children who love you
This touching letter was written by Berti Horvath’s wife, Freda. Florence Carter May’s mother clipped a copy of the letter from the Logan Banner, and tucked it away in her Bible. Florence found it when she was a young girl, and often wondered why her mother saved it. When she read my story about the Holden disaster she understood, and sent a copy to me.
* Note: Resources used to write this story: They Died In The Darkness by Lacy A. Dillon, copyright 1976 in Ravencliff, West Virginia. The Logan Banner.
Song: Dark As A Dungeon was recorded by Country singer, Merle Travis. The copyright is 1947 by Elvis Presley Music, Inc., Gladys Music, Inc., Hill and Range Songs, Inc., and Noma Music, Inc.
*Dolores Riggs Davis is author of The Dehue History Book 1916-1994, and A Wife’s Vietnam published in 1996.
My grandpa was Charles Adams he was killed in the Holden 22 mines accidents he was 50 years old not 46 they did recovery his body and buried him i never got to meet grandpa Adams but i know one day i will daddy told us the story of his funeral how his caskets has giggler on it and they was not aloud to gave fire in the house dad said there was a snow on the ground they had to buried grandpa in 6 hours or he would explode because he had so much methane in his body God bless the family who lost a love ones
My name is Tony Hensley, my father was Arnold Hensley, my grandpa was Lonzo Hensley,, his brother Garfield Hensley died that day. I was born in 1962 and lived in 22 until i was 3 or 4. My grandma Pearl Hensley, told me many times of the disaster that day and how life once was in 22. Today i go in 22 every now and then just to see the place where i once lived. People would be amazed at what a community 22 once was. I would love to see pictures of community and of all the buildings that once stood proud there, but i know if there is any, they would rare a few. I remember all the folks talking of life there when every year they would gather at the 22 Reunion in Chief Logan State Park. It’s a shame i think the Reunion is no more. But time goes on, our elders pass away,,, so i guess its just got to hard in some to make it there. I just hope that in 50,,, or even a 100 years from now that the men who died that are not forgotten and what an amazing community 22 once was.
Tony, are you related to Gladys. We lived across the road from her parents. Bob Mays
Tony they’ve built a monument and a permanent spot for the Holden 22 reunion up on 22 mountain across from the national guard building. I think the reunion is in June. Look for the Holden 22 Facebook page.
I’m Chuck Carter, my mom grew up at 22 Holden…the Padgett family.
DOUGLAS DEMPSEY, WILLIAM F. MEADE JR., BOB PIROS,
My father was Roy Dempsey, who was one of the fatalities of Holden 22 mine disaster. He resided at Rockhouse Branch Rd. of Mud Fork with his wife, Carrie Dempsey, and children.
In the survivors list, it mentions 9 children. I think “wife” was not listed because in some of the writings about the disaster, emphasis was placed on the number of children that he had (the most children of any of the miners who perished). I read the book “They Died in the Darkness”. I was six years old when the disaster occurred. Some of my siblings were grown and had left home, so there were 5 children still at home at the time.
My dad’s father was Anderson Dempsey, and Foster Workman’s mother was my dad’s sister.
I had an uncle, Elmer Dempsey, who also lived on Mud Fork.
Mary,
Thanks for the information. My grandfather Sherman Peter Dempsey was a brother of Anderson Dempsey.
Foster’s wife is my wife’s best friend.
I was a teenager and lived at Thompson Town in the 1950’s. Elmer’s house was a few hundred feet away. I visited there with my Dad many times. His wife always had a fresh lemon pie that she served us.
We often visited your uncle Greenway who lived in Huntington.
I own a 40-acre tract of land on Upper Crawley Creek that is where Anderson lived before moving to the head of Mud Fork. I bought it from my Dad. It is a large hollow which Dad referred to as the “Anderson Hollow” which everyone else came to call it.
My sister is into genealogy so I will pass on the information you gave and we’ll see where it goes. Thanks!
Does anyone recall Richard grey? He worked the mine , he was my great grandfather.
my name is Dallas Adkins
My Dad Cecil L. Agkins worked at the 22 holden mine when this happened he was aslate truck driver . He and Burnie Carter worked day and night helping to get the men out. He came home to rest and get some food but couldn’t rest and went back to help we lived at #7 Holden.
