Gary, WV Construction

Gary Hollow History; By Buddy French

In 1901, the newly formed U. S. Steel Corporation began a huge expansion into the industries necessary to support its steel making business. They included shipping, railroads, iron ore mining and coal mining. In January 1902, U. S. Steel created a subsidiary company, the U. S. Coal & Coke Company, to supply coal for its steel mills. Located in McDowell County West Virginia, the U. S. Coal & Coke Company took out a massive 50,000-acre coal lease in the famed Pocahontas No.3 coal seam. The area quickly became known as Gary Hollow, and the construction of twelve separate coal mines and supporting communities began on a colossal scale. Along with opening a coal mine and tipple in each community, the infrastructure for water and electricity had to be put in place. Hundreds and perhaps as many as a thousand workers began constructing an electric grid, digging water wells, building coke ovens, coal tipples, recreational facilities, company stores and miners' homes. Each coal mine was given a number to identify it, and its community was given a name. Eleven of the twelve communities were lined up end to end and when you left one community you immediately entered another one.

There were eight company stores, two junior high schools, two senior high schools, nine grade schools, three bowling alleys, five restaurants, three movie theatres and no fewer than twenty-eight churches of different denominations. Gary Hollow soon became billed as the largest coal camp in the world with a population of 15,000 residents.

Most of the homes in Gary No.3 or what was called Main Gary, are still there and occupied. The No.3 big clubhouse, company store, power plant and coal tipple are gone. The farther you go up the hollow into the adjoining Gary coal camp ccommunities, like Thorpe (No.4), Leslie (No.5), Ream (No.6), No.7, No.8 and No.9, No.10, Many of those houses ano longer remain standing.

( Photographs furnished by: BuddyFrench )

( Photographs are arranged in a chronological order as to when construction took place. )

A view of the U. S. Coal & Coke Company No. 3 miners clubhouse Gary, WV in September 1902.

( Photographs are arranged in a chronological order as to when construction took place. )

( Photographs furnished by: BuddyFrench )

Gary Hollow Memories

By Buddy French

I have many wonderful memories of growing up in Gary Hollow during the 40's, 50's and early 1960's and I'm sure many of my friends that lived in Blackwolf, Pageton, Anawalt, Jenkinjones and Leckie feel the same way.
Much has been written about living in a coal camp or company town, where its residents were held captive of a paternalistic lifestyle. Where everything was owned and controlled by the company. We've read stories about the destitute existence of life in an Appalachian coal camp, usually written by someone that never lived a day there. I'm not saying it was perfect, but most of us probably have many more good memories than bad ones.

