Name: David Shepherd
Question_Response
If i was in west virginia at the time of the mine wars i would find it most interesting
to be a miner. This is the only group that seems to make any move towards a goal that has
value to it. The coal operators, from what i have read, seem to be static in their
decision to crush the miners' insurrection and deny justice in 'their' area. I would not
mind being in this position because it would benifit other humans (i would try to run a
fair, unionized coal mine), but that is what most just people would do in that situation.
i would not want to be a west virginian who is not a miner, but just a bystander that is
caught up in the action, because my purpose in fighting or not fighting would not be a
fire that burns within me, as the labor wars would not have effected me. I am, however,
particularly interested in the plight of the native coal miner, as well as the men who
were unwittingly shipped in to be scabs. As a native coal miner, i would be in quite a
situation. All of my knowledge would mainly reside in that business, and, because of the
way that coal mines payed (script), i would have little ability to flee towards another
state in which i could live in. I think that i would probably join the union, however,
there are several situations that would make this a difficult choice. If i had a family
the difficulty of the choice would increase tenfold, but i would most likely still side
with the union. If there was any way possible to flee to a different life anywhere else in
the country, doing any other possible job, i would take it. I would not want to be
involved with the coal wars, for at that point in history they seemed rather futile. I
have always wondered, why didn't more men quitely pack up their families and leave the
area. There are 2 factors which i could imagine that could make this course of action not
a possibility: the miners could not have the money, seeing as they weren't payed with
money, although it seems that the family could buy goods from the company store for the
trip. i guess i will finish later. . . .
Name: Hannah Watkins
Question_Response
I imagine that I would be the daughter, sister, wife of a miner torn by my selfish love
for him and my realistic recognition of the dire need to stand up against "the
man." I resonate most with the wife of the main Italian miner who gave so much quiet
strength and solace to those around her. I would do all in my power to advance the cause
to be treated decently. Self-sacrifice is called for in the fight for large, progressive
ideas. I can relate to this scenario this very second as I write.
Name: Daniel Lupton
Question_Response
Men came 'round looking for boys to go dynamite the number four hole this evening. I
laid low, stared straight ahead, and tried not to seem too much of anything, and they
walked right by me again. Sometimes the ability to become little more than a face is
useful. Sure, I want the union more than any man, I know we ain't been treated right be
these coal operators, but what is my life going to give to the movement if I ain't living
it?
I hear a cowbell ring past my front porch. "Food for the miners, accepting
donations of food for the miners!" I hear a knock on my door and scramble to the
door, sack of potatoes in hand. I sat for quite a while earlier trying to gauge the right
amount to donate. Too little, and they'd want to toughen me up and drag me along on a
mission, too many and they'd appoint me their damn leader. Four potatoes, a hearty thank
you, and hopefully I haven't made myself any more visible than need be.
People are getting killed out there, some of them my friends. People were getting
killed in mines, too. I 'spose if a gun were shoved in my hand I'd raise it as high above
my head as the rest of the fellas, no higher, and march into battle, right in the middle
of the pack. I'm no leader, no martyr, but I'm no coward either. I pick my battles and
this ain't it. I don't want to ride to the promised land on anyone's coat-tails, but I'm
not Jesus, and I ain't Sid Hatfield neither.
Name: T. Harris
Question_Response
I don't mind sharing my thoughts so I will go ahead and post them. It sounds like lots
of people are doing the same.
If I lived in a coal town in West VA, I assume I would be a coal miner's wife or
daughter. Being 21 I more than likely would be a wife to someone. In my heart I would
support the miner's cause. All my life I have supported the underdog. I think all aspects
of life should be fair no matter what (wages, food, living conditions, you name it) Since
this is in my spirit, in my soul, I find it hard to believe the time I live in would
change it. Honestly, though,and I am ashamed in a way to say it, I do not know how much I
would act on it. I don't know to what degree I would demonstrate these feelings. I don't
know in what kind of arena I would be able to demonstrate these feelings if I lived then.
