Marion 350.
Old Century Mines in Hopkins County owned a Marion 350 shovel that was originally
a steam shovel. This shovel was operated on railroad type tracks instead of the
normal caterpillar type cleats. The 350 was converted to an electric operated
shovel and Ken Coal Company purchased it from Old Century Mines. This shovel was
disassembled and shipped to Ken Coal Company. It was reassembled just off Number
Nineteen School Road a mile or so from the bottom of Chinn Hill. In later years,
this general area was used as a large dump. Herbert Welborn was one of the first
hires to work with this old shovel. A year or so after Herbert started working
for Ken Coal Company he became sick and was bedfast for months until his demise.
Herbert was a trusted and dependable employee, and Jim McDowell knew that Herbert's
family consisted of a wife and three children and they could use a little help.
He sent word to Billy, the oldest son and a recent Rockport High School graduate,
to come to the Ken Mine office. Billy Welborn was hired on December 21 1949
as a "Groundman" for the 350 Stripper. In the mid twentieth century, most of the
stripping shovels and draglines were operated by a three man crew. These positions
consisted of an operator, an oiler, and a groundman. The crew of the Marion 350
needed an extra groundman as the Marion 350 operated on rails and these rails needed
to be moved constantly to keep the shovel near the overburden. This was a two man
job, thus the extra groundman. A big part of the groundman's job was to place the
rails in front of the machine and secure them to ties. As the machine moved forward,
the rails were moved from the rear and placed in the front. Billy worked at Ken Mine
from 1949 until 1993.
Marion 350 Stripper Crew.
One such "Stripper Crew" is featured in this write-up. Buddy Reid, Hugh Ashton,
George Devine and Billy Welborn were mainstays at the Ken Mine and all lived and
raised a family close to each other and in the town of Rockport. Buddy, George, and
Billy were born, raised, and educated in Rockport. Hugh Ashton and his family moved
to Rockport soon after Ken Mine started operation. He hired in from the Madisonville
area and was considered an experience miner, while the other three mentioned had to
learn about mining and big machines. A "Stripper Crew", when I was working at Ken
Mine in the early sixties, consisted of only three people. The "Operator" sat in
the "Cab" of the shovel and pushed and pulled levers and foot pedals to control the
workings of the machine. The "Oiler" tended to the machine and took care of the
"Oiling and Greasing" needs as well as generally watched and listened to the machine
operation. A "Ground Man" worked on the ground around the machine. Usually, he operated
a "Bulldozer" and kept the ground area around the "Stripper" free of boulders, rocks
and other debris. This pictured "Crew" shows the fourth person as two groundmen were
needed with the Marion 350 shovel.
I never knew Max Wasson, although I have heard many of the miners talk fondly of
Max. At the time the picture was taken, he may have been the "Pit Supervisor" or
maybe the assistant superintendent. Anyway, Max was just a nice guy according to
all of the people that I talked with. I am guessing, but I think that Max may
have come from the Madisonville area.
Now, not to be outdone, this "Stripper" crew was composed of great guys also.
Hugh Ashton was the "operator" in this particular crew. Hugh was just a good guy
and he loved his work, thus he certainly could be counted on to do his share of
the work and more. Buddy Reid graduated from Rockport High School in 1944 and
before he could catch his breath, found himself in the middle of World War II.
After the war, Buddy returned to Rockport and soon found a job with Ken Coal Company,
Ken Mine. Buddy was the "oiler" of this "Stripper Crew" and I think that he
switched over to the BE 1050B Shovel when it became operational. George Devine
was the experienced groundman when Billy Welborn was hired in as a groundman.
George graduated from Rockport High School in 1940 and tried his hand at several
jobs, before he was drafted into the Army. After being discharged, he became a
Ken Coal Company employee and eventually retired from Ken Mine. George just never
wanted to keep any job for an extended period of time and thus, he probably worked
as many types of jobs at Ken as anyone else. Billy graduated from Rockport High
School in 1949. Billy probably worked at Ken longer than about anyone else. This
must have been an elite crew as all of the men were easy to work with and easy to
get along with. I am sure that Ken Mine thought this crew to be special. Of
course, most of the miners at Ken Mine were special. That is why it continue
operation longer that most other mines.
Rockport, Echols, and Ohio County were fortunate to have Ken Coal Company move
into the area. Prior to the nineteen fifties, good jobs were not very plentiful
in the area and those wanting a good wage for a day's work had to move north.
Just a small coal company, at first, developed into a major operation. Ken Mine
alone may have employed some four hundred miners at one time. Good jobs were
plentiful and some of the people that moved north were returning to the area where
they were born and raised. Rockport, Echols, and other towns in the area were on
the move. Tax monies were distributed to all of the area that was being mined
and it seemed that this source of monies was endless. Guess that the area thought
that the "Boom" would last forever, but once the coal, that was easy to mine was
gone, the area fell on more difficult times. By the start of the Twenty-First
Century, "King Coal" was gone and now the area that got used to "Easy Pickings"
had a difficult time realizing that the "Coal Boom" was over. It was a nice ride
while it lasted.
See you.......
~jrd~
:)
See you..........
jrd
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