In the past, historical events were preserved in poems and songs. Most likely, story tellers and singers unknowingly preserved history while entertaining. These folk songs serve as historical documents that facilitate preservation of our past through oral history.
In the 1920s and the early 1930s, country music ballads prospered in the form of tragedies and disasters. Some of the more widely known recorded ballads include: "The Death of Floyd Collins," "The Titanic," and "Old Ninety-Seven." Many ballads produced during this time period were based on accidents in or near coal mines.
These coal mining ballads document the hazardous and sometimes deadly working conditions of coal miners. The ballad titled "Explosion in the Fairmount Mines" illustrates the dangers of coal mining. This folk song was fashioned after a previously recorded song titled "The Dream of a Miner's Child." The song writer, Alfred Reed was possibly inspired by a mining accident that led to the deaths of 362 miners in Marion County, West Virginia. The coal miners who died were mostly Italian and Polish immigrants. These men perished when an underground explosion caused this catastrophic incident on December 6, 1907. The ballad"Explosion in the Fairmount Mines" written by Alfred Reed was composed as follows:
One bright morning, the miner just about
to leave,
Heard his dear child screaming in all fright.
He went to her bed, then she looked up and
said:
"I had such a dream, turn on the light."
"Daddy please don't go down in that
hole today,
For my Dreams do come true some time,
you know.
Oh don't leave me daddy, please don't
go away,
Something bad sure will happen, do
not go."
"Oh I dreamed that the mines were burning out
with fire,
Every man was fighting for his life.
And some had companions and they prayed out
loud,
'Oh God, please protect my darling wife.'"
Chorus:
Then her daddy bent down and kissed her
dear sweet face,
Turned again to travel on his way,
But she threw her small arms around her
daddy's neck,
She kissed him again, and he heard her say:
Chorus:
Then the miner was touched, and said he would
not go:
"Hush my child, I'm with you, do not cry."
There came an explosion and two-hundred men
Were shut in the mines and left to die.
Chorus:
Presumably, Alfred Reed fashioned his work after an earlier song "The Dream of a Miner's Child." The lyrics of Reed's version were only slightly altered. Reed abandoned the original music for a fiddle tune that suited his style of singing. Many other coal mining songs became well liked among the hill folk.
Other Tragedy and disaster songs were also composed about railroading. One such ballad was
sung about brakemen that operated the hand brakes that were located on the freight cars. Many
of the "brakies" lost either various body parts or their lifes. The dangerous occupation of the
"brakies" was documented in "The Dying Mine Brakeman," or "The True and Trembling
Brakeman," the authorship of which has been credited to Orville Jenks, a native of
JacksonCounty, Ohio. The lyrics are as follows:
Listen now while I tell you
Of a story you do not know;
Of a true and trembling brakeman,
And to heaven he did go.
Do you see that train-a-coming,
Oh, it's (?through) old Ninety-nine;
Oh, she's puffing and a-blowing,
For you know she is behind.
See that true and trembling brakeman,
As he signals to the cab;
There is but one chance for him,
And that is to grab.
See that true and trembling brakeman,
As the cars go rushing by;
If he miss that yellow freight car,
He is almost sure to die.
See that true and trembling brakeman,
As he falls beneath the train.
He had not one moment's warning,
Before he fell beneath the train.
See the brave young engineerman,
At the age of twenty-one;
Stepping down from upon his engine,
Crying, "Now what have I done!"
"Is it true I killed a brakeman,
Is it true that he is dying?
Lord, you know I tried to save him,
But I could not stop in time."
See the car wheels rolling o'er him,
O'er his mangled body 'n' head;
See his sister bending o'er him,
Crying, "Brother, are you dead?"
Sighing, "Sister, yes, I'm dying,
Going to a better shore;
Oh, my body's on a pathway,
I can never see no more.
"Sister, when you see my brother,
These few words to him I send;
Tell him never to venture braking,
If he does, his life will end."
These few words were sadly spoken,
Folding his arms across his breast;
And his heart now ceased beating,
And his eyes were closed in death.
There are six known versions of the this ballad. These ballads were recorded between 1927 and 1940. Some versions of the ballad took place on a railroad running out of a coal mine. Many different coal mining songs became widely popular among miners, railroaders and their families. Coal miners and operators faced more difficult problems in the 1930s than in previous years.
