Harvey James Smeltz

Exploring history’s mysteries, one leaf at a time.

With family mostly from the mountainous areas of Pennsylvania, it was inevitable that there would be a number of family members in my family tree who made their living as coal miners. My grandfather was a coal miner, as was his father before him. All up and down that branch of the family tree there are coal miners galore.

As a result of his years of work in the coal mines, my grandfather suffered from black lung disease. But, he was one of the lucky ones; he always came out of the mines. There are some that entered the coal mines and didn’t come out.

On May 14, 1947, Harvey Smeltz went to work in one of the Stevens Coal Company mines in Trevorton, PA. As he was removing coal that was strewn across the tracks that afternoon he was struck by a loaded coal car. He was removed from the mine and taken to the hospital where it is reported that he died several hours later. His death certificate indicated that his body was completely crushed so I’m not sure how he survived even a few hours after being struck.

On the news we hear reports of cave ins when a group of miners are trapped. Sometimes there is a happy ending in those cases and sometimes there isn’t. Deaths like Harvey’s, that probably happen more than we realize, never get national attention. It is important to know that these accidents happened and most likely continue to happen. Coal mining is a dangerous profession and my grandfather and great-grandfather were lucky to have made it to retirement age alive.

The remnants of the coal mines near Trevorton are now used for sport. People ride ATVs down the coal hills. In the midst of this recreation it is important to remember the lives lost while working those same mines.