My dad, John Barto, worked at #27 Pegion creek when this happened , he was one of the men who went in day after day to try to rescue the men. He had worked at #22 & knew the mines well. My Uncle Gazie Barto & Uncle Joe Barto also worked at #22, Uncle Joe was killed in that mine, crushed between wall & coal car. My Aunt Mary Ann Curry was a registered nurse & stayed in site along with Dr. Chillag until the last man was brought out. I was 7 years old, I remember this sad time well.
my grandfather was Eddie Williams and this accident broke his heart… he was an engineer for the company.. but what I have gathered was loved and respected by many.. over the years i have given back.. I worked as a nurse with kids and burn victims I will never forget how he loved others..
I was home on leave from Ft Knox Kentucky, in 22 Holden when this tragedy occurred. My Dad came out of the mine with the Midnight shift that morning. I was so thankful for my Dad be spared his life. I was very close with the Ardis family and felt so heartbroken for the 4 brothers and Mrs. Ardis at the time.
A day or so later but before I was scheduled to go back to Ft Knox I talked to my Dad. I implored his not to go back into that mine and I did this with noticeable crying and concern for my Dad. Of course he had to support his family and had no other means to support the family left at home.
I know that then and time before this, and after I vowed I would never work in a coal mine. Years later I was in the magazine publishing business and working on a magazine called “Coa Mining and Processing. My boss at the time said we were going to Southern Illinois and one of our chores would be a visit to a coal mine. Well we got to the mine and descended down a deep shaft more that 450 feet below the ground surface. It was scary! Sections of the mine would be separated by canvas partitions, you would go into one area and hear a hissing sound (methane) coming from the walls and learned first hand what would kill one when trapped in a mine.
I have now lived 7 years past the time of my Dad’s life and never went to another mine.
I pray that God will bless and protect all miners and their families throughout the world, but I especially want him to bless the coal miner.
Denny L. Linville
Former 22 Holden Resident and now living in Walton Hills, OHIO for the past 42 years plus.
Denny,
I speculate that your father had worked as a coal miner for several years and in 1960, and after experiencing the slump of the industry in the late 1950’s, he felt himself lucky to be employed. But, beyond that, he also felt the camaraderie that is characteristic and particularly experienced by underground coal miners. I believe that because of the shared dangers they are exposed to every day, they tend to develop a stoic, resigned to their fate attitude that allows them to go back to work in a mine after tragedies such as Mine 22. But, beyond that, coal mining “gets into their blood”.
It is ironic that your visit to an Illinois coal mine involved going down a shaft about 450 feet deep when the Mine 22 shaft was 446.5 feet deep, a trip your father made hundreds (perhaps thousands) of times.
The canvas partitions you saw in the Illinois mine are “temporary” ventilation controls (“stoppings”) which are replaced by “permanent” structures made of “cinderblock” masonry walls (“stoppings”) as the mine advances. (These permanent structures are sometimes made of metal, or other types of substantial fireproof construction.) Mine law requires maintaining permanent controls within a relatively short distance from the individual areas where miners are working.
My father worked as a foreman at Mine 22 for a period of time and many of the names of casualties were familiar to our household. He was working at Mine 28 and returned to Mine 22 to assist in the fire fighting and recovery efforts.
I am glad to share the “ coal miner” comradeship with you.
My grandfather Long was Chief Engineer for ICCC for many years and put most of their mines in. He retired in 1955.
Jim,
What was your grandfather’s name? Do you know what years he worked for ICCC?
Of course, I knew your father Bob when I worked at ICCC in the late 60’s and met your brothers and you (when you were riding that motorcycle around Holden and I lived on Coolidge ). Later on, I met your uncle Bill when I went to work at Youngstown Mines at Dehue in 1969. As I recall, both Bob and Bill had a wry sense of humor.
One day when I was working as a surveyor at ICCC in the late 60’s, I was sent to do a surveying job at the Mine #27 tipple area. I went to the engineering files vault and got the surveyor’s notebook for an old survey that had been done there. When I got to the tipple
site and looked for an old survey station I found a numbered brass tag nailed to the middle of a railroad tie near the tipple. When I looked at the surveyor’s notebook I found that the old survey had been done by your father. Realizing Bob had done that survey many years earlier, I got pleasing satisfaction making the connection to him.
