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Waln Brown interviewing Clifford Falatko 8/20/72
Tape 5-1
night picking' huckleberries and he couldn't wait to go home, go up for
huckleberries and so he knowed that long trip and the cars started bumpin'
because they were only that far apart, they started bumpin, Jesus lover,
it takes awhile before they stopped the motor, he didn't stop it, we went
right through the door and the door opened and the side of the car, a big
iron caught my leg right on that, yeh that's what happened.
WB What did they do with you afterwards when, after the accident, what did they
do did the first-aid team come down and work on you or
CF What did they do? There was so much coal in the tunnel, loaded cars, that
they couldn't get me out, they got me over top, top of the cars to get me
to the surface by the door to get me out, they couldn't get the doctor from
Freeland, compensation doctor, we had compensation doctor, the company had,
couldn't get the doctor, they couldn't get the doctor for about 2 hours,
they had me out in the sun, month of June the 15th it was that hot layin'
me on the stretcher outside out in mud and in blood, when they got me to
the hospital they couldn't even wash me, Dr. Kettrick, he's still in that
hospital, my leg didn't have to be stiff but they couldn't fix it, there was
too much dirt, the sun got it or some gosh thing, it was, but they
couldn't clean it out they had me layin' outside. Dr. Dice he wanted to cut
my leg off, the main doctor, but Dr. Kettrick's still in the hospital,
Dice is dead I think, one of the Dice's, but Kettrick said, "No he's goin'
to have a stiff leg," because my muscles and cords and everything were all
drawn up, "he's goin' to have a stiff leg but we're going to save hs leg,"
so I have a leg, thank God, I got myself better than a good one, if it
wasn't for Dr. Kettrick everytime I go to the hospital he wnated to operate
on me 2 weeks ago, I have real trouble inside, he examined me and said,
"Clifford it has to done or it will strangle you," but when it happened
he had nurses ready, and bed ready and he promised be, because 2 or 3 weeks
he was the main guy in the hospital, he said, "Clifford I know you don't
have that much money for this operation and everything, I know your case
and everything I'm goin' to do for nothin'," he was satisfied to do it for
nothin' but what the hell happened I went to a veteran's hospital I got my
gall bladder taken out. I just came home about 3 days but I have to go back
to the state hospital but he had the nurse and everything ready for me, I
told the nurse I changed my mind, but I was scared, I was afraid because
I seen those kinds of cases you know, how they do it and how they suffer,
I know what it is but I said I changed by mind, I did go. A couple of
times when I went to the hospital he said, "Are you still livin' Clifford?"
I said, "Yeh doctor," he didn't get to talk to me he thought I made a fool
out of him, you know, he was a good doctor, good to me and he's good to
me now, yeh, he's a nice doctor.
WB When you had your leg cut off how old were you? Not off, when you had that accident, how old were you?
CF How old? Well I'm goin' to be 77 and it was 17 yrs, in June 15 it was
17 years.
WB You were about 60 when that happened?
CF 59, 60. 17 yrs. it will be about 60, yeh.
WB I'm interested, what happened in the family, what was the man's role in the
family in a mine town, for instance you lived here when you were young so
your father worked in the mines didn't he?
CF He was killed in the mines too, up here.
WB Oh he was? In number 6 up here?
CF Number 2 where this breaker is.