KBZK-
Just off Highway 308 in Carbon County, between Red Lodge and Bear Creek, you come across a ghostly site.
The buildings—still standing against time and the elements—are what’s left of the Smith Mine.
It looked much different on Feb. 27, 1943, with the nation at war and coal in high demand.
“The coal mining in this valley had really ramped up because of the war. Coal to feed the smelters to make iron for the war, basically,” said Jeff McNeish, who has authored several books on the Smith Mine Disaster, the worst coal mining tragedy in Montana history. more
h/t Systemically Confused
Wow. That’s a shame. And I really, really mean that.
Heartbreaking….
My father died in a mine in Colorado.
This story is not imaginable for 99.99% people that don’t have to EVER think about digging their own dam FATHER out, when taking the dam job to begin with. THEY KNOW the risks and do it anyways, for many different reasons.
HORRIBLE. But those were the men and the woman that supported them that made us(a).
The Bee Gees, 1967, did a GREAT song about such mining disasters:
NY Mining Disaster 1941
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S43YhQ_eGTw
God Bless minors and mining.
https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/upper-big-branch-miners-memorial
FUCK YOU JOE AND OBAMA…oh and Commieala, THAT goes for YOU too!
“… the worst coal mining tragedy in Montana history.”
West Virginia says “hold my beer”
https://www.historyandheadlines.com/december-19-1907-worst-us-mine-disaster-10-worst-mine-disasters/
(btw, I believe mining is one of the hardest, demanding jobs in the world … ever! I, we all, grieve for all the men & women that died in this stifling, debilitating profession)
Check out movies, “Mine 9” and “the 33. You might get a feel for who these men and women were and how these folks lived and died day to day. I do recall the song by the Bee Gees, it was the year I joined the Air Force.
“How Green Was My Valley”, 1941, the man, John Ford.
That mans story reminded of a young Roddy Macdowall in a amazing film about Welsh miners.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2A12CL1mFp4
FYI “How Green Was My Valley” full movie I found here on YouTube – https://youtu.be/6mBkd-Au4IY
Fire and Brimstone and The Deep Dark are two excellent books on the North Butte Fire and the Sunshine Mine Fire respectively.
Just drove by this last month.
Took a day trip from Cody, WY to Beartooth Lake, then Top of The World through Redlodge and back home. All the day before the smoke came.
Beautiful day.