Strip Mining History “Giant Shovel on I-70″ Ohio Fight: 1973 Shovel’s highway crossing spurs activist organizing & Congressional action.		Kentucky Activist “Mountain Warrior” 1950s-1980s Harry Caudill, author, lawyer and legislator, fought for Appalachia.
Towns Wiped Out “Buffalo Creek Disaster” Coal Dams Fail: 1972 125 dead, 4,000 homeless after coal-waste tsunami crashes through valley.		Coal & Politics “Kennedy Coal History” Bobby & Ted: 1968-2008 RFK called out Appalachian coal interests; Ted focused on deep mine safety.
Sexy Coal Hype “G.E.’s Hot Coal Ad” 2005 General Electric’s ‘hot’ TV ad casts coal mining in an unreal light.		Strip Mining Politics “Ford Helps Strippers” …With 2 Vetoes, 1974-75 President Gerald Ford vetoes strip mine bills; Congress & activists fight back.
Annals of Music “Sixteen Tons” 1955-1956 Tennessee Ernie Ford’s hit song invokes hard lives of coal miners.		Video / TV Ad “G.E.’s Sexy Miners” 2005 Coal Ad General Electric’s ‘hot’ TV ad gives coal mining a look that’s not exactly real.
Big Coal vs. Small Town “Paradise” 1971-John Prine A country song about strip mining, coal power, & demise of Paradise, KY.		Strip Mining Foe “Harry Caudill” 1950s-1980s Best-selling “Night Comes To The Cumberlands” brought focus on Appalachia.
Coal & Politics “JFK & West Virginia” Road to The White House JFK campaigns in WV coal country; daughter Caroline later studies coal camps.		Coal & Politics “Kennedy Coal History” Bobby & Ted: 1968-2008 Part II of this story covers Ted Kennedy’s fight for deep-mine coal safety.

Date Posted: June 4, 2022
Last Update: November 20, 2024
Comments to: jackdoyle47@gmail.com

Article Citation:
Jack Doyle, “Coal History: Selected Stories,
1950s-2010s,” PopHistoryDig.com, June 4, 2022

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Books on Coal & Strip Mining at Amazon.com…

Chad Montrie’s history of strip mining fight in Appalachia (2003), UNC press, 272 pp. Click for Amazon.

K. Ross Toole ‘s “The Rape of the Great Plains” (1976). Little, Brown & Co., 271 pp. Click for Amazon.

Harry M. Caudill’s classic 1960s book, “Night Comes to the Cumberlands,” 2001 edition. Click for Amazon.