Somewhere on this website (or on a site linked to, or referenced to, on this website) I have seen an old picture of a small group of men. As I recall, one of the men was your father, another was Roger Carnal and the other may have been your uncle Bill. As I recall, the picture was titled something like “Island Creek engineers” or “Island Creek surveyors”.
Unfortunately, I have never been able to find that picture again. I hope to do so.
Doug, good to hear from you, and your kind comments about Dad and Uncle Bill.
My grandfather was Wilbur “ Pop” Long. He came to ICCC in 1922 and retired from there in 1956.
Jim,
Glad to hear from you. I saw your commentary last September responding to Lori Pavin’s inquiries in the HOLDEN topic section regarding Frogtown and “7&8” communities. It prompted me to begin writing a comprehensive overview of Island Creek Coal Co. and coal camps. What I thought would be a short document turns out to be about thirty pages or so long which I am in the final stages of editing. I hope to post it in the HOLDEN topic section within the next day or so. Looking forward to hearing comments from you and others.
In my above comments I asked about your grandfather’s name, I would like to relate a “tale” that my father told me of his early youth. (He was born in 1914.) His mother died when he was very young and he spent a lot of his youth in the household of his grandparents (Fillinger clan) who lived in the very last house in the head of main Crawley Creek (across the mountains of Mud Fork). They lived on a large tract of land (1,000 acres or so) that Island Creek owned and they acted as sort of custodians.
It was practice that every few months or so, an Island Creek agent would travel by horseback and inspect their land there. It was ritual that he would visit the Fillingers and they would provide him a meal and refreshment. Of course the Fillingers did not expect any payment for the meal but whenever the Island Creek agent finished his meal, he would put a silver dollar on the table and cover it with his inverted plate. My father said that Island Creek agent was “Mr. Long”.
In my above comments I mentioned seeing an old photo of some Island Creek “engineers” that included your father and Roger Carnal. I had seen it somewhere on this website or on an affiliated website but I have been unable to find it again. Do you know where the photo is located?
Say hello to all from us.
Would also like to see this photograph. My father, Leonard Blevins, also worked in the engineering dept. for ICCC during this time before moving on to Pittston Coal Co. at Lyburn, W.Va. along with Jim`s father Bob and a few other ICCC engineers.
Jackson,
I did surveyor work at Island Creek from late-1966 thru mid-1969, mostly out of the Holden Division/National Mines Division offices. By that time, “oldtimers” Roger Carnal and Bob Long had moved on up to higher positions in the company and there was a “new” generation of relatively young surveyors. (Bob may have already been working for Pittston at that time.)
The only “oldtimer” doing surveying work in the Holden/National Mines divisions was Oather Drake whom had left Island Creek to work in Florida for a few years and returned to Island Creek in the late 1960’s. I worked with Drake for some time.
I also worked with Ronald Walsh. As I recall, he had worked in the Guyan Division and came to the Holden Division. My impression is that Ronald had worked with your father Leonard Blevins at the Guyan Division. Ronald spoke very highly of Leonard.
Moss Haynes was a senior draftsman at the Holden office. He did “moonlight” engineering work for another coal company in Boone County near Hewett, WV. Moss often hired some of Island Creek’s surveying people to do “weekend” work at the other company. I don’t know if Leonard was working at the Guyan Division or for Pittston at that time.
I met Leonard Blevins doing these weekend jobs for Moss. I recall that on one occasion the crew consisted of Leonard, Ronald Walsh, myself and Loran James who was a junior draftsman at Holden. We did a long survey down the main highway at Hewett and Leonard was the instrument man. I was extremely impressed by Leonard’s expertise and the survey went fantastically fast.
I specifically recall that on another occasion with Leonard leading the crew, we had to walk a weedy path up the hill to do a power line survey. I was carrying some supplies and swinging a machete as we walked. Suddenly, I spotted two large copperheads crawling side-by-side up the path in front of us. Hardly slowing down, I cut the heads off both snakes in swashbuckling swordsmanship motions.
