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When tragedy struck in the mines, bringing about the death of a miner, the affected family was usually left without any means of support. The relief of these families fell to the generosity of area miners and residents, as in this 1891 instance at Midway.
“The men of shafts No. 1 and 2, met to-day for the purpose of taking steps to aid Mrs. Richard Smith, whose husband died on March 2, [1891] from injuries received the day before, leaving her with four little helpless children without any means of support. A motion that there be a committee of three appointed from shaft No. 1 to take charge of a subscription to be taken up for her benefit, was carried. …”
Solicitors were appointed and requested to gather donations at Midway, Mindenmines, Chicopee, Litchfield, Frontenac, and Pittsburg.
Source: The Pittsburg Daily Headlight, Thursday, 12 March 1891, Vol. IV, No. 279.
Born in 1944 at the old Mt. Carmel Hospital, Pittsburg, Jerry D. Lomshek has been a lifelong resident of Crawford County and the Chicopee area. The grandson of a Slovene immigrant coal miner, he became interested in history at a young age, and began researching family and local history at the age of 14. This being a lifelong passion, he has amassed a mammoth amount of local historical data over the years. He has lectured and written several manucripts concerning the history of Southeast Kansas. From his service in the Navy, and as a registered nurse, he spent 45 years involved in various aspects of health care. Since retiring, he has devoted his time to further local historical research and various community involvement.
