Vol. 1-Interviews-Ferko

DM Inter. Mary & Tom Ferko -26- 8/7/72 Tape 6 techniques did the Irish mine a spot differently

TF No there wouldn't be no differences in a mine almost the same technique regardless of what nationality you were, you know what I mean, only thing was they were't as good workers or they would depend on the other guy to do the work do the dirty work

MF The Hunkies were better workers

DM By what I read that's true

TF Supposed to go where it was dangerou and he wouldn't go I'll stay back if you get hit more power to you

DM Did you say you wouldn't

TF I would but the other guy wouldn't

DM Well still that's the most dangerous part, riding back

TM way up high and you had to sneak in there

DM If you would have been in there and I would have been following I would say, look Piker I'll see you later on at the cross hatcher I'm not going up in there

TF I never sot a scratch only on my nose here

DM One of your coal mining cuts

TF Yeh that's all I got, a couple smashed fingers but that's all, nothin' serious I got the high ones but with a piece of rock outside of that I never got hurt to go to the hospital

DM But you breath in all that dust

MF Especially when he worked up in Wilkes-Barre, that was dusty up there worse than here

TF It was because of the dry condition they had no air circulation like they have around here here you hardly have any gas around here up there it was full of gas

MF Up there it wasn't as high as here

DM Do you mean you breather the gas or the dust how come if it was full of gas it was dustier

inter Hary & Tom Ferko -27- Tape 6

TF: Well it was dry that's what caused the gas, dry air and the fumes if there wasn't any holes where was it going to go see there was no ventilation but what the hell what circulation they did have it heading it would go out and come around again so you had the same dust all day long DM: That wasn't very smary, I didn't know were working in Wilkes-Barre TF: I worked all over Wiles-Barre MF: He had to crawl on his belly it wasn't high to stand like it was over here TF: You had to be bent over all the time it was only 4ft. high DM: Of that would drive me crazy MF: But over here it was high you could see the top in some places DM: Didn't is settle down somewhat this town, whole town MF: Yeh the place settled down this house too TF: Yeh but this rock in here is pretty hard yet this is like iron I worked up in here I drove mules and I decided but this rock's so hard wouldn't break and when it settled it settled all in one big slide DM: That's what I figured it just slides down real TF And the other places when it would get the weight it would break off, this rock over here this is too hard like iron this rock DM: Did you guys have the buddy system back then TF: Some places there were 2 buddies workin' other places there was a miner and a laborer DM: But the miner and the laborer took care of the buddy system here TF: Well not all over all depends what kind of job he had, there were 2 buddies, 2 miners we called them DM: Is that the same thing they do when they go swimming or diving or something, just one guy look out for the other guy TF: Well you worked together and one guy was always lookn' out for the other guy especially when you're robbin'

DM inter. Mary & Tom Ferko -28- Tape 6 8/7/72 DM: How did you pick out your buddies, would the bos tell you who the buddies were TF: The boss would send a guy into you and that was your buddy now up in Wilkes-Barre you could pick your own laborer you wanted you could even bring your own laborer from here up there DM: You'd go out and hire him TF: You'd bring him up and they would hire him MF: They needed workers up there any time DM: The conditions being what they were I imagine they did, I don't see how you could stand to work after working there TF: Well what were you going to do MF: There was no job here he was laid off he had to go some place TF: There was nothin' here then same as the railroad so where was you goin' to go, there was no kind of factories or anything DM: That's the hard part for me to comprehend, there wasn't anything else TF: No it was all mines, mines and the railroad where was you goin' to go, there was no factories here, mines and the railroad and the breakers that's all and with the breaker you got more dust than you did then in the mines, if you got a job pickin' on the table where the rovers were DM Yes but that's pretty lousy after you've been in the ground for a while to come up and do that kind of job TF: But if you didn't have a job you had to take it, you couldn't do anything about it DM: How long did the little boy stale pickers last TF: I don't know that was before my time, the slate pickers you'll have to ask Bruno or someone about that he picked slate with my daddy MF: My daddy use to walk all the way to Hazlebrook DM To pick slate TF Sure my daddy was only 14 years old and he used to go down to Hazlebrook to pick slate and at dinner time he was draggin' on the snow

DM Inter. Mary & Tom Ferko 29 8/7/72 Tape 6

MF He used to walk DM But they had that cone system up here where you were working, that big water cone or whatever you call it TF They had the cone of sand and water DM Was it from before you worked here until you quit, was it before you got a job here they had the sand and cone at the breakers TF Oh no by that time we had jiggs and rollers MF That was this breaker up here DM But no kids picking slate TF No not up here DM But there were some in the beginning, right TF No you didn't need, see I worked up not this breaker here or that one there was a breaker here before that one DM Oh I don't mean this one TF I can just about remember this breaker up here DM We got a couple pictures of that too TF But with the cone system you don't need anybody for pickin' slate that takes care of the slate picker see your coal come up and your slate goes down to the bottom and when he traps the coal comes out the bottom your force of the water takes the coal down to the shaker DM Now you guys will be amazed when this museum gets finished and you find how much we really found out TF Yes if we are not gone DM You'll be here, it's not going to take that long and there will be a few more gray hairs on your head tho TF Maybe tomorrow when I wake up you'll see my name in the paper, how in the hell do you know DM That's true I can't say that I can predict how long anybody's boing to live but

DM Inter. Mary & Tom Ferko - 30 - 8/7/72 Tape 6

DM still, in the next five years or so you will be able to see some results, every year you're going to see something new DM Are you ready for this I think we're coming back next summer MF Are you, that's good DM There's so much to learn here, we've learned an awful lot this summer and I hate to say we're finished TF You're never done learnin' you can alway learn something all the time DM But just for what the museum wants to find out, there hasn't been a day go by that we haven't found something new everyday but to take it in three months I think that's terrible what I would really like to do is just to stay here for a whole year so I can be here in the wintertime see what you do in the winter not just you but everybody in town and fall and spring and the whole bit instead of just being here in the summertime because there'll be different things going on in different stages of the year because we're going to miss the canning season I'm going to talk to your mother about that MF Just start canning I don't do too much of that for 2 of us before I use to can tomatoes and beans, manglers and hot peppers for him, chili sauce I use to make {???} chou chou DM We have 3 jars of that stuff up there, Eva said I'm going to make some chou chou so you can have my old from last year, and I said, o.k. MF That's good when you have meat and something with it, mashed potatoes TF I like the jice with the mashed potatoes, juice from the chou chou MF The same thing with chili sauce and he mixes it up with his mashed potatoes DM I'll have to try that one because we have so much of it I'll have to find ways using it TF you never eat like I eat MF He's sloppy joe DM No I don't think I could eat thing for thing with Fiker{?}