Thanks Doug for these kind remarks. His surveying work was the thing he was most proud of. I know and met all the gentlemen you spoke of and think highly of all. While my Dad did not get along with Oather (lol) I think deep down he respected him. He left ICCC to get away from him (he was his direct boss) but soon after Oather came to Pittston as his boss there. One of life`s little ironies. lol My dad did do those weekend jobs and sometimes would hire me as his backsite man. I remember making $75 for two hours work. Thought I was a rich man. lol Later he got me a job with Pittston working as a brushcutter on a surveying crew with Maynard Hayes. One Saturday we were all working together running an outcrop survey on top of the mountain behind the Laredo office on Buffalo Creek an i pulled back clump of weeds to hack with my machete and there laid a coiled up rattler. I jumped back scared to death and my Dad came over and took my machete and cut off its head. lol I was a little embarrassed but very relieved. He loved all of his surveying buddies, Paul Lankas, Maynard, Teddy Conley, Ronald Walsh (lived at Valley View near his relatives) and Mark Sefton. If i`m not mistaken Mark`s father taught him the trade. I think he did pretty well in life for a 5th grade education. thanks again for letting me relive some of these fine memories
My Dad Dan Carnal was supposed to work but was off sick , I believe, that day but went to help with the rescue and can be seen in a couple of the photographs taken at the time.. Bobby Carnal
Are one of the twin boys? I grew up with Mike Carnal from Holden.
Yes, Mike was our cousin.
Yes this was a sad day for everyone.
I recall seeing it on our TV. My Dad
Joe Piros Sr. knew some of the men
& their families due to his business of
selling eggs & produce to them.
One can only hope that the coal mines
are much safer these days.
I was born in Holden and lived In 22. My father was Sherman Holbrook and my mother MaryLou Browning. My grandmother was Parlee Mullins. My father was off shift when the mine exploded.Iwas in grade school.. He worked on the recovery and worked to seal off the fire. I remember some other kids were Andy Horvath, Barbara Padgett, Barbara Mays, Jerry Maynard, Danny Moore, Frankie Ardis and a lot of others.
We left West Virginia when there was no more work. My mother’s family remained in Holden. Bennie Mullins is my cousin and Carolyn Kelly is also. She has taught school there for years
My dad was Pete Mullins aunt parlee was his sister. I babysat you when you was a little guy.
Hi Eddie, this is Barbara Mays. Hope you get this message.
Barbara, this is cousin Bob “Bobby”. Hope all is well with you.
My grandpa was Roy Dempsey, I wasn’t born until 1966 so I never got to meet him or my other grandpa who was killed in another mine, I wanted to ask if anyone could tell me , on the list of victims and survivors why no mention of my grandmother ? Thanks so much.
William, maybe her name wasn’t
known at the time, maybe you
would like to list her name.
Maybe write your family’s
history or post some photos
of them.
Hey Bob thanks for your repomce, the list i mentioned above of survivors only says wife and number of children ( maybe it was just a type o) but it only list 9 children but doesn’t say wife , I was just curious about that
William, you are probably right.
It would be wonderful of you to
write something about your
Grandfather Roy’s history &
post family photos on this
website.
Hey Bob im not very good with let’s say computer stuff ive never had one all I have is a smart phone and not to good with it as well but i will give this site to some family members that can put photos and such , I would like to see that also thanks so much.
My dad rode to work with Roy Dempsey for years. My dad was laid off three months before the fire. I rode to the mine with Roy and my dad a few months before his layoff. They stopped at the office and left and left me in the truck. When they returned, Roy drive around to the tunnel part of the mine and Roy pointed to the opening and told me that is where Santa Clause and Easter Bunny lives. I was almost nine at the time.
My father Homer Dempsey worked as a section foreman and or shift foreman at Island Creek‘s #22 Mine on Pine Creek a year or so prior to the fire. At the time of the fire he was working as a section foreman at Island Creek‘s #22 Mine on Mud Fork. I was a senior at Logan High.
Either because he volunteered or was asked by Island Creek to help in fire fighting/rescue operations, he went to do so. After a day or so I recall that he leaped out of bed one morning, rapidly dressed and rushed to the mine. It seems that an Archimedean Eureka idea had come to him as to how they could fight the fire. As I recall, he had come up with a plan to use a coal drill to drill holes through blocks of coal adjacent to the fire area through which water could be pumped to extinguish the fire.