During the Great Depression, sporadic outbreaks of violence erupted in the Ohio coal fields. Both small coal operators and miners were competing for a shrinking market. Coal production fell to an all time low in the United States.
The union mine operators in the Appalachian coal fields attempted to reduce the wages of the union miners. Already these mines were exercising unethical practices, such as scrip wages which forced miners to purchase products from the company stores. These conditions fueled outbreaks of violence in the Ohio coal fields in 1931 and 1932. A strike occurred in eastern Ohio when wages were cut by fifty percent in May, 1931. The Ohio National Guard was notified about the striking miners. Guardsmen were deployed to the mine. There were no serious violent outbreaks, and the strike ended that summer.
Once again, mine operators were in heavy competition. In January 1932, mine superintendents in the Hocking Valley declared a twenty-five percent wage cut. Immediately, the union miners went on strike to recoup the union pay scale. Several mine operators hired non-union miners in an attempt to continue coal production. Four to five hundred strikers began to picket the Black Diamond Coal Company near Lathrop, Ohio. The mine was quickly closed by violent protests.
In March the union miners in the Hocking Valley began to protest violently outside the Black
Diamond Company. On March sixteenth, the Black Diamond mine reopened. The next day,
hundreds of angry demonstrators attacked the mine entrance. The union miners were propelled
away with tear gasbombs by Sheriff Wayne Wingett, his deputies, and the Ohio National Guard.
Ohio coal fields were being terrorized by union miners. One article published in the Gallipolis
Daily Tribune read:
"Miners Quieted"
Athens, Mar. 17. (UP)-Approximately 1300 striking
miners gathering at the Lathrop mine were fought back by
Sheriff Wayne Wingett and his deputies and national
guardsmen. The mine resumed operations yesterday with
56 men returning to work.
Fighting ended when the mine superintendent told a
committee representing the miners that he would make no
further attempts to operate the mine this week.
Union miners exploded into violent acts of protest towards the non-union mines. For example, one daily newspaper in March 1932 printed the following item:
"Operators Weary of Strikes Close Mines"
Coal operators, unable to make a profit and
harassed by strikes, have announced they will close two
mines in Meigs County. Miners to the numbers of 400 to
500 will be without prospects of work as a result. The
mines to be closed are No. 16 at Syracuse and No. 5 at
Rutland of the Staler-Essex Coal Company, Columbus.
Officials of the company said that they would seal
the two shafts and quit operations in the district. One
man will be employed at each mine as a caretaker.
"The miners will not permit us to work without
trouble and we do not care to go through a long strike,
so we are quitting," R.T. West, general superintendent
of the mines, said when he came here with the closing
order. He said that the company's business will be
taken care of in West Virginia and Kentucky.
Suffering among the miners was predicted unless
they can secure work. Meigs County, it was pointed out,
is virtually without relief funds.
Numerous outbreaks of violence occurred almost on a daily basis. As the strike went on, the
violence erupted to new heights as this article illustrates:
"Violence Renewed in Strike Zone Today"
Athens, O., Mar. 22. (UP)-Striking miners
today dynamited a railroad switch leading to
Millfield mine No. 6. Several hundred miners
picketed the mine throughout the night. No attempt
was made to operate the mine. Mingling with the
strikers Monday night were representatives of the
United Mine Workers of America. They came to the
region fresh from a conference at Columbus with the
governor and they cautioned the union men to be
peaceful and to guard against any violence
whatever.
The union leaders admitted to him, the
governor said, that they were fostering the strike
as a protest against what they termed unjustified
wage reductions.
In April, Union miners and operators were exhausted from the strike as it dragged on. The miner's picketing raged out of control. One such incident took the life of a miner. The Gallipolis Daily Tribune printed this article:
"Mine Picket Killed"
Cadiz, O., April 14 (UP)-Walter Kimball, 65,
was fatally wounded by a bullet in a battle when
100 coal miners in automobiles attempted to pass
three hundred persons picketing the mines. About
30 were injured by stones and wrenches thrown by
the picketers. Col. Don Caldwell and Sheriff
Maurise of Wooster reported they were compelled to
fire upon insurgents to restore order.
Non-union coal operators and miners were subjected to violence. A shutdown of a small non-union mine, the hamlet of Thompsonville, inspired a ballad which is still sung in Vinton County where the event took place.
