My Grandmother, Mary Jane Curry-Lee, describes her life growing up as a coal miner’s daughter. She tells many stories about her father and his accomplishments.

What was your father's full name and when was he born?
His name was William Robert Curry and he was born January 2, 1892.

Who did you live with?
We lived in Orient, Illinois. I lived with my father and my mother and my siblings. Our grandmother also lived with us. She was without a home so she lived in our home for about six months of the year and the other six months she lived in Florida. My mother did not work outside the home and my father was a coal miner.

Where did you live?
I lived in a coal mining community, and it was established there because of the coal mine. We were in Orient, Illinois and the coal mine was Orient mine #1. Nearby, was the Orient mine #2. Almost everyone who lived in our town had immigrated there from other countries. We had diverse nationalities. We had our own school and we had our own stores. Because of the coal mine, that is why it was a coal mining community. That’s the reason that those people had come to this community, was for no other reason only to have a job. Many of them could not speak English until they had lived here awhile, but when they were arriving in New York City, they could say Orient,
Illinois coal mine, and so they knew their destination.

How was it having a coal miner as a father?
Having a coal miner as a father, I didn’t know anything else. That is all that we knew, that was his occupation. He only had a small education because his father and mother had passed away and he had to go to work, but he achieved many goals through learning and training in his field. By the time he retired, he was a mining examiner. He could examine the mines and see if it was safe enough for the miners to go down. I still have some of his equipment that he used in that coal mine. I cherish them. Another cute story that I have from when my father was a coal miner is about my father in law. I did not know him as a child, but whenever the mine examiner for the midnight shift did not show up, this fella could come up to the side of our house to the window there and would say to my dad, “You are going to have to get up”. He would say, “so and so”, he would call them by name, “did not show up for work”. My father would then get up and get ready to go to the mines. Later on in my married life, I was sharing that with the family and my father in law laughed and laughed and he said, “Did you ever know who that man was?”, and I said no. He said that was me (laughter).

Do you still have his mining stuff?
Yes, you’ve probably seen it many times and didn’t know what it was. He wore the lamp that I have on the helmet of his coal mining hat. I also have the coal miner’s bucket and the coal miner’s hat. You think about whenever they worked many thousands of feet below ground, there was no food and no water. Well, the main item that they carried would be water. In their second container would be their food. I have those buckets for food and water as well.

What did you like and dislike about your fathers job as a coal miner?
Well, I liked the fact that it was a good income for our family, even though it was risky. I didn’t like it because it was so unsafe. I didn’t like that. In the year of 1954, we had a mine explosion here with Orient #2 at Christmas time, and many coal miners, it took their lives. That was the bad thing about being in a coal mine, that it was so unsafe. But, he was a good provider, and that was the occupation here. That is what the people came for. They came to have a job. That’s why we have this community.

How long was your father a coal miner?
Probably close to about 45-50 year. But it was detrimental to his health also, because of the coal dust. The dust that settled in the air, it eventually caused him black lung, and that was difficult for breathing.

When did you begin to appreciate what he did?
As I became older I started to appreciate what he did. Then my husband decided that’s what he would like to do, because that’s what his father had done. As I became an adult, I was more appreciative of it because it was such a dangerous job. I was so glad when my husband decided that wasn’t what he wanted to do. I think the chance the risk of lives my dad took to provide for his family made me appreciate it too.

How did his job and he influence you?
He always took a difficult situation and he made the best of it. He also helped organize the United Mine Workers of America, and that provided benefits. That was a benefit to belonging to the union, because the pay scale was good. My father also became, for his local union here in this community, the president of that local union. He got to meet the main president of the United Mine Workers who was John L. Louis. My father got to go to Washington D.C. to represent his union. They also established their own schools, their own grocery stores, their own funeral home, and a lot of these things in this area are still called the same name. The Union Funeral home to this day! My father also became president of the school board and police magistrate in the city of Orient.

If you could, would you change him being a coal miner?
Probably not. At that time, there really wasn’t anything else. You’re talking about the late 1800’s and early 1900’s.

Did you learn anything from being a coal miner’s daughter? What was it?
I suppose being a coal miner’s daughter gave me a compassion for other people. Other people had fathers that were also in the coal mine. When the coal mining industry was completed in our area, people had to leave and go to other areas, but we’ve always stayed in touch. We had a one way in town and a one way out. It just seemed like ti was a unique community, because we had no crime and everything we had, we had to take care of. Our parents had worked hard to get here from other parts of the country. We have a value that I think a lot of kids did not have. I tell you the main thing that was in this community, was a great smoke stack that blows this smoke and dust out. Every day that whistle blew at four o’clock. Everyday Lauryn. That was what everybody knew as the four o’clock whistle. If there was trouble in the mine, there would be a long, slow whistle. Those things I will never forget. But we had a family there. We had a family that was very large. I probably had the best dad in the world.

If you could describe your dad in one word, what would it be?
He was very hard working. He was over eighty when he died in 1973. He never quit. He worked all the time. He raised a big garden; he raised everything. Everything! He had all kinds of berries and he hunted and fished everything. He was a great provider. He kept a beautiful home with a little white picket fence. He kept that fence so white and he kept his grass mowed, and he painted the house. He did everything. I truly did have one of the best dads. When I had to leave and go with my husband to the army, that was one of the things I missed most. My dad.

How far away was that house from where you live now?
It was about 2 miles. It actually burned after I lived here and my mother passed away. I had a lot of memories. You know, when I was growing up, a lot of people did not have automobiles. The school and the church were one of your focal points. All your activities took place there. You didn’t know about this other stuff, because you didn’t have it. When we had a ball game or a Christmas play, or anything at the school, man everybody’s kids was in it. It was a great era. I didn’t miss out on anything. Now, there is a story of this road that is built in front of my house. It’s a good book. My neighbor, who was a school teacher, wrote the story on it. It is a great place.

My grandmother, Mary Jane Curry-Lee now lives in West Frankfort on Orient Road. The book called, Life on the Orient Road is a great book that many have read all over the country. Orient really was a great place and it still is today.