Of course my father knew virtually everyone that worked at #22 and those that died in the fire. He and foreman Josh Chafin were close friends and Chafin’s name was a household name at our house.
Apparently, back in the days when my father worked at #22, on occasion, at the end of their shifts some of the foremen would go to some late-night eatery around Logan to eat (and probably drink). I recall my father telling about Chafin’s having a new 1957 top-of-the-line Buick. I think it was a Roadmaster. I saw the car a few times and as I recall, it was a two-tone light tan and brownish color. My dad had a top-of-the-line 56 Ford. Typically, the rank-and-file miners would leave work immediately but the foreman would leave several minutes later because they had to make out reports and other paper work. Anyhow, my father told me that the foremen would race their cars coming up 22 Mountain after work.
Chafin’s and my Dad’s top-of-the-line cars were typical of coal miner cars in that many coal miners had very nice cars which were status symbols of conspicuous consumption items they indulged in because, living in the company houses in cloistered valleys of southern WV, there were not many other things available for them to buy to “brag about”.
William,
I don’t know if my family was related to Roy Dempsey but I seem to recall we went to visit Roy’s house one time. I seem to recall that maybe Roy lived at upper Mud Fork whenever that was. I believe he lived at Harts later on. If you know details of where he lived I would like to know.
My father worked at several mines over his long career and he told me that seam height and other conditions, especially roof conditions at #22 Mine, were the best he had ever worked in.
They did live in mudfork up rockhouse as far as i know they never lived in Harts ,unfortunately my mom passed away a couple years ago but i will ask some of my aunt’s and uncles for more information when i see them thank you for your reply and info
Douglas and William, Roy’s widow Carrie lived on Rockhouse Br Rd until her death, I have lived here since 1977, and she lived here then. Her son, Jimmy and daughter, Mary, still live on Rockhouse, now named Dupont Rd, name changed due to 911 service.
Hey Sara i know we have met but my memory isn’t what it once was im Jewels son i remember Tyke and Kenny i think they had a sister is that you?
Sarah, did Roy reside at Rockhouse? The more I read I’m more inclined to think he was related to my family. There was an Anderson Dempsey that lived on top of Dingess Mountain in the 1950’s. He was my father’s uncle. There was also a Willie Dempsey family that lived near the top of the mountain back then but I don’t know if they were related.
Do you know if and how Roy was related to Anderson?
My sister has a pretty good genealogy of my family but I don’t know much she has on the Anderson side. I’m sure she would like information about any connection with Roy.
There is a Foster Workman that lives near Rockhouse. His wife is schoolteacher Theresa Workman. Foster’s grandfather was Anderson Dempsey. Do you know if you are related to Foster?
Perhaps we can trace some of this out. Keep tuned.
One of my good friend name was Zola Meade. Was she kin.
I’m not sure my dad was from Dinges.
My Papaw Burgess Maynard was suppose to work that day but switched shifts with someone, my family (Papaw and Mamaw Maynard, my Mom Bernice ( Doodle) , my Aunts Aloma ( Boo) Donna, Barbara and my Uncle Sam ( Burgess Jr.) were good friends with Josh and Mabel Chafin and their children.
Shannon, I knew your papaw Burgess Maynard very well. He was my dad, Elva Pack’s step cousin. I remember all the family and they were good people.
Connie Pack Burgess Edwards
My dad William (Bill) Burke worked the night shift and helped carry some of the men and search for them also..
I grew up in Holden in WV. My dad worked on the rescue team during the disaster. I can remember him coming home and telling my mother that they didn’t find any survivors that day. To this day it is one of the most horrific things to happen in my beloved county.
My Dad, David E. Bayer, worked trying to rescue the miners. He stayed down way past the safety limits leading (not ordering) men in the rescue attempt. Finally someone sent my brother down to work along side my father. My brother was home from college on break. Sending him down was to make my father come up for a break. Men working with my father were starting to go back up but when my Dad let my brother stay down to help, they stayed also. My Mom along with other women from the Women’s Club, set up feeding stations. My Mom came home at night but spent her days on site. I didn’t see my Dad but once, when he was made to come home. He took a shower and went back. I was a student at Holden Jr. High, but will always remember this time. My father worked many mining disasters.
