Death underground : the Centralia and West Frankfort mine disasters / Robert E. Hartley and David Kenney.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hartley, Robert E.

Contributor:

Kenney, David, 1922-2014.

Edward Potts Cheyney Memorial Fund.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Coal mine accidents--Illinois--Centralia.

Coal mine accidents.

Mine explosions--Illinois--Centralia.

Mine explosions.

Coal mine accidents--Illinois--West Frankfort.

Mine explosions--Illinois--West Frankfort.

Illinois--West Frankfort.

Illinois--Centralia.

Physical Description:

xiv, 231 pages, 22 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, map ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Carbondale : Southern Illinois University Press, [2006]

Summary:

Death Underground: The Centralia and West Frankfort Mine Disasters examines two of the most devastating coal mine disasters in United States history since 1928. In two southern Illinois towns only forty miles apart, explosions killed 111 men at the Centralia No. 5 mine in 1947 and 119 men at the New Orient No. 2 mine in West Frankfort in 1951. Robert E. Hartley and David Kenney explain the causes of the accidents, identify who was to blame, and detail the emotional impact the disasters had on the survivors, their families, and their communities.

Politics at the highest level of Illinois government played a critical role in the conditions that led to the accidents, assert Hartley and Kenney, who outline how the outcome at the Centralia mine directly influenced the 1948 gubernatorial election. They also tell the story of Driscoll Scanlan, a state inspector at Centralia, who warned of an impending disaster but whose political enemies shifted the blame to him, ruining his career.

Hartley and Kenney include interviews with the survivors, a summary of the investigative records, and an analysis of the causes of both mine accidents. Augmented by twenty-nine illustrations, the volume also covers the history, culture, and ethnic pluralism of coal mining in Illinois and the United States.

Contents:

Map of Illinois XV

Introduction: Prelude to the Disasters 1

Part 1 The 1947 Centralia Mine Disaster

1 More Than a Coal Town 23

2 "Please Save Our Lives" 30

3 Day of Reckoning 58

4 Years of Strife 73

5 A Pox on All Houses 82

6 Miners' Lives 105

7 The Reality of Coal Politics 121

Part 2 The 1951 West Frankfort Mine Disaster

8 "It's All Blown to Hell" 137

9 Burying the Dead 148

10 Seeking the Cause and Greater Safety 156

11 Affected Lives 175

Conclusion: After the Disasters 181

Appendix 1 Miners Killed in the Centralia Mine Disaster 193

Appendix 2 Miners Killed in the West Frankfort Mine Disaster 197

Glossary of Coal Mining Terms 219.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 221-225) and index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Edward Potts Cheyney Memorial Fund.

ISBN:

9780809327058

0809327058

9780809327065

0809327066

OCLC:

62897610

Online:

Publisher description