All coal camps are not created equally and fortunately, I think McDowell County had some of the better built and maintained communities. I feel so privileged to have been a part of a unique culture that is now sadly lost to history but can forever live on in our memories. The following contains a few facts and some memories of growing up there, so come on Gary High School Coaldiggers and we'll take a little trip down memory lane. Let's climb aboard the "Time Machine Transporter" and buckle your seat belts and hang on for the ride of your life. The transporter starts out slowly, but as it gains speed, the years begin to blaze by as the calendar rolls backward through the 1990's, 1988, 1987 and to 1986, when U. S. Steel's mines were still operating. As its speed increases, the years continue to roll backward, and another chapter of history sadly comes to an end as Gary High School closes out its illustrious history with the graduating class of 1978. The Coaldiggers would now become the Golden Knights as Gary and Welch came together to form the new Mount View High School.
The years continue to click off to 1972 and 1971, when the Coal Company still owned the homes in Gary. We now see those memorable years of 1970 and 1966 when the Coaldiggers were state AA football champs, and we were all so proud. With a terrific roar, the time machine accelerates to its top speed as we feel the G-forces holding us glued to our seats. Now the year 1962 has arrived and I see myself with all my classmates at our graduation dance at the Gary Country Club.
Quickly, 1960 rolls around and teenagers head out of Gary Hollow in droves on Saturday morning going to the Record Hop at the Pocahontas Theatre in Welch. We see the girls riding to Welch with their parents or friends, but the normal mode of transportation for most of us guys was to hitchhike. Can you even begin to imagine hitchhiking anywhere today? The Time Machine Transporter zooms along and quickly arrives in those fabulous 1950's. Do you remember 1958 and the McDowell County Centennial and the wooden nickels that one could actually spend anywhere in the county. Our dad's grew beards for the Centennial and were referred to as "Brothers of the Brush".
As the time machine begins to slow, it's May 1957 and springtime has arrived in all its glory, along with the carnival, as Thomas Joy Land Shows set up at the Gary No. 10 ballpark. What about those trips to Linkous Park swimming pool in Welch on those hot summer days. And of course, who could ever forget Elvis and the birth of "Rock and Roll". Do you remember those fantastic dances at the Memorial Building in Welch and at the Elbert dance hall on Friday nights after the football games? How about those pegged pant legs and flat top haircuts combed back into a "DA" that was so popular with the guys.
It's 1956 and I bet you girls remember those pajama party sleepovers where you all stayed up until those unheard-of hours like twelve midnight, giggling and talking about the guys at school you'd like to date. Television signed off with the National Anthem and came on the next morning with a test pattern that we somehow found fascinating as we sat and stared at it until the regular programming began.
Sleigh riding was our favorite winter sport. It seemed there was never a shortage of snow or a steep hillside to sleigh ride down in those McDowell County hollows. Large bonfires were built to huddle around for warmth and parents often joined their children for a night of sleigh riding on the weekends. Times were good and we see those "I Like Ike" bumper stickers as the 1956 presidential race heats up. The coal industry is booming, and coal miners are heading to Welch to buy new cars. Best described as two-ton masses of steel and chrome, a new automobile embodied the American dream. They zoomed down the highway with the aerodynamics of a giant brick, but boy did they have class!
The time machine slows even more as we come upon 1952 and 1951 and as we head into Welch, the traffic lines start at Coney Island on payday weekend as people crowd into town to shop. Some folks ride those old blue and white buses operated by the Consolidated Bus Line and frequently have to stand in the isle because all the seats are filled.
The sidewalks on McDowell Street are literally packed with a mass of humanity as people swarm into G. C. Murphy's, J. C. Penney's, the Flat Iron Drug Store, King Cut Rate, Franklins Dairy Bar and many other stores. We see the sleek Powhatan Arrow, with passenger cars filled to capacity, pulling into Welch. Hissing exhaust vents along its sides send out blasts of snow-white steam as puffs of black coal smoke swirl up into the air above its smokestack.
Back in Gary Hollow it's now 1950. We have slowed to a creep as we pass over an Italian lady's house in No. 6 Hollow. The wonderful aroma of homemade bread being baked, fills the air as she slides the loaves from a large brick oven in her back yard. Television has not yet arrived in Gary and people listen to the radio as Lowell Thomas reports the news. On Saturday night we listen to the "Shadow", a mystery drama that keeps us gathered around the radio, leaning forward to the edge of our seat in an almost breathless state.
It's now 1949 and Gary High School is nearly bursting at the seams, as the hallways are so crowded that when the bell rings there's barely time to get to your next class. The powerful Coaldigger football team would enjoy four straight years of unparalleled success and become one of the dominant teams in southern West Virginia.
Now it's 1948, 1947, 1946 and finally the Time Machine Transporter grinds to a stop in 1945. World War II is over and at last the world is at peace. With some having been gone for three and four years, military men began to pour back into Gary wearing their uniforms and shiny black shoes. Nothing can ever describe the euphoria those wives felt when seeing their husbands stepping off the buses and wrapping their arms around them.

And with that, we see the beginning of the "baby boomer" generation. At this point I wish, as many of you might, that I could just stay for a while, but memories are to be visited and not dwelled upon. Just remember that your memories can never be taken away from you and money can never buy them. So come on Coaldiggers, climb back aboard the Time Machine Transporter and buckle your seat belts. We can always come back for another visit and the ride is free. I hope you've enjoyed our little trip down memory lane and maybe we'll see you somewhere back in the future.

THE GARY COMMUNITY

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