My uncle was killed in that mines earnest Bevens
I am the son of a West Virgina coal miner, (strip mines). My father James E Moore Sr, operated a Lorain shovel along with William T Campbell, my uncle. We lived outside of Follansbe Wv in a little mining village they called Cross Creek or Louise. A lot of my friends fathers worked in the under ground mines. They are no longer with us now, as so many brave men have gone before them in the ground mines. Today, I am so very proud to say I am the son of a coal miner and to have grown up in the beautiful hills of West By God Virgina.
MY DAD (JOHN MCCOY JR) WORKED THAT MINE NOT LONG BEFORE THIS HAPPENED…WE HAD MOVED TO FL BUT HE FOLLOWED THE STORY ON THE NEWS AND IT UPSET AND BOTHERED HIM SO MUCH…HE COULDN’T SLEEP AND WANTED TO GO BACK AND OFFER TO HELP BECAUSE HE KNEW THE MINE…BUT COULDN’T BECAUSE OF TRYING SUPPORT HIS FAMILY…I’M SURE HE KNEW SOME OF THE MEN OR MAYBE EVEN ALL OF THEM..
My uncle was killed in that mine earnest bevens. I was little but I remember my mom crying and walking the floors. So sad
i remember when that happened earnest bevens was my uncle
I was only 8 yrs old when the 22 mine disaster occurred.. I can remember Dad rushing Mom to the scene for fear that my uncle was one of the trapped men. i recall family, friends and neighbors gathering at our house for news and to pray for the miners. Thankfully, it was my Uncle’s day off and he was spared. Though I was very young at the time, I remember the solemn, grief-stricken folks and how everyone leaned on each other and God for comfort. My parents knew many of the people who died and/or their families. It is a day I will never forget
Sorry, Berti and Freda lived at 22 Holden when the diaster happened. Freda moved with her children to West Logan. My parents and I lived 3 houses up from them.
my dad, brother and uncle was all killed in a coal mines in wv. i can also relate to the coal miners daughter and deep as a dumfion
My Great Uncle was Kyle Blair. Unfortunately I never had a chance to meet him.
Kyle was my Uncle. Who are your parents?
How were you related to my Dad?
My mother was 13 years old when her dad Charles Adams was killed in Holden. She still remembers waiting for him to come home and he never did. She has only the fondest memories of her dad.
My Grandfather Charles Adams passed away that day. That morning he wasn’t feeling well and my Grandma Inis said he should stay home. But he knew he had a family to take care of and went to work.
I was born at Isaban, WV (no longer on the map) in 1942 and shortly after my family moved to Godby “now part of Chapmansville”. My Grandfather was Uncle Bud (Lorenzo Dow) Chambers.He owned the mine at Dabney.When I was 7 years old my Grandfather had a home built on his property at Rum Creek. My father, Luther Morrison worked in the coal mines until I was about 5-7 years old. He was in a mine explosion and could no longer go in the mines. I had 5 brothers and one sister. I attended several schools near Logan; namely, Dehue, McConnell, Stollings and Logan Jr. High.
When I was around 14 my parents and 4 of us children left at home moved to Rochester, Indiana and I graduated from there in 1960 and shortly thereafter I went to Riverside, California to live with an older brother, Leonard Morrison. At that time my parents and sister and one brother moved back to Rum Creek (near Dabney).
I have lots of fond and some not so great memories of Logan while growing up. My mother would always pray that none of my brothers go into the mines to work and they didn’t. My father passed away at the age of 67 from Black Lung and Heart problems due to working in the mines.
Nick Michero (sp?) was a good friend of the family. I remember his radio programs in the 50’s.His daughter Nicki went to school at McConnell with me.
I had lots of friends from all the schools I attended. I have gone back to Logan many times and visited some of them. I wish i could remember all their names. Seems like ages ago but you can never take the Mountain out of the Kid! I now live in Lake Charles, LA and have 3 grown Children; seven grown Grandchildren and seven Great-grandchildren.
I remember my sister and I did a lot of singing at Churches when we were very small. My Grandfather Chambers was a Methodist Minister and held services at the family Church at Rum Creek. When we moved to Indiana my sister and I would swing in the yard and sing, “Oh, The Hills, Beautiful Hills, How I Love Those West Virginia Hills.