Today I could say I would write about it, but how respected would the opinion of a 21 year
old coal miner's daughter/wife be? I would move to a tent camp with my family. I would do
all I could to help the greatest number of people, but I have limits set by my values and
morals. I could not hurt someone. I could not steal from someone. I could not burn
anything down. Those sorts of actions go against the very ideals that support equality of
life for everyone. It would be very challenging to have to make these decisions. This was
effectively demonstrated by Elma in the movie. At first she did not want to support the
cause of the miners. But, bit by bit, she did and finally killed for it. Who knows, maybe
it would have escalated to that point for myself too.
Name: Sarah Skeen
Question_Response
If I were living in Matewan at the time that the miners were striking, and just prior
to the Matewan Massacre, I have no doubt that I would find myself a member of a miner's
family (and in fact, I am the descendant of West Virginia miners). I also have no doubt
that I would support the strikes by any means possible to me--- verbally and bodily.
Perhaps the miners' legacy has been passed down to me anyway; I am always on the side of
the working poor, and there always seems to be someone or some corporation trying to
oppress them.
Name: Julia Imholt
Question_Response
I just wanted to ask if Thunder In The Mountains is completly true or did the author
embelish some of the events? It seemed to be a very good book even if tedious at points.
The one thing that I did particularly like about it was that it seemed to present less of
a biased opinion about the events. It seemed more like a cut and dry telling. The book
also gave a much more rounded acount of the occurences. I.E. not everything occured with
in the same two week period. I appreciated the book very much.
Name: T. Harris
Question_Response
I think one of the questions evolving from our discussions about the movie Matewan and
Thunder in the Mountains revolves around Sid. How involved was he? How much of a hero was
he to everyone? Everyone portrays his character in a different way.
Name: T. Harris
Question_Response
Plus, in times of need, people tend to ban together. If there is no real trouble for
everyone, people are less likely to have similar hardships and be willing to work with one
another
Name: Tamara Harris
Question_Response
I agree with Hannah in that Sid was able to have such an effect because he was in a
position of power as well as a popular guy, in it for the cause.
Name: Hannah Watkins
Question_Response
In response to Laura's comments, I got the impression from Thunder in the Mountains
that Sid Hatfield was deified to a sort of folk hero position by people who really needed
support from the powers-that-be, the law so to speak. Perhaps Sid Hatfield's interesting
role as both a police officer and a rebel elevated him to this position.
Name: Hannah Watkins
Question_Response
In response to Theresa's comments, I think the reason that the mines were successfully
unionized in the 30's during the Depression rather than 10 years earlier was because of
huge government intervention to equalize and spread the wealth in the struggling nation.
All sorts of new policies and organizations were instituted during the Depression to
immediately meet the needs of thousands of struggling Americans. Up until this point, I
think the U.S. government was wary of exercising so much all-encompassing control over its
citizens and their livelihoods. In summary, I think the unions were successful ten years
too late for West Virginia because the need was finally so great that it couldn't be
ignored. Any other ideas?
Name: Martha O'Dell
Question_Response
Thunder in the Mountains really brought out the chaos involved in the whole mine wars
and everything associated with it. It is easier to understand why the government took
measures that seemed so drastic. The situation in Mingo County was so completely out of
control. I guess I realized that the reason there was no comprimise made was because there
were no impartial participants in any of the events. The judges, the juries the police,
everyone had an alliance of some sort. I was also surprised by how involved Sid Hatfield
was in the actual events of the miners and the union. In the movie he was portrayed as
protecting his town and his people, but in the book he was very involved in the activities
of the union and the miners. I am assuming that the book is more accurate because it takes
a much more historic approach to the telling of the story.
Name: David Shepherd
Question_Response
Sid Hatfield's characterization in this book ("Thunder in the Mountains") has
become an important consideration for me when taking a look at the miner's position. It
seems that Sid is used in this book to give the reader some insite into the outlook that
the people of the time would have towards the events that occured. Sid is a contradictory
character, and a fitting symbol for the groups of miners that took part in the rebellion.