The lyrics and the events surrounding the Thompsonville coal strike incident were close to being lost. Thompsonville itself is a lost town with neither a remnant of the mine, nor a building left standing. Thankfully, Floyd Jayjohn preserved the history of Thompsonville and its mine by writing the ballad which describes the incident that took
place at the Thompson Coal Company mine over sixty years ago. The ballad illustrates the events that transpired and identifies names of the employees of the Thompsonville Mine. This ballad is a historical event that was nearly forgotten.
Floyd Jayjohn modeled his ballad after a popular folk song, "One Morning in May." This tune originates from an old British Ballad. In the Appalachian and Ozark Mountains many versions of "One Morning in May" were sung by the hill folk. One version of "One Morning in May," was published in Ozark Folk Songs and was furnished by Mrs. Stephens of White Rock, Missouri, September 4, 1928. The verses are as follows:
One mornin', one mornin', one mornin' in May
I spied a fair couple a-walkin' so gay,
It's one was a lady of some high degree,
The other was a soldier, a brave man was he.
Good mornin', good mornin', the soldier he said,
Where are you a-goin', my pretty fair maid?
I'm a goin' to the banks of the clear purlin'
stream,
To see water glidin', hear the nightingale sing.
So I drew out my fiddle an' played her a tune,
I played her a lesson twice over again,
Hark hark, says the lady, let the nightingale sing,
I'd rather hear you fiddle at the touch of one
string.
I say won't you marry me, says the lady again,
Oh no, says the soldier he spoke in disdain,
I've a wife in old England, an' children twice
three,
One wife is a plenty too many for me.
Come all you young maidens, take warnin' by me,
Never place your affections on a young man so free,
They will go away an' leave you like mine has done
me,
To weep, rock the cradle, an' sing lolly by baby.
The ballad about the Thompsonville strike composed by Floyd Jayjohn is similar in text and tune to "One Morning in May." Floyd (Fig) Jayjohn, was born on July 15, 1911, in Oreton, Ohio. Mr. Jayjohn was a resident of Hamden, Ohio, until he passed away on December 1, 1970. Jayjohn came from a family of Ohio coal miners. The Jayjohn family were employees of the Thompson Coal Company. Floyd Jayjohn was inspired by the events that transpired during the hompsonville coal strike incident on March 3, 1932. There is no phonograph recording of this ballad. Three brothers who grew up in the area still know the lyrics. Robert, Edward, and John Hagerty sing the number from memory, and the version of each brother is identical. The Hagertys picked up the song from Floyd Jayjohn while singing and playing guitar in the back of a local general store. The ballad seemingly has no formal title, although it is referred to as the Thompsonville Strike song. The lyrics as written by Floyd Jayjohn are as follows:
Early one morning, one morning in March.
Without any warning the scabs had to march.
They marched to the railroad and knealt by the
rail.
Praying for Jesus to come go their bail.
The union boys gathered and they were well armed.
They said if the scabs prayed they'd do them no
harm.
But then they got (to) raving and then they got
fierce.
They went to the tipple and captured Hub Pierce.
Hub was a watchman and started to run.
But the union boys caught him and broke up his gun.
Hub was a begging to leave the gun be.
For he had it borrowed from Johnny Riley.
The events that shaped this untitled ballad transpired in a small coal town called Thompsonville. Located near the still intact hamlet of Radcliff on the River Division of the Hocking Valley Railway. Thompsonville was named after the Thompson Coal Company, which employed the majority of the residents of the town. There were approximately twenty-eight houses within a two mile radius. Four of these twenty-eight houses were company houses. The company houses were manufactured by the Sears & Roebuck Company. Thompsonville had one store, Hagerty General. Residents had to travel tothe Post Office in Radcliff to pick up their mail. The school house for the area was located in Lincoln's Hollow. Tim Hoctor, the town's blacksmith, supplied the mine and the town's residents with products forged from iron.
The mine was owned and operated by Lon and Glenn Thompson. The Thompson mine was closed during World War I because the coal had a high sulfur content and could not be sold. A new tipple was constructed in 1929. This tipple was able to separate the coal in an improved manner. The powerhouse provided electricity for all the tools. Steam was used to power the generator, which in return provided electricity for the tools. The miners had two types of machines to perform coal removal; one was an arc wall and the other was a Jeffrey-Bentley. Coal was brought out of the mine by pony carts. It was then transported to the tipple and was sifted into three types of coal: lump, slack, and egg coal. Electric motors powered the sifters in the tipple.