If anyone remembers knowing me in the 50’s I would love to hear from you! I’ve been thinking I could write a book about my growing up years near Logan, WV.!
Dorothy Morrison Rodriguez
My dad ,Melvin Perry was working in number 22 mine when this disaster hit the mine, he got out but lost 18 of his coworkers , he was hurt many times ,with broken legs,burned skin on his face and neck and hands,fingers were grafted together on one hand, his family never lost their respect for him , he is still celebrated in Oct ,, still miss you Dad ,,,,,, my dad always entered and exited the mine on the Elk creek side, the tipple you see in photo is ascross the mountain in Holden , as I recall the mine was shut down shortly thereafter
Dearest cousin Buck, our entire family loved and respected Uncle Melv and Aunt Maxy. These were two of most honest and carrying people you could meet. They will, and their family, will always be loved and never be forgotten by Carmie and Chloe Adkins family. Sincerely your cousin Obie
We will always be proud of our West Virginia roots dad. How lucky we are that grampa wasn’t lost in the mine that day.
Buck, the last time I saw Uncle Mel was at the cemetery when your brother and I dug Mom’s grave. Uncle Jesse was with him and they watched us while they ate potato chips and drank Pepsi. They would not shut up about how bad grave diggers we were and could not plumb the grave.
We lived next door to a Perry family in the Schoolhouse “Hollar”.. We were the Mays family. By any chance, were you our neighbors.
Bobby,
Class of 1960??
Dad moved Mom me and my two sisters to a farm in Ohio in 1957. He worked 2-3 more years then retired from 22 mine. I graduated from HIGH SCHOOL in southern Ohio in 1960.
Bo,
Did you go to Logan High any (as sophomore) in 1957?
A SAD BUT PRECIOUS TRUE STORY.I REMEMBER THIS I WAS ABOUT FIFTEEN.I WAS AT MY AUNT NELLIE SCHULTZ HOUSE SHE WAS CRYING AND PRAYING FOR THE MINERS AND THEIR FAMILIES.SUCH A SAD DAY.MY DAD WILLARD GORE OF MISSOURI FORK WAS KILLED IN A SLAT FALL AT MONCLO,SHARPLES.I STILL MISS MY DAD VERY MUCH
My father worked at 22 for several years. He was on the rescue/recovery team. I was still a baby when the mine exploded, and, although my dad never said anything about it, I grew up knowing that being a coal miner was/is a dangerous way to provide for one’s family.
I am James carter grandson. Just heard stories growing up about this… Love you grandpa Carter
Berti and Freda Horvath were our next door neighbors in West Logan when this happened. I was 8 years old and remember the sorrow and pain of the community. Our families attended the West Logan Missionary Baptist Church where Pastor Cosby preached. The church parsonage was just 3 houses from our house and 4 from the Horvaths. Pastor Cosby and the whole church were very involved with helping the family deal with this horrible pain. All good people in the Horvath family.
I was not quite 15 when my father, Berti Horvath, was killed in this disaster with 17 other miners. I remember the Gray family and they were great neighbors. My sister Diana Hill and I are the only ones left. Both my younger brothers passed before mom. I have always tried to live up to the example my father set. Gene Horvath
I went to Holden Jr High and to Logan HS. We were classmates. I moved to Florida in the middle of my Junior year. My Dad was one of the ones trying to rescue the men. I always remembered you and your loss.
WHEN I WAS A KID MY DADS UNCLE BLAKE HUFFMAN WAS A COAL MINER. HE LIVED IN HOLDEN ACTUALLY I REMEMBER OUTSIDE OF TOWN. THERE WAS AN OLD SCHOOL HOUSE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ROAD. HE LIVED ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE ROAD THERE WAS A LANE TO THE RIGHT THAT RAN BESIDE THE CREEK WITH HOUSES TO THE LEFT OF THE CREEK. JUST BEFORE THE SCHOOL AND HIS HOUSE WE CROSSED A BRIDGE. WE WOULD CROSS THE BRIDGE AND HE AND THE SCHOOL WERE RIGHT AND LEFT. THE SCHOOL HAD TO BE CLOSED IN THE 50’S OR EARLY 60’S. WE HAVE TRIED FOUR TIMES TO FIND THIS PLACE WITH NO LUCK. IF ANYONE COULD HELP WITH DIRECTIONS I WOULD BE VERY GRATEFUL.