He is admired by the men around him, yet he is portrayed often as a violent man, outside
of any law, and a vengful man. The qualities that Sid posseses that allow him to stand up
to the coal operators and the coal miners are the same qualities that would brand him as
an unsavory personality in many other cultures and time periods. Therefor, I assume that
Sid, and the qualities that he embodied, namely his militant undermining of an unjust
authority, his vengful nature, and his unquestionable loyalty to his friends are some of
the qualities that the West Virginia culture at that time admired. These values are
indicative of the overall situation, in which there was no clear cut good and evil, only a
less corrupt, more populous force against a smaller, more powerful, decidely corrupt
force. However, in this way the two sides differed, the miners seemed to have some sense
of a code of what was right and what was wrong, while the coal operators functioned as if
there was no such code.
Name: Daniel Lupton
Question_Response
I think it is really interesting to look at Thunder In the Mountains together with
Matewan to show how much focusing on one set of events rather than another can change our
conceptions of things. Whereas the leadup to and battle of Matewan were the subject of
Matewan, Thunder In the Mountains flanked those stories with a great deal of other
information. I think the end result is quite different. At the end of Matewan, we see the
miners as an enraged, almost bloodthirsty bunch whose sobering experience may lead to
reform. However, by the end of Thunder In the Mountains they all seem weary and ready to
give up that they may live their lives. I can't say that I fault them, either. At any
rate, though the characterizations could sometimes be different in the two works
(especially in the cases of Sid Hatfield and Charles Lively), I think the biggest reason
for their individual tones is their difference in focus.
Name: Theresa Young
Question_Response
After reading "Thunder in the Mountains," I wonder what the strike really
accomplished. There was violence, murder, confusion, loss of jobs and revenue for the coal
companies, plus the UMWA District 17 went bankrupt. In the end, the strike was called off.
It wasn't until the 1930's that the West Virginia mines were unionized. Why were they
successful then (during the Depression)and not ten years earlier?
Name: Laura Parrish
Question_Response
The book we've been reading for this week puts enormous emphasis on Sid Hatfield's life
and position in the coal wars. Is he merely a primary focus of this book, or was he really
as well-known as it suggests? The book suggests that the march was primarily to avenge
Sid's murder and that all the miners felt joined by this vengence. Were there any other
personas who were as influencial or as much an icon of the union as Sid?
Name: Rachael Taft
Question_Response
In the book the author mentions reporters from national newspapers coming to cover the
stories. Weren't national newspapers the largest form of media of the times. So if the
incidents were being covered by the media why was is not a big issue? In the book
reporters are forever photographing Sid, until he forbids them. Did the people of this
time period have other greater more relative concerns? s2rrtaft@titan.vcu.edu
Name: Michael Keller
Question_Response
I am deeply struck, every time I read Savage's book, by the introductory comments that
John Williams makes regarding the proposed(and failed) use of Federal airpower against a
civilian population. If you did not read the introduction to Savage's book, be certain to
do so not only for this commentary, but for information regarding the economics of coal at
the time of the mine wars.
Tamara L. Harris
In response to Theresa's question, I think Sid wanted to believe in people and his
country. That is why he did not want to carry a gun. He trusted people and thought he
would be protected. It is unfortunate. It is like he wanted to set a standard of how
things should be dealt with, similar to Joe in the movie I think.
Tamara L. Harris
In class last Tuesday, Michael Keller raised the question as to why it was considered a
war. War tactics were definitely used and the state and federal armies were called in. I
think it was definitely on a wartime scale. I thought the book was great in demonstrating
how the strike escalated into something bigger than any of the miners could have ever
imagined. I think it is very honorable that the miners refused to fight the Federal Army.
The recognized the greatness of our country at the time and did not want to loose the few
rights they did have. They may not have gained everything they were fighting for, but they
did gain the recognition and the awareness of people. They were so successful we are
studying their sacrifice now.
Tamara L. Harris
Does anyone else think that the book was centered too much around Sid Hatfield? I just get
the feeling that many of the people were in the fight for themselves and a better life,
not just to avenge Sid's death.
Theresa Young
I have not finished Savage's book, but I was wondering why Sid Hatfield was so trusting of
C.E. Lively even though he knew he was a spy for the Brown-Felts Agency. By trusting, I
mean why he left his gun in the hotel room or why he didn't carry a concealed weapon when
going to testify in Welch? He must have known that someone would be waiting for the right
moment to take revenge.