Thompson Coal Company miners earned seventy-three cents a ton. Each man was able to produce eight to ten tons a day. Overall the mine produced 300 tons a day and employed approximately fifty to eighty laborers. The miners were paid in cash and also in scrip. The scrip could be used at the Company store in Radcliff, which was operated by Earl Cottrill.
The song composed by Floyd Jayjohn is about the beatings of local non-union miners. Events in the ballad take place because a union sympathizer named Leslie Taylor assisted union coal miners from the Hocking Valley and Pomeroy mines in discouraging the non-union laborers from working. Taylor resided near what is now known as the Hagerty sub-division on State Route 124 in Vinton County, Ohio. Leslie Taylor was familiar with the routes that the non-union coal workers used to travel to the Thompsonville mine. He furnished this information to the union coal operators who met him at Hawk Station.
The miners from the Hocking Valley and Pomeroy mines arrived in four automobiles and two trucks and parked their vehicles at Hawk Station. The men reportedly traveled up the track to the mine passing through the train tunnel. Before they reached the mine, the union miners cut the telephone lines to prevent the local authorities from being notified.
Next, the union miners ambushed the non-union coal miners that were traveling to the Thompson Coal Company's mine.
Raymond Burns, born in 1912, was twenty years old when this incident took place. Mr. Burns resided in Radcliff and walked to work around six each morning. He was stopped on his way to work that morning by union workers. Burns was asked if he belonged to the union, he responded, "No." He was then struck and knocked down. After the majority of the non-union men were captured, they were marched up to the railroad trestle near the opening of the mine; Raymond Burns was one of these men. The union workers beat several non-union miners with pony-whips while they were on the trestle.
During the beatings of the non-union miners, Dannie Metcalf, a non-union miner, dragged two union miners down to Raccoon Creek and attempted to drown them while fearing for his own life. Another man, unidentified, broke up the fight.
Hulbert (Hub) Pierce was the night watchman on duty. He was overtaken by the union mine workers. The union miners destroyed his shotgun, which had been given to him by hisstepfather John Riley. Also, a .45 colt revolver, a pocket knife, and his constable badge were confiscated by the union miners.
Another Thompson Coal Company employee, James Barnes, presumably died from blood poisoning as the result of a beating he received by the union miners. Jimmy was getting his ponies ready for work that morning. He wore a pony-whip around his neck. This pony-whip was used to beat him. He did not die right away. A death certificate for Jimmy Barnes could not be located. It was rumored that his widow was compensated by the union mine organization. This rumor cannot be confirmed, but it has been said that she received monthly payments from the union. It is also believed that her home and her children's college tuition were paid for by the union.
The union miners fled the scene after the beatings of the non-union miners. Sheriff Ray Cox and his deputies arrived too late. In an interview with Charles Hocter, he stated that this was an organizing drive for the union mines. The mine became unionized shortly after the incident. Leslie Taylor, Virgil Rutter, William Canter and Earnest Johnson were arrested after fleeing the scene. During their arraignments before the Justice of the Peace in McArthur, Ohio, they pled not guilty. Two of the men furnished $2,000 bond and were released. The others were detained in thecounty jail in default of a similar bond. Later, these four men were indicted for robbery and assault and battery in connection with the alleged attack of the non-union miners at the Thompsonville mine.
On May 2, 1932, in the Court of Common Pleas, Vinton County, Ohio, evidence was being
introduced to the jury for the case of The State of Ohio vs. Virgil Rutter, William anter, Leslie
Taylor and Earnest Johnson. The jurors that sat on trial are the following:
Henry Harkins Ray Nichols Mary Cox
W.E. Holdren Floyd Trainer Miles Thomas
Abe Trout Mrs. R.E. Wiseman Lawrence Morton
Roy Brown William Morrison Nelse Morgan
These jurors were sworn in, and the case proceeded. Evidence was introduced, and both parties made their arguments. On May 3, 1932, at 9:00 A.M. the court adjourned when arguments of both parties had been made. The jury was instructed and then retired for deliberation. Later, the jury returned to the court room with the foreman, Lawrence Morton, returning the following verdicts:
The State of Ohio Court of Common Pleas
vs. Vinton County, Ohio
Virgil Rutter, William Canter April term, 1932 No. 3007
Leslie Taylor & Earnest Johnson Indictment for Robbery
" We, the jury in this case, duly impaneled and sworn and affirmed, find the defendant William
Canter guilty."
