Greenwood Colliery, Minooka

Greenwood Colliery, Minooka

Friday, February 10, 2012

Newspaper Snippets - 1890 and 1897

Pittsburgh Dispatch, April 20, 1890
TWO MINE ACCIDENTS


Four Men Terribly Burned by Gas Explosions Caused by Carelessness
SPECIAL TELEGRAM TO THE DISPATCH


Scranton, April 19. Two very serious accidents occurred yesterday at Connell's National Colliery here. The first occurred early in the morning, when Mine Boss Henry W. Davis and a miner named Jones went into the mines and encountered the deadly mine gas with naked lamps. An explosion immediately followed, and Davis and Jones were badly burned about the face and hands. The accident is attributed to the carelessness of the fire boss. The second accident was of a similar nature and is attributed to the carelessness of the driver boy in not closing a door behind him. It resulted in burning two men perhaps more seriously than the first. John Blackum, a miner of Minooka, was terribly burned about the head. His hair was completely burned off his head and his face so badly charred that if be recovers he will be disfigured for life. George Roberts, another miner, living at Minooka, was close to where Blackum was injured, and was severely burned about the face and had one eye burned almost from the socket. The chances are he will lose the sight of both of his eyes.

The Scranton Tribune, January 12, 1897

HIGHWAYMEN AT WORK


They held up Louis Batisky of Pittston, Near Lazy Man's Corner in Minooka Yesterday morning. Louis Batisky of Pittston, was way-laid by highwaymen in Minooka and robbed early yesterday morning. He missed the last car Sunday night and was walking home. He reached what is known as “Lazy Corner" in Minooka about 1 o'clock yesterday morning when young fellows stopped him and asked for a match. He gave it to them and resumed his journey, but before he went many feet, one of them grabbed him from behind and the other struck him repeated blows with a “billy.” He struggled with all his might to stop them from taking $15 which he carried in the inside pocket of his vest. They got his watch and snipped the buttons off his overcoat, coat and vest and tore one of the sleeves from the overcoat searching for his money. His cries awoke the residents in the vicinity and the robbers fled for fear of detection. He was brought to John J. Coyne's hotel and washed.  The top of his head was one contused wound the size of a person's hand, and it is a wonder the blows hadn't fractured his skull. One of his teeth was loosened from a blow in the mouth. He is about 50 years old and was employed in the carpenter shop of the South Steel mill until recently. He had a flask of whiskey in a pocket of his overcoat, but was not under the influence of liquor. Batisky bit the finger of one of his assailants, he says, so that an ugly wound was inflicted. This may lead to the detection of the highwaymen.

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