A Coal Miner's Quilt

A Coal Miner’s Quilt is a captivating and engaging tale, filled with historically accurate illustrations of oppression, courage and hope. This account is told by an elderly woman, named Sadie, who lives in Sissonville, West Virginia, and her neighbor, Finn, who is an authority on the myths and legends of the Hatfields and McCoys. Throughout this narrative, they recall stories that have been passed down from generation to generation pertaining to family feuds and the coal mining wars that took place in West Virginia during the turn of the last century.

The tales they tell encompass brutal incidents, such as the Matewan Massacre, the Battle of Blair Mountain and some background surrounding the famous Hatfield and McCoy feud. It is also a portrait of a family who lived through the times when coal miners were subjected to harsh and unfair treatment while working for nonunion companies, and the battle that brought the United Mine Workers of America into the coal fields of Southern West Virginia.

Many of the characters, such as Sid Hatfield, Jessie Lee Maynard, “Mother” Mary Harris Jones and the Baldwin-Felts detectives may be familiar to the reader, but even if they aren’t, you will still find yourself enthralled with the history of West Virginia and their people, while discovering one reason that “Mountaineers are Always Free.”