I found this question on the coalminers list. Perhaps somebody here could e-mail him some information. Subject: Mine "Riot"? Date: Tue, 19 Jan 1999 18:11:18 -0800 From: "George/Edie Boyd" <boydgore@mindsync.com> To: COALMINERS-L@rootsweb.com I'm a beginner on this list, but I think I qualify: both sets of grandparents were miners and immigrated from the UK (the "old country") around the turn of the century to work in the soft coal mines in central Illinois. My Dad's family came from the Glascow area and my Mother's from a village in Durham county in northern England where the men had all worked in the local collieries. The men and boys all worked at the local mines in and around my home town of Virden, Illinois until they were too old or until the mines ceased operations sometime just prior to WW2. I say "men and boys" because my Dad dropped out of school after the sixth grade to work in the coal mine (child labor laws not being what they are today) and worked there until the mines shut down in the late thirties. He also played semi-pro football in his off hours, which was a big thing in those days, the days of the Decatur Staleys (forerunner of "da Bears"). Competition was fierce between teams put together by! these little towns and if a miner had to miss work due to a Sunday afternoon injury, well, that was tough. The family suffered because the paycheck wasn't there. I can still remember the Saturday night bull sessions between my Dad and his cronies. They often cussed and discussed John L Lewis and his latest antics. Before I start rambling too much, perhaps I should state the reason I started this letter in the first place: It is said that a labor dispute and resultant strike at one of the local mines (circa 1898) led to the importation of replacement workers. As I understand it, these replacements were "coloreds", as they were known as in those days, transported by the railroad boxcar load from some unknown point of origin, perhaps Chicago or St. Louis. And, it is said, the striking miners were waiting track side when the trains arrived and when the boxcar doors were opened, opened fire with shotguns and rifles at the unsuspecting black men. This incident was referred to in local folklore, as I was growing up, as " the Virden coal mine riot". Sounds more like a slaughter to me. Finally the question: Does anyone out there have any facts they can share about the so-called Virden Mine Riot? If so, I would appreciate any enlightenement on the subject. Thank you. George Boyd