I grew up in West Virginia. My father, Basil, began working in the coal mines at 14 years old. He and my mother, Rachel, and their seven children had to relocate many times to follow work in union mines
Sometimes the workers went on strike for better benefits or working conditions. Then there would be many months of layoffs.
In 1954, when I was almost 7, a layoff lasted for months. All the miners knew they had