An undated photograph of women picking coal at the dump banks. Location unknown – but typical of what occurred on what was the waste area of each mining operation
The caption reads:
Picking coal was just another daily chore for many housewives in the good old days. The woman was fortunate whose husband brought home a pay envelope big enough to fill the coal bin for winter. Most miners were not in that category. Wages were small and working time poor, so there was little cash available to buy coal. That;’s why mom took time out from her daily chores to spend an hour or scratching along the dirt banks for coal, such as the women above. At top is the dumpman with his mule, pulling the dumper car back and forth between breaker and dirt bank. A considerable percentage of the breaker wastes in those days consisted of pure coal, especially the smaller sizes for which there was no big market….
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From the Pottsville Republican and Herald, series on “Glimpses Into Yesteryear,” 9 November 1979, via Newspapers.com.
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