I remember taking my mother from our home in Mt. Gay to Holden 22 so she could be with Frank Ardis’s family. We were all in the kitchen and I never will forget how the family was feeling and how much they missed Mr. Ardis.
The Ardis family were from Italy and they were very close to my parents and it was sad day for all of us.
Mello Cottone
Did you live beside my great grandma fortuna
David,sometimes Mel doesn’t
see the comment.
Put in Dwight Williamson article of
July 29, 2018, Mel Cottone. Its on
this website.
Mel was a big supporter of President
John Kennedy. The President helped
Logan County & WV in 1960 with
lots of money for food stamps,
health insurance & many new
job programs.
In his story Mel says that he lived
in Mt.Gay in a house located behind
the Park & Eat Drive-In.
The house was once owned by
the Scaggs family.
I was born in Holden in 1944. We moved from there before I started school. I remember my Uncle Bill Sexton was killed in the coal mines there. He was caught it some sort of belt that cut his legs and arms off. I remember going to their house where they had him with my parents. It was late in the 40’s or early 50’s. I know he had five little children and I remember they said he was 42. I know it was very sad.
I was in Korea at that time. The Red Cross came and told me my father was safe and that he had been laid off that day.
Hey cousin Loren this is Randal(Buck) I remember uncle Jimmy living in Holden in a company house. Think the last time I saw you in 1960 we were on the USS Upsure being deployed to Germany , send me email
Remember Ft Dix and the chow you slipped out of the mess hall? lol
I remember this sorrowful event. We kept our radio on all the time, waiting for news on survivors. I remember Tennessee Ernie Ford singing all through this time. I don’t think this is something you could ever forget about.
I remember it well ‘Earnest Bevins was my uncle i remember my mom crying it hurt her so bad she died a couple years later at the age of 42,
My dad worked at 22 and I was in Korea when the Red Cross told me he was OK. He had been laid off the day before. He died at age 53 and I believe it was survivor’s guilt caused him to go at such an early age.
no.22 is the mines where my dad worked until it blew up he happened to be on the second shift right before that happened he went to help was a horrible thing to happen my moms cousin was in it and my brother in laws brother was in it at the time
I worked with the daughter of one of the deceased coalminers. She had grown up to be a Head nurse of Let’s at Logan General. Roy Lee Dempsey would have been really proud if his honest, living, considerate daughter who was part of him.
Who was she. My Grandfather Alvah Lloyd Vinson’s sister Estelle was head nurse at Logan. John B. Vinson father and Resa Dempsey mother. Estelle died in 1972 and is buried at Forest Lawn with J.B and Resa. Another sister Vadah married Millard Mullins and is buried there also.
i was nine years old and my father, John Lewis Harden, was a miner at Rich Creek. We found comfort in knowing that the mining community was a family that looked out for one another. I remember my grandfather answering the phone that was a three party line and suddenly he became very quite and his head bowed. The adults whispered to one another and tried to keep the information from us children as if to protect us. However, the fear of something very dark surrounded us. The radio became the gathering point for everyone. Then there was a point of at which the adults asked the children to be quiet. Then there was a gasp and heads lowered. We knew something awful had happened. It was a awful feeling of fear knowing that terrible things could happen and no one could stop them or protect them. At nine I learned just to accept and not ask why. I learned to offer condolences and just pray. It was a lesson that helped me on that fretful night the Marshall plane weht down. The same feeling of darkness, fear, and saddness, surrounding a community of believers.
I grew up in Omar WVA and was 10 years old when the explosion happened. It left a painful memory that I often recall. I can remember sirens going off for what seemed like hours and cars and trucks racing by. It was very odd for our small town to be so affected. My dad was Maury Smith, he worked around the mines but never in them and we moved away right after the disaster happened. Thank you for keeping the record of this tragedy alive and I am sorry for the pain the families have endured for these years.
My dad was scheduled to work that shift but had a cut off slip in his box. So he came back home. He worked on the rescue crew and helped carry out one of his best friends. Bertie Horvath. It just wasn’t. My dad’s time to go. But it sure broke his heart for the ones who died that day. My dad’s name was Clifford Bowen.
My dad got a cut slip the same day.