Page 59 - Pat's Tavern
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Pat’s Tavern by Thomas J. CraneSpring Valley, Illinois, Coal MinesMy grandfather, John Crane, worked these mines up to about 1927 when he moved on to Peoria, Illinois, to work in their mines and my father left in 1913 at the age of 13 to travel to Chicago in search of work before even his father, my grandfather left Spring Valley. The following copied from the Spring Valley Website History:Spring Valley Coal Company owned four mines in Spring Valley. Mining engineer (and lst Mayor of Spring Valley), Charles Devlin, was in charge of operations. The miners were paid by the ton of coal, with no pay for work necessary to get at and remove the coal. An 1889 check record showed payment for mining 25.14 tons was $23.13. From this came 25 cents for collections, 26 cents for smithing, $3.20 for fuel, 26 cents for the weighman, and $19.16 for the company store; a total of $26.16, which left a debt of $3.03.In 1896, a national strike to demonstrate solidarity among the miners resulted in a Spring Valley riot, with 1,200 miners and local merchants participating. The company store was looted and many local businesses intimidated.59