The State of Ohio Court of Common Pleas
vs. Vinton County, Ohio
Virgil Rutter, William Canter April term, 1932 No. 3007
Leslie Taylor & Earnest Johnson Indictment for Robbery
"We, the jury in this case, duly impaneled and sworn and affirmed, find the defendant Earnest Johnson not guilty of
Robbery in manner and form as he stands charged in the indictment. But we do find him guilty of
Assault and Battery as therein charged."
The State of Ohio Court of Common Pleas
vs. Vinton County, Ohio
Virgil Rutter, William Canter April term, 1932 No. 3007
Leslie Taylor & Earnest Johnson Indictment for Robbery
" We, the jury in this case, duly impaneled and sworn and affirmed find the defendants Virgil Rutter and Leslie Taylor not guilty of Robbery in manner and form as they stand charged in the indictment. But we do find them guilty of Assault as therein charged."
Each of the defendants gave notice of motions for a new trial, which was set for hearing on May
12, 1932, at 1:00 p.m. on the following grounds:
First - That the court erred in admitting evidence which
should have been rejected.
Second-That the court erred in rejecting evidence that
should have been admitted.
Third - That the court erred in overruling the motion of
the defendants to arrest the case and direct a verdict
for the defendants at the close of the states' evidence.
Fourth - That the verdict was against the manifest
weight of the evidence.
Fifth - That the verdict was against law.
Sixth - That the court erred in its charge to the jury
in that it did not charge the jury as to whom the
assault was made upon if they found that an assault was
made and in various other matters.
Seventh - For others error apparent in the record of
said proceedings.
On the day of the set hearing May 12, 1932, the court considered the motion for a new trial for the defendants.
The motion was overruled, and the defendants accepted the rulings. The defendants were informed that they were guilty
of the following:
William Canter - Robbery
Earnest Johnson - Assault and Battery
Virgil Rutter - Assault
Leslie Taylor - Assault
Each of the defendants were asked if he had any comments. The defendants chose not to address the court.
The court sentenced William Canter to be conveyed to the Ohio Penitentiary and confined therein at hard labor for an indeterminate period, no part of which was to be served in solitary confinement. Also, that he pay the cost of his prosecution taxed at $35.76 for which execution is awarded. Earnest Johnson was fined fifty dollars and court costs. Mr. Johnson had to remain in the county jail until the fine and court costs were paid, secured or discharged. Virgil Rutter and Leslie Taylor were fined twenty dollars each and court costs. They also had to stand committed to the county jail until their fines and court costs were paid. These sentences were suspended until reviewed by the Court of Appeals.
The Court of Appeals reviewed the case and found no error with the trial procedure. Therefore, the judgement of the Court of Common Pleas of Vinton County, Ohio, was upheld. A special mandate from the Court of Appeals was sent to the Vinton County Court of Common Pleas. This mandate directed the Vinton County Court of Common Pleas to carry out the judgement previously made by the court.
After this decision, Sheriff Ray Cox was ordered to collect goods, chattels, lands, and tenements of William Canter. William Canter owed the state of Ohio $35.76 for his court costs, and he could not afford to pay. The Sheriff was unable to collect any goods or property because William Canter owned nothing of value.
During this period much tension existed between union and non-union mines in Ohio. This is one of many examples of union miners organizing drives to force a non-union mine to unionize. The union miners succeeded in their goal at the Thompsonville mine because the mine became union shortly after the incident. The mine went through a few changes in its final years of operation it was leased out to several others before finally shutting down in early 1935.
Today, Thompsonville and the mine are almost forgotten. Floyd Jayjohn preserved the history of the Thompsonville incident in the form of a ballad. Most likely, Jayjohn unknowingly preserved history while entertaining people in the back of a general store located in Hamden, Ohio. This folk song serves as a historical document that provides preservation of our past through oral history.
Many of these tragedy and accident ballads were recorded on phonographs and sheet music in the late 1920s and the early 1930s. Most likely, many more of these tragedy and disaster ballads were produced in this period, and many never recorded.
Thanks to Floyd (Fig) Jayjohn, the creator of the untitled ballad, the history of a small mining town will be preserved. The small mining town of Thompsonville is no longer in existence. Only memories of the small town exist in a few people's minds. The hill folk of Vinton County are able to recall the event through the almost forgotten verses written by Floyd Jayjohn over sixty years ago.
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