Frankie and Slim

Frankie and Slim
Happy New Year

Wednesday, May 18, 2022

WORDS FOR WEDNESDAY - 05-18-2022

This month Wisewebwoman will again provide the prompts for May on her blog.   She gave special thanks to Elephant's Child for hosting on her behalf the first two weeks' of May prompts. 

withdrawal

pollution

embrace

prosecution

year

represent

cottage

overwhelm

MINE PIT

MINER'S STORY by Granny Annie

My first day in the mines at age 14,I was overwhelmed with enthusiasm. Mom stood with me outside our cottage that year. She knew the withdrawal I would feel leaving my comfortable life for the mines. She was sad as she handed me my lunch pail and watched me skip away with glee. She knew I would never return again with the same joy.

It was exciting to embrace my first paying job. It filled me with pride to represent my family of miners. Grandfather, father, uncles, brothers all worked in the mines. I had heard their stories and was sure I knew what to expect.

The mine owners should have faced prosecution for the danger they put us in. Pollution , rock slides, equipment failures and other dangers overcame everyone. Fourteen year old lads were handed the most distasteful duties. They would only advance to easier positions and higher pay at age sixteen, though there were never really any easy positions.

I knew that first day that the end of the world had come.


 

 

5 comments:

  1. Sadly true. As it has been for many, many years. Some mine owners do now face prosecution, but not enough. And the penalties are not high enough either.

    ReplyDelete
  2. So sad when you think that for some people, those types of jobs are all that is available in their areas.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Good story, the excitement of the paid work, then the acceptance that this is all there is, those were hard times.

    ReplyDelete
  4. That was quite the story, well done.

    ReplyDelete

lizziebethgeneral@gmail.com