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LOUISVILLE A COAL MINER'S SON superintendent. He often took me for by Dave Ferguson rides when the trains would come into HISTORICAL Louisville Historical Commission camp to switch the coal cars. He would Excerpt from the Newsletter of the take me up into the cab of the engine MUSEUM Louisville Histocial Society and we would ride until the trains finished switching coal cars. This was a 7007 MAIN STREET The Louisville Historian routine we often repeated. T descend from a long line of coal Next we moved to the New FREE ADMISSION miners. My great-grandfather, Morrison Mine near Erie. The houses Open both grandfathers, and my father all here were a lot nicer, but there were put in years in the coal mines. My wife only 6-8 houses for key personnel. My Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Dot's family has a similar background. dad was the mine foreman. He was Thursdays & Mary LaSalle, my mother in-law, saw highly trained in mine safety and first the first Saturday of every her mother die from hardships created aid. When the Monarch Mine exploded month by the Ludlow massacre in 1914. Her in 1936,he was called in on the rescue family was forced to seek refuge when and we did not see him for three days. 10:00 AM — 3:00 PM the shooting started. Mary's mom My father-in-law, Frank LaSalle, was on 303.665.9048 took Mary and her four siblings into the cage getting ready to descend to museum @ci.louisville.co.us hiding along a nearby stream. It was work when the explosion occurred. He Group tours available very cold outside and Mary's mom was one of the first on a rescue team just had a new baby. She contracted who helped remove both the survivors HISTORIC pneumonia and died leaving Mary to and the dead. raise her four siblings,including the The next year, my dad was PRESERVATION newborn baby. She was ten years old transferred to the Monarch Mine. My at the time. folks rented a house on the 1200 block COMMISSION NEWS My dad started mining when he was of Main Street from Jim Colacci. I //�� 17 and retired 57 years later at the age attended Louisville Elementary School, Aembers of the Historic of 74. He started out driving a mule which was then located at Memory reservation Commission and after years of hard work and Square, for third grade. met with the City Council in a study studying, he became President of the When I was in grades four and five, session on February 24 to review a Clayton Coal Company. Dad my dad was transferred to the Puritan draft preservation ordinance. sustained several critical injuries as a Mine near Erie. This was more of a For the past year, the members of miner. He was blinded in his right eye typical mining camp. Almost all of the the Commission have been working when a stray piece of steel lodged in workers lived in the camp, which was diligently on the draft ordinance that his eye. He had part of a finger cut segregated into three parts.There were would create a local historic off and was covered up in a cave-in at two blocks in the main part with landmarking program for sites and the Columbine Mine. He suffered a houses on either side of the street. districts in Lousiville. The Commission broken femur and was in traction at Each was a clone of the other. Bosses also started an educational program to St. Luke's hospital for over 100 days. and key personnel occupied this area. help residents learn about the new One miner was killed and another The west end of the camp had many ordinance and how it may affect suffered a broken back. This accident more of the same style houses, where property owners. occurred on my wife's 18``' birthday. Mexicans,Scandinavians,Northern, Commission members are happy As soon as Dad was able, which was Middle and Southern Europeans, and to speak with residents about the two years after the accident, he went all kinds of other nationalities lived. proposed ordinance. If you are back to work and mined for another Life at the coal camp was difficult. interested in having a Commission twenty years. Almost all of the homes had two member speak to you individually or to I was born in the house at 1100 bedrooms with a small living room a group,please call 303.335.4536. Jefferson Avenue on December 10, and a kitchen.A heating stove heated The Commission meets the second 1928. Immediately after, we moved to the front two rooms and the kitchen Monday of each month at 6:30 PM. the Grant Mine in Frederick. stove heated the rest. All cooking and Please check the web site for the Dave Kerr (a former Louisville baking was done on the kitchen stove, location. mayor) was the Grant Mine's which only burned coal or wood. The April/May 2004 10