From the 3rd floor
of the Webb City Public Library
December 18, 2024
We found another interesting mining photo in the archives. There are so many of these unidentified men and mines, however, this one does have “Will with wrench” written on the back.
Will looks like he is very young, his sunshine lamp is sitting to his left and is still lit. His coworker’s lamp is also lit and tilted towards the back. Can you imagine walking around with a 3-4-inch flame mounted on the top of your head?
It appears they are working on a pump to combate the “devil water” that constantly seeped into the mines. Or is it a drill? Researching for images of early pumps did not find anything similar.
Unfortunately, almost all of the old timers who could identify the equipment are gone.
Whatever, it looks like it had large bolts anchoring it to the mine floor. The wooden box cast to the side is most likely a dynamite box. It has “Independent” printed on the outside.
These men in the pictures below with dynamite had a dangerous job. A couple of the men have their lamps lit. Were the sunshine lamps all that they had for light or were there lanterns hanging nearby? One guy appears to be smoking his pipe. Maybe it is not lit.
The Webb City Sentinel isn’t a newspaper – but it used to be, serving Webb City, Missouri, in print from 1879-2020. This “newspaper” seeks to carry on that tradition as a nonprofit corporation.
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