A glimpse below the surface
Carmichaels couple shares extensive collection of mining artifacts
For the past 42 years, Brice and Linda Rush have been collecting, displaying, storing and archiving everything related to the coal industry. From union labor memorabilia to rare hard hat stickers to the original login records of area coal mines, the Carmichaels couple has gathered an impressive collection.
鈥淧eople forget about the miners,鈥� said Linda Rush, daughter and wife of miners. 鈥淲ithout the miners there would be no steel, no buildings, there would be no bridges. I think people don鈥檛 realize how important it is to be a miner.鈥�
One of the newest additions to their museum-like collection will be on display at the Pennsylvania Bituminous King Coal Show. The Rushes will show more than 600 newly donated photos dating from the 1917 to the 1950s at the Carmichaels & Cumberland Township Volunteer Fire Company building, 420 W. George St., Carmichaels, starting Aug. 20.
Brice, 79, and Linda, 77, will also display other photos of coal mines they have collected from Greene and surrounding counties.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 care how many pictures we get, I love them all,鈥� Linda said. 鈥淲hen you scroll through pictures on your phone, that鈥檚 fine, but you can鈥檛 really appreciate the photos unless they are in your hands, and you truly understand what is going on in that picture.鈥�
Nearly 55 years after Brice joined his father-in-law working in the Frosty Run Shaft at Robena Mine, he can still recall what it was like on his first day.
鈥�(W)e rode an elevator down probably between 500 and 600 feet deep,鈥� he said. 鈥淲hen I got to the bottom it was all white because they put rock dust to keep the coal dust down, so it won鈥檛 reach an explosive level.鈥�
Mining was Brice鈥檚 life until he left the industry in 1993, though his interest in collecting started in 1982 when he began going to sticker swap meets.
In the 1960s, miners working underground had to wear a certain amount of reflective gear on their hard hats to help with visibility. The regulation inspired a sticker craze among some miners as they found ways to customize them. It was commonplace for vendors working with the coal companies to hand out stickers to the miners, which acted almost as a currency among the men, Brice said.
鈥淕uys would get really mad if vendors showed up without stickers,鈥� he recalled.
Like many of the miners, Brice sought out the rarest customizable helmet attire. That led him to his first swap meet, and a quarter-of-a-century later he and his wife have a room designated to miner helmet stickers.
鈥淚 have some stickers that date back to 1960, up to modern times,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey would put them out in sets, and sometimes it鈥檚 hard to get the whole sets.鈥�
Like many items they have gathered, the couple鈥檚 collection of stickers seems endless. Each sticker comes with a story explaining its significance.
鈥淭his one you got if you could manage to make it the year without getting injured,鈥� Brice said, pointing to a vintage green and white sticker with a white cross on it. 鈥淚t was sort of an incentive.鈥�
The couple鈥檚 property is filled with mining memorabilia. A restored wooden wagon once used to haul coal sits on the front porch flying one American flag in each corner.
Just outside the home is a steel cage used to haul workers coming in and out of the shafts. The contraption was designed to fit four men, but Brice provides a first-hand insight to how many men the cages could really handle.
鈥淎t quitting time you鈥檇 be surprised how many people it could hold,鈥� he said laughing. 鈥淭he boss knew to stay away from the bottom because he didn鈥檛 want to see what happened.鈥�
The cage is just outside a two-story wooden house that serves as a museum. There is another full-length garage decorated and filled with mining relics.
With irrepressible enthusiasm, Bryce鈥檚 eyes light up as he explains the inner workings of each artifact. The anecdotal accounts breathe life into each figure, transforming what appears just to be an ordinary item into an intricate part of the miner鈥檚 lore.
And while the couple puts an estimated monetary value on their items, the real worth appears to be how the items of years gone by tell the story of the miner.
鈥淓verything, every picture, every document we have is a person鈥檚 life. It鈥檚 a record of a place that鈥檚 no longer there,鈥� Linda Rush said.
The Pennsylvania Bituminous King Coal Show begins on Saturday, Aug. 17 and runs through Saturday, Aug. 24. To see the entire list of events go to their facebook page at www.facebook.com/kingcoalassociation/.