Frustrating But Not All of It Fruitless

The resignation of the Chestnut Ridge Historical Society Newsletter’s editor created a vacancy and I’ve shouldered much of the burden for gathering information and placing it in the newsletter format after the subjects have been chosen. As I reviewed photos, I was impressed and became aware that the larger coal mine companies hired men for first aid teams. Dressed in white, these men educated the miners to work safely and cared for any injuries that might happen. In close conjunction with the first aid teams was the presence of hospitals in Sagamore and Melcroft, Pennsylvania.

Jack Pletcher took photographs of these local men that made up the teams. His captured images are what caught my attention. I spent the day searching the internet and going to local public libraries in an attempt to find more information on both. Sadly, I could find very little.

I was able to share copies of my photocopies with the Carnegie Public Library in Connellsville. They didn’t have those photographs. I also shared Chestnut Ridge Historical Society’s business card and told the librarian about our extensive photo file and our large genealogical records as a resource for her.

Coal mining was such an important and integral part of our local history and it’s frustrating that that so little could be found. As I searched, I noticed that records of coke manufacturing abounded.

The fruitful part of the day occurred later. My son has the brush and rods to clean a chimney. I thought if I bought a 5 inch brush, smaller than my 6 inch chimney liner, I could make the cleaning of soot and creosote easier. I ordered a 5 inch chimney brush on line and when it arrived, the connections between the rod and the brush were different sizes.

I wasted much of Tuesday trying to find an adaptor or a reducer to connect the two items, finally calling a gunsmith friend and asked if he could make something to bridge the gap. He referred me to a local company, CTR Inc Machine and Fab Company. I took the two pieces and asked if they could create the adaptor. They assured me that they could. I received a phone call Thursday afternoon saying it was finished, please come and pick it up. They used some brass pipe to make the connection, then refused to accept any money for the adaptor. They not only quickly made the piece, but were more than courteous and were such a blessing.