Hard Coal pt. 1 Pennsylvania Anthracite Coal Mining Histor

Part 1 of 3. A short documentary about Anthracite coal mining history in Northeast Pennsylvania. Filmed in a coal mine. Please check out Van Wagner's music on Itunes.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• coal
• pennsylvania
• mine
• Van
• Wagner
• anthracite
• music

[MrDannysuzy]

i noticed that your hat is more fancy than that of the others. was that hat for a foreman or something? it looks like a glorifyde derby hat.

[vanwags]

@MrDannysuzy

Good question. Until around 1890 (and later in some areas) there were no manufacturers of miners hats. Rather, miners had to fashion their own. So each miner had their own slight variation to get the job done (the job is; provide a place to hang a lamp). Some miners didn't wear a lamp but just hung one (or a candle) on a timber or nearby hook).

[MrDannysuzy]

@vanwags where can i get one like yours or how can i make one

[vanwags]

@MrDannysuzy gte a derby that fits. sew some leather on the front. poke a hole in it to hang lamp. you're accurate

[rickbar123]

how much of this coal is left??

[vanwags]

@rickbar123 there is quite a bit of Pennsylvania coal left in the ground. The easiest coal is gone but there are millions and millions of tons still in the Anthracite region. I've read estimates that at our current rate of usage we have over 500 years of coal left.

[frbe0101]

Certainly there is over one hundreds of year of coal left in the USA assuming the demand does not go up (a unrealistic estimate). Coal quality has only gone down and coal mining has only gotten harder as easier higher purity reserves have been consumed already.