RPS - Appalachian Poems - 2009

Appalachian Poems : 

Appalachian Poems Rutgers Preparatory School 4th grade (Chris Kazal, teacher) 2008-09

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I’m working away at the coal breaker wondering why I’m here. I suddenly remember Daddy didn’t make it out of the mine that day And now it’s my turn To keep the food on the table ‘til Mama Can get a job My hands are bruised and cut But I’m not alone at the breaker I got all the other boys just like me Trying to keep food on the table But they’re not the only ones with me I got my Daddy here, too…. ~ Grace Bancone

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I’m sitting down Watching the stars Waiting ‘til the moment Dad Comes home Knowing that Mom’s frying hamburgers in lard, Smellin’ it from the back yard Hear the knocking on the door, jump up and run to it Open the door and Dad is there. Black coal dust all over him. ~ Danielle Baron

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My home is Pennsylvania My job a breaker boy Some boys chewin’ gum Some boys chewin’ tobacco Handkerchief over my mouth And coal dust in my eyes. As my shift starts, the coal comes pourin’ Down the chute, loud as thunder. As soon as my hands touch the coal, the new boy cries in pain I look at his red, bony hands, thinkin’, “That ain’t nothing.” I sort rock from coal ‘til the end of my shift. ~ Joey Dev

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The rats in the mine. They are so helpful. If they feel the fire coming, they will warn us. If we get rid them, We won't know if we are going to have A bad day in the mine. ~ Kyla Lamb

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Breaker boys Sitting down, sorting coal for little pay. Wearing handkerchiefs to keep coal dust from being breathed in. Working hard six days a week. Hands getting tough sorting that coal. ~ Alex Masella

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During the Scotia Mine disaster, My husband died. I'm crying hysterically, Kids with me, Fire trucks passing and  Neighbors all hoping For the best.                              ~ Spencer Fink

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Now a miner, Wasn't always a dream. Working underground The men always telling us      what to do They make all the plans Use us as if we're dolls I've had enough, wanna go home but I'll be strong Now that I'm a woman miner. ~ Gita Ganti A Woman Miner

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You gotta know how to digWhen you're doin' a strip jobYou gotta know how to dig.'Cause if you're loading dynamiteOr doing reclamation on that big ol' scar,I say you gotta know how to dig.  ~ Tejus Govani

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Everything fine when I was a coal miner          Loading up the coal          Feeling alright, 'til the continuous miner came          and took it all.                                   Leaving many miners jobless.                                   So we moved to the city where                                              almost nothing was nice.                                   Getting a new job,                                    living in a new place,                                   and living a new life. 'til I couldn't take it. I found a job in the mountains,   moved back and   spent the rest of my life mining coal, doing it right and doing fine.                                                       ~ Connor Durish

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I'm walking through our cemetery Still wishing that my grandma was here. She used to listen to my made-up stories. Daddy would always ask her, "What she tell you today?" Then I turn to Papaw's grave. He used to tell me about his days in the mine. I felt bad when someone got hurt. I'm walking and wishing that My Mamaw and Papaw were still here today.                                                        ~ Arianna Peluso

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Come home today and Ma told me We’re moving to Detroit. I cried, said I wasn’t going. Ma promised we’d come back every month I didn’t believe her, hid in the closet Until Pa got me out. Went to Detroit on the “Hillbilly Highway”. Watched the mountains fade away in the background. ~ Pallavi Pemmireddy

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Day Labor So cold and lonely, Waiting for someone to pick me up. Thinking about what job I'll do, and if I'll know how to do it. Five mornings waitin' Finally picked up and ride in An old bus to a factory. As long as I get paid for my work, I'm ok. ~ Lance Bean

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Movin' to the City   Got home from school today and found out that I'm movin' to the city. I'm sad 'cause I'll have to leave all my friends behind. One question lingers in my mind. Will I ever come back home to Appalachia? ~ Joshua Kutner

