Tag: Jacob’s Creek PA

Hellraisers Journal: Bernal Mine Explosion Closes Out December 1907, Most Deadly Month for Nation’s Miners

Janet RayeHellraisers Journal
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“Oh, damn it, dagos are cheaper than props.”
-Mother Jones quoting a mine manager.

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Hellraisers Journal, Wednesday January 1, 1908
Carthage, New Mexico – Year Ends with Explosion at Bernal Mine

If we thought we could end the deadly month of December 1907 without further news of horror from the nation’s coal mines, that hope was tragically crushed today with the news from New Mexico of yet another mine explosion, this latest at the Bernal Coal Mine.

From the Albuquerque Citizen of December 31, 1907:

Bernal Mine Disaster Carthage NM, Abq Ctz p1, Dec 31, 1907

This latest mine explosion at the Bernal Mine brings the death toll in the nations coal mines to well over 600 for the month of December 1907, making December the most deadly month for coal miners in U. S. history:

December 1 – Naomi Mine Explosion at Fayette City, Pennsylvania
December 6 – Monongah 6 and 8 at Monongah, West Virginia
December 16 – Yolande Mine Explosion at Yolande, Alabama
December 19 – Darr Mine Explosion at Jacob’s Creek, Pennsylvania
December 31 – Bernal Mine Explosion at Carthage, New Mexico

Note: the total death toll for each of these mine disasters in not yet known, but the two most deadly, the Darr Mine Explosion and the Explosion at Monongah have, between them, claimed 600 lives, therefore the total death toll for the five mine disasters of December 1907 will very likely be more than 700. Our readers should also remeber that when miners are killed one by one, in pairs, or in small groups of three or four, that is not counted as a “disaster.”

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Hellraisers Journal: Tragic Story of Loss From Darr Mine Disaster, Mrs. Kroboth Loses Husband & Two Sons

Janet RayeHellraisers Journal
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Pray for the dead
And fight like hell for the living.
-Mother Jones

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Hellraisers Journal, Friday December 27, 1907
Jacob’s Creek, Pennsylvania – Women Wait and Weep at Darr Mine

From The Pittsburgh Press of December 22, 1907:

Darr MnDs, Ptt Prs p13, Husband and 2 Sons, Dec 22, 1907

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A Pathetic Case of Bereavement as Result
of Mine Catastrophe Illustrated
by Mrs. George Kroboth
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ONE BOY A SUBSTITUTE ON THE FATAL DAY
—–

BY C. H. GILLESPIE,
Staff Correspondent.

Jacobs Creek, December 21.-In the terrific Darr mine explosion, the husband and two sons of Mrs. George Kroboth were snatched away.

She is not only triply bereaved, but deprived of all support, and her condition is most piteous. Her husband, George Kroboth, by years of thrifty living and constant labor, had provided a comfortable little home, and there today she sits alone with her great grief, mourning for her “man’s” cheery, comforting presence and shedding bitter tears for the two fine young sons so full of solace for her old age.

Her baby, George, was only 16 years old, but large and manly for his age, and Joe, aged 19 years, was a son any mother might well be proud of. But for the transient sickness of a neighbor, Max Sprecht, Joe would likely be alive today, instead of lying, charred and disfigured, in the far recesses of the mine workings.

In Sprecht’s absence, Joe took his place as a machine worker, and gladly availed himself of the chance to get a couple of days’ work. He was doing Sprecht’s work when the fatal explosion occurred.

Continue reading “Hellraisers Journal: Tragic Story of Loss From Darr Mine Disaster, Mrs. Kroboth Loses Husband & Two Sons” →

Hellraisers Journal: Darr Mine Explodes in Pennsylvania; December 1907 Is Most Deadly Month Ever for Miners of USA

Janet RayeHellraisers Journal
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Pray for the dead
And fight like hell for the living.
-Mother Jones

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hellraisers Journal, Friday December 20, 1907
Jacob’s Creek, Pennsylvania – Massive Explosions at Darr Mine

From The Pittsburgh Press of December 19, 1907:

MnDs Darr PA, Ptt Prs, Dec 19, 1907MnDs Darr, Jacob's Creek PA, Ptt Prs, Dec 19, 1907

Grief-Stricken Families Gather

SCENES AT DARR MINE ARE AWFUL
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Connellsville, Pa., Dec. 19.-The force of the Darr mine explosion was felt for miles, and within 30 minutes from the times the smoke from the burning coal reached the exits of the mine, the mouths were surrounded by crowds of agonized members of the families of entombed men.

Some stood shuddering in the cold, with stolid faces, hardly seeming to realize that they were about to become widows, orphans or friendless, while others gave way to uncontrolled grief and uttered heart-piercing shrieks of grief, and wild cries of anguish.

No one made an effort to quiet another grief-stricken spectator. All seemed to feel that the bereavement was inconsolable, and each was busy trying to grasp the situation from a personal standpoint. Some of the women fell prostrate in the dust-covered snow when they full realized that the little community was experiencing the visitation of terrible calamity.

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