THINK IN TIME
The purpose of this study guide is to help you understand some very important issues that faced workers in the early 1900s. We will use a kind of psych-history to get into the heads of coal miners, their family members, both union and non-union workers and even the company men. To accomplish this we will challenge you to "think in time". By hearing various points-of-view we may come to better understand that often-times human behavior is dictated by our life experiences.
As you read Sixteen Tons watch for and think about the significant emotional events in the lives of each of the major characters that causes them to develop the opinions that they have toward the unions. Joe Harrison and his best friend Antonio Vacca live and work almost identical lives except for a handful of these significant emotional events. As a result, their friendship is tested and they emerge on different sides of a full blown war of shootings and bombings. Two of Antonio’s sons, Bullo and Vinnie, also have different experiences that eventually turn them against one another. Watch too for the direction that other main characters take based on their own life experiences.
ORAL HISTORIES – To help you along the way we have included the actual words of some of the miners and their families who lived through these troubled times and whose experiences Sixteen Tons is based upon. You may even notice that many of the sentences used by characters in the novel come directly from those wonderful people that were interviewed back in 1986.
VINTAGE PHOTOGRAPHS - During the years of research, we were fortunate to discover a wealth of old coal mining photographs dating back to 1898 in the homes of the Frank, Fritz, Otto and Max Boch family. Many of these photos were purchased and are on display at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, Illinois. By the way, the Boch brothers are the inspiration for the fictional Vacca brothers in Sixteen Tons. It is also the four Boch brothers who are pictured on the cover of the novel.
The contents of this web site include:
THE SOUNDERS - Examines what the work conditions of coal miners was like in the first quarter of the 20th century by listening to the accounts of the mine workers themselves. Click here...
DISASTERS - Looks at two coal mine disasters that had profound effects on the development of the United Mine Workers of America. Click here...
GUNFIGHTS - The events of West Virginia in 1920-21 are every bit as exciting and powerful as anything that occurred in the American West of the 1800s. The number of workers joining the UMWA during this time period was largely determined by the gunfight at Matewan and the Battle of Blair Mountain. Click here...
MASSACRES - We will look at two very different massacres that took place and attempt to get into the mindset of both the victims and those who did the killings. Click here...
DIVIDED KINGDOM - The United Mine Workers of America are challenged for representation of America's coal mine workers by a new union called the Progressive Mine Worker's of America. Borrowing from Carl Oblinger's 1991 book of the same name we look at the Christian County Coal Mine Wars from 1932 to 1933. Click here...
BLACK LUNG - After reading Sixteen Tons, renowned registered respiratory therapist Kevin Shrake offered us a keen insight into the effects of coal dust on the lungs of pre-1960 coal miners. Click here...
The purpose of this study guide is to help you understand some very important issues that faced workers in the early 1900s. We will use a kind of psych-history to get into the heads of coal miners, their family members, both union and non-union workers and even the company men. To accomplish this we will challenge you to "think in time". By hearing various points-of-view we may come to better understand that often-times human behavior is dictated by our life experiences.
As you read Sixteen Tons watch for and think about the significant emotional events in the lives of each of the major characters that causes them to develop the opinions that they have toward the unions. Joe Harrison and his best friend Antonio Vacca live and work almost identical lives except for a handful of these significant emotional events. As a result, their friendship is tested and they emerge on different sides of a full blown war of shootings and bombings. Two of Antonio’s sons, Bullo and Vinnie, also have different experiences that eventually turn them against one another. Watch too for the direction that other main characters take based on their own life experiences.
ORAL HISTORIES – To help you along the way we have included the actual words of some of the miners and their families who lived through these troubled times and whose experiences Sixteen Tons is based upon. You may even notice that many of the sentences used by characters in the novel come directly from those wonderful people that were interviewed back in 1986.
VINTAGE PHOTOGRAPHS - During the years of research, we were fortunate to discover a wealth of old coal mining photographs dating back to 1898 in the homes of the Frank, Fritz, Otto and Max Boch family. Many of these photos were purchased and are on display at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, Illinois. By the way, the Boch brothers are the inspiration for the fictional Vacca brothers in Sixteen Tons. It is also the four Boch brothers who are pictured on the cover of the novel.
The contents of this web site include:
THE SOUNDERS - Examines what the work conditions of coal miners was like in the first quarter of the 20th century by listening to the accounts of the mine workers themselves. Click here...
DISASTERS - Looks at two coal mine disasters that had profound effects on the development of the United Mine Workers of America. Click here...
GUNFIGHTS - The events of West Virginia in 1920-21 are every bit as exciting and powerful as anything that occurred in the American West of the 1800s. The number of workers joining the UMWA during this time period was largely determined by the gunfight at Matewan and the Battle of Blair Mountain. Click here...
MASSACRES - We will look at two very different massacres that took place and attempt to get into the mindset of both the victims and those who did the killings. Click here...
DIVIDED KINGDOM - The United Mine Workers of America are challenged for representation of America's coal mine workers by a new union called the Progressive Mine Worker's of America. Borrowing from Carl Oblinger's 1991 book of the same name we look at the Christian County Coal Mine Wars from 1932 to 1933. Click here...
BLACK LUNG - After reading Sixteen Tons, renowned registered respiratory therapist Kevin Shrake offered us a keen insight into the effects of coal dust on the lungs of pre-1960 coal miners. Click here...