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Pennsylvania Coal Mines

The history of the Pennsylvania coal mines cannot be mentioned without also mentioning the legend of the Black Maria. The Black Maria was not so much a legend as it was a sign that one had to watch out for. It was a coach that was carried by horses since they did not have cars back then, and this coach would hang out around mines. It was employed by mining companies to wait on the scene of a mine and if there were any injuries or deaths, to take that person or person’s body to the hospital or morgue or whatever would be most appropriate give the situation. They certainly would not want to have a living soldier brought to a morgue, that would just be silly, and unnecessarily frightening for all involved. But for anyone that knew anyone else that worked in Pennsylvania coal mines, the Black Maria was a sign that something had gone wrong and much like the feeling one gets when they see an ambulance near their home today, when people saw the Black Maria they were instantly inclined to think horrible thoughts about their friend or loved one working in the Pennsylvania coal mines. This usually meant fatality and it was nothing to laugh over or to brush off.

The feeling was probably even more intense back then because as expansive as our neighborhoods are and as much as our population has increased since the old days, we have less fear that when we see an ambulance, it is going to be containing someone we know. Back then, living in small closely knit communities, they could not afford to not be worried. Add to that the fact that coal mining was a very dangerous job, and still is, and it makes a perfect recipe for worry. It would be hard to do anything but worry when caught in a situation such as that. Coal mining is a dangerous job and that is a fact. When worried for the safety of someone that you know that happens to be a miner, no matter how silly you may feel at first, any form of worry is completely understood since their risks and peril are so imminent at all times. This is why we need to embitter their living and working conditions or at least pay them more. Because mining is still just as dangerous today as it was back then and this is simply unacceptable. People cannot be expected to work under those conditions.

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