Life Dreams Unrealized

Eugene “Gene” Garlitz and his wife, Margaret Ann “Maggie” (Seckman) Garlitz always considered Westernport, MD to be their home. 1894 proved to be an eventful year for the young family. Their daughter, Ida Mae, became a big sister to their newborn son Floyd Garlitz in August. The violent coal miner’s strike in the George’s Creek

Separate Accidents Kill Three Joseph Mills

Joseph Mills was born at Handsworth, Staffordshire, England, on March 24th, 1837. He immigrated to America and married Mount Savage native Catherine Dean in 1861. By 1890, Joseph and Catherine were the parents of seven daughters and five sons. Joseph supported his family by working as a coal miner. Joseph and Catherine’s son, Joseph Thomas

The Fairgrieves: Three Centuries of Coal

Over the past two hundred years, the Fairgrieve family has carried it’s coal mining heritage far and wide: from their ancestral home in Scotland, to the coal fields of western Allegany County, Maryland, to the mountains of Montana. Fairgrieve became one of the most common surnames in the Georges Creek Region of Western Maryland. William

Hospital for Miners

We hear no more of the proposed hospital for miners. Several months ago the papers said that some influential citizens of Cumberland would try to get an appropriation from the legislature at this session to build a hospital in Lonaconing or Midland. Such a hospital is much needed, for men are being injured in the

The Valley Where Coal was King

From The Sun Magazine, Sunday, January 7, 1968 “THE CHANGE IS IN THE PEOPLE AND NOT IN THE LAND, DESPITE ALL THE DIGGING AND GOUGING” By F. De Sales Meyers Mr. Meyers, the son of a coal miner, grew up in George’s Creek Valley, in Lonaconing, where his mother still resides.  “I have many friends

William Powell

Many pre-adolescent boys were required to garner employment in underground mines to supplement the family coffers. Trapper boys were usually the youngest of the young. Their job was to open and close the heavy wooden doors which blocked the gangways and tunnels in the mine. When closed, the doors directed airflow, allowing fresh air to