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Gob Piles Kids playing. Kids laughing. Kids pushing and climbing. Eagerly dashing and sprinting to the top... panting... only one will reach the top.   Only one will be king of the hill. ~ Bryan Cho

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Driving on the highway in an old beat-up truck. Just 'cause Daddy lost his job, we're going to Chicago to start a new life. Going to make new friends, and Daddy's gonna load boxcars. Driving on a highway, going to Chicago. ~ Borte Batbold

Rattlesnake : 

Rattlesnake There's a rattlesnake down the road. It's shaking its tail. It's singing. I see it under a bush And stay away so it won't see me. Boy, I'm lucky that I saw it first. ~ Richa Dahake

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My Daddy     My daddy is a coal miner. He come home so late, I Don't get to see him. Oh, how I wish he didn't do  That job. Get scared thinkin' he might   Not come home, but then The door opens same time every night, He come in my room and kisses me. ~ Sierra Drumbore

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In our coal camp on a hot sunny day. I'm wantin' a chilly imp so bad, Playin' King of the Hill for some time. Hoping the sun Won't turn the rock to red dog. ~ Kyle Humlen

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Coal Camp     I live in a small coal camp at the bottom of a hill. Lots of kids to play with on a hot August day. Just wishin' for a breeze. Then we go inside for cold Eskimo Pies. ~ Madison Mento

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Hoot Owl Shift     My pa was on the hoot owl shift, barely ever saw him, usually only saw him on Sundays, I didn't like it one bit. Was awake when Dad was asleep, was asleep when he was awake. Sis cried 'cause she didn't get to see him much. Dad finally changed shifts and works in the day. We see him every night now, and everyone's happy. ~ Abihinav Penumudi

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The Coal The coal is dark like the night in Appalachia. It is treacherous, too. You can get black lung And there is no fixing that. If you die from that, the camp will push your family out. ~ Robert Sullivan

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My Garden   Look at my garden with vegetables fresh from the roots underground. Some plants are dyin' and some ain't. Want my garden to be the best. This is my garden. ~ Kiera Varga

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Struggling Struggling with the mules. They are pulling a cart full of a ton of anthracite. They're struggling 'cause I can't get them to go the right way. So, I crack my whip and they go the way I want them to go. Half an hour later, the mules come out with the coal. ~ Eric Munson

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The mountains are so beautiful The men are working so hard. The women are cooking. The children are playing. The house is as big as my       bedroom. But they still do good. They love their family and That is all they ever need. ~ Tanvi Koduru

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I was just working when they rolled in a machine to take my job at the mine. So I walked on home with my head down. I lost my job, and now I'm going to have to leave town. ~ Joseph Ramallo

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Cemeteries Many families in the mountains own the land where their kin  are buried. Might be up on the hill behind your house or down the road a bit. And if you're a mountain person, you'll probably be buried in one of these cemeteries.       ~ Caitlyn Samuel

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Got a job in a coal mine.Get my pick and shovel,Put on my steel-toed shoes.Underground, I hit the coal seam with my pick. At the end of the week, get my first paycheck. Go to the company store, Buy some things  my family needs.Then start all over again. ~ Drew Lorello

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Thank you for your attention!

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CREDITS Designed and produced by Shelley Krause, 2009. Thanks to Kathie Rusyn, Audrey Forte, Steven Loy, and of course Chris Kazal, without whose support this presentation would not have been possible. Thanks, too, to the authors' parents for granting permission.   All poems in this presentation are original work, copyrighted by their authors. Images in this slideshow are either in the public domain, or licensed under a Creative Commons license. Many of the black and white images from the 1930's and '40's are courtesy of the Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, FSA-OWI Collection; more information about the FSA/OWI Collection is available at http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.fsaowi   Individual image credits are as follows:   Cover image: Abandoned mining town, Twin Branch, West Virginia, 1938. Wolcott, Marion Post, photographer. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/fsa.8a38804 2) Coal breaker, Pike County, Kentucky, 1938. Rothstein, Arthur, photographer. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/fsa.8a09645 3) Miner working with Consolidated Coal Company, Kentucky, 1935. (detail) Shahn, Ben, photographer. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/fsa.8a16945 4) Boy employed by the Turkey Knob Mine, MacDonald, W.Va., 1908. Hine, Lewis, photographer. Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 5) Rat by Peter Kemmer, via Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pkmousie/2199520904/ 6) Dirty Printmaking Hands by CrumpArt, via Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/65029273@N00/514372467 7) Mother and widow and relatives weeping at the grave of deceased at memorial meeting near Jackson, Kentucky, Breathitt County, 1940. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/fsa.8a43430

