Spark the imagination with the new Yesteryear section. A nostalgic section that transports you back in time to the early days of the coal mining industry. Yesteryear is loaded with pictures and articles of days gone by.

You will find some of the famous wartime posters that emphasize the important role the coal industry played in the World War I and II efforts. Additionally there are numerous historical newspaper articles that show how even the large cities of Kentucky far removed from the coal regions were affected by the coal industry.

Advertisements

As can be seen from the variety of advertisements, it was common for coal companies to promote their product (coal) in the late 1800's and early 1900's. During that time the average household used coal to cook with and to heat their home. As a result people bought coal at the local store just like they would have bought groceries.

Newspaper Clips

Have you ever thought that a city like Lexington was never affected by Blackouts due to power shortages? Read a few of these newspaper articles and you will soon discover that not only did Lexington suffer Blackouts, but the city was frequently on restricted power in the early 1900's due to coal shortages.

Posters

Here you will find an unusual collection of rare posters that were distributed by the United States Fuel Administration. The posters, many dating back to World War I show the importance of coal production to the success of the World Wars. USFA felt these posters would encourage Americans to help support the war efforts by working hard to increase coal production. After all, coal production was essential to the manufacture of warplanes and ships. There are also several posters asking for Americans to be conservative in their personal use of coal in the household thus allowing more coal to be used for benefit of the soldiers involved in the wars.

Scrip

Company scrip was a credit against the accrued wages of employees. In the United States, where everything in a mining camp was run, created and owned by a company, scrip provided the worker with credit when their wages had been depleted. Workers had very little choice but to purchase their goods at a company store.  In this way, the company could place enormous markups on goods in a company store, making workers completely dependent on the company. While scrip was a de facto form of currency, employees were rarely paid in scrip. Additionally, while employees could exchange scrip for cash, it was rarely done so at face value. Scrip in this context was valid only within that area or town where it was issued. While store owners in neighboring communities could accept the scrip as currency, they rarely provided a 1 for 1 exchange. This was to avoid the risk of having coins/currency that were worthless anywhere else.