Sunday, August 2, 2026

A coal miner gathers with his wife, their children and grandchildren inside their home in Bell County Kentucky 1946


 

14 comments:

  1. More of that white privilege on display. Steve_in_Ottawa

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  2. Well sure, most of them had shoes.

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  3. strong,sturdy White people.

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  4. Low ceiling (leak in corner?), gun on the rack and only the girl on the left is smiling.

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    1. Looks like a single barrel, break open shotgun. (make that first shot count)

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    2. Because she knows she's almost of marriageable age and will be leaving that place soon. (Of course, she'll probably marry another miner, stay in the same town, and soon end up like her mama, but youth is for dreaming.)

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  5. And look at all of the jars of canned goods under the bed at the lower right. Hard work and privilege indeed! Like my dad said when we still farmed: "We were never rich in money, but there was always food on the table." Or under the bed, in this case!

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  6. My folks had 11 of us. Neighbors had 16. Wife & I have 8. What's a big family, I don't know - but we're on our first & only spouse. It's all about loving someone.

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    1. My Father had 19 in his family. French-Canadians.

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  7. My first thought was "poor woman, all those dirty diapers."

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    1. At first, yes, but big families are for big helpers - at least it once was.

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  8. I spent my childhood in what had been a mine camp town (mines closed in 20s & 30s). The house was an old mine-owned house. Dad bought it for $250 in the late 1950s. He built on to it and all but rebuilt the old part over the course of my childhood. I can relate.

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  9. My family can relate to that they were dirt farmers and loggers in southern ohio. I remember my great grandma cabin with dirt floors. They were taught reading, writing and route 8.

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  10. Anyone who romanticizes this picture is a moron.

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