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CREDITS (continued)   8) Woman miner, photograph courtesy of The Charleston Gazette 9) Coal miner's son carrying home bag of coal swiped from cars, The "Patch," Chaplin, West Virginia, 1938. Wolcott, Marion Post, photographer. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/fsa.8a39497 10) New River Gorge by S.J.Taylor, via Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/staylor336/1356434575/ 11) Cemetery Across the Tracks from a Coal Mine, Westmoreland County, PA, 1936. Rothstein, Arthur, photographer. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/fsa.8b28311 12) Coal mining town in Welch, Bluefield section of West Virginia, 1940. Wolcott, Marion Post, photographer. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/fsa.8a39721 13) Coal miner waiting for lift home. Caples, WV, 1938. Wolcott, Marion Post, photographer. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/fsa.8a38712 14) Hauling coal up the hill, picked up near mines, to his home. Chaplin, West Virginia, 1938. Wolcott, Marion Post, photographer. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/fsa.8c29651 15) Young boys salvaging coal from the slag heaps, Nanty Glo, Pennsylvania, 1937. Shahn, Ben, photographer. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/fsa.8a17102 16) Highway to Chicago, Illinois, 1939 (detail). Rothstein, Arthur, photographer. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/fsa.8a11032 17) Dusky Pygmy Rattlesnake by "Sophro" via Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/zackbittner/150189426/ 18) Girl waiting at window, Pike County, KY, 1939. Rothstein, Arthur, photographer. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/fsa.8a39138 19) King of the Hill, 2006, by "Vaguely Artistic" via Flickr (detail, color modified): http://www.flickr.com/photos/vaguelyartistic/82641374/ 20) Children's favorite playground, around coal mine tipples. Pursglove, Scotts Run, West Virginia, 1938. Wolcott, Marion Post, photographer. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/fsa.8a39856

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CREDITS (continued)   21) Smiling with pleasure, a coal miner reads the paycheck enclosure, Eastern Pennsylvania mine, 1942 (detail). Perlitch, William, photographer. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/fsa.8b08665 22) Westland coal mine, Pittsburgh, PA (vicinity), 1942. Collier, John, photographer. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/fsa.8d10985 23) Homesteader at work in garden. Tygart Valley Homesteads, WV, 1939. Vachon, John, photographer. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/fsa.8c16669 24) Miner and mule at American Radiator Mine, Mount Pleasant, Westmoreland Co., PA, 1936. Mydans, Carl, photographer. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/fsa.8a00917 25) Coal miner and family, residents of company town. Kempton, West Virginia, 1939. Vachon, John, photographer. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/fsa.8b14329 26) Coal miner now on relief, with son. Zeigler, IL, 1939. Rothstein, Arthur, photographer. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/fsa.8b17305 27) Hand-carved gravestones in an old family cemetery where memorial meetings are held annually. In the mountains near Jackson, KY, 1940? Wolcott, Marion Post, photographer. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/fsa.8a43656 28) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (vicinity). Montour no 4 mine of the Pittsburgh Coal Company. Miners in the cage enroute to the bottom of the mine, 1942. Collier, John, photographer. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/fsa.8d10616 29) Coal miner's son, Kempton, WV, 1939. Vachon, John, photographer. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/fsa.8a04188