September 29

Here's what Jessie writes after reading "Growing Up in a Holler in the Mountains":

I am going to write about Coal Mining.
A lot of miners would get a disease called black lung from working in the coal mines for very long. They say that the disease was very very serious, making it hard for miners to breath, or work. but when miners got the disease, the coal companies would not give them a pension, leaving them with no work or income. To get coal companies to give better working conditions and better salaries, the miners organized into unions. The unions said they would go on strike. So the miners went on strike, which left the coal companies with no workers. So they brought in new workers from different states and countries to work for them. The union members called them Scabs, and had great contempt for them. Soon the strike ended with the union winning. Which left the coal companies giving better benefits and salaries.