Howard got his first job at Cooperative (Co-Op) loading coal at age 16. When his family was living at Marshes Siding, Howard rode the train. He worked at Co-Op about two years, but worked there two other times. When the tipple burned at Barthell, Howard worked at Co-Op until the bridge across the creek was re-built.

He first worked at Barthell in late 1939. Barthell was hiring, and Howard was disgusted with the distance he had to travel to Co-Op. At Barthell, he could drive to the top of the hill, park, and walk over the rocks and he could get home faster! The hill was okay in dry weather but when snow and ice came, Howard would have to hold onto bushes and scoot down the hill.

Howard spilled his dinner bucket many a time in this manner, but would go on down to the mines, knowing that the mine foreman's wife, Cora Holt, would fix a second bucket and send it to him on the motor. She fixed him many a meal.

Later, Howard began running a motor. He might arrive about 15 minutes early to arrange cars on the side-track in preparation for the "Man trip". He had an extra hour of work on the day when hauling the man trip, but when "running loose" with just your regular motor, he got paid for 8 hours.

Loaders were paid by the ton. After the mines were organized, Howard made $18.84 a shift, good money at the time. He lived at Barthell in 1940, not long, only about four months. His wife did not like living against the cliff at Barthell. His neighbors were Luther Thrasher, Jonce Holt, superintendent Red Rose and some Burkes.

So Howard and his wife moved back to Marshes Siding, where they bought a home.

Their furniture was just a little four cap cook stove, table and chairs, and a bed. They went to the store every day. They had no couch nor refrigerator.

There was a spring of water about 20 feet from the house, under cliffs. That made it very handy. Everyone that lived up there used it, but his house was the closest. He kept no animals but some neighbors had them.

Johnny Jones had 15 to 18 garages on top of the hill. He kept his car there while he lived at Barthell at $2.00 per month. Quite a few people that worked at Barthell lived there. There was a boarding house there for some time and were keeping a few single miners, when he lived there.

Work at Barthell fluctuated with the demand for coal. When coal got cheap, they would close Barthell and work in their highest quality mines, and when prices would pick back up they would come back to work at Barthell. Barthell coal had a little sulphur in it, and it did not sell as well.

A bulletin board told miners the status of the next day's work. It would say "run tomorrow" or the inside foreman would tell them. The Board was at the store, in the scrip office. The words were black or there were words written on slips of paper and the appropriate slips were on the board.

World War II - A1 draft status. The draft board said he was of more profit to the country working in the coal mine than in the Army, because of his skilled job as a motorman. He worked at Barthell until 1943 when the tipple burned, then back to Co-Op, then back to Barthell until Stearns company quit, then two more years carrying the steel from the inside to a flatcar to be shipped out of the county. Pumps, wire, steel ties, not wood ties, were loaded. He and three more men worked for two years. Other workers were Howard Sumner, Othel Coffey and Leroy Coffey. All deceased now. He rarely got out of the motor. They would load these rail cars full, bring it outside and unload by the railroad track, and when they got a car full, Red Rose would assist and would be loaded into a car and shipped to Stearns.

They (the Company) were dismantling the store and the bathhouse at the same time. As for the houses, people were to pick the one they wanted, the company would price it, and the individual would have to move it. He thinks that most of them went down to Oneida, Tennessee. A tall fellow got the bathhouse but of course part of it was concrete.

Barthell was closed completely in 1951 or 1952. He lacked a couple of months of working two years after they closed it. He then went to Sydney, Ohio, worked one week, and came home, and the superintendent asked him if he wanted to dismantle it. Howard got the other boys to help him. Leroy Coffey was still living there and the superintendent wanted him to work so he could pay his rent. Leroy lived in the ice camp area, with his family. His daughter works at Burger Hut in Whitley City, KY now.

An accident happened that left his left leg bruised up when a "trip" ( a bunch of coal cars) got loose, and tore a telephone out. He was talking to the dispatcher at the time. The vibration of the motor had set them off and they were full cars. It covered him up with coal. His bruised leg and knee is still not quite right. He considers himself lucky (his being off the track) in the "break-through" where the phone was located saved him. It took the night crew all night to clean up after the wreck. There were wooden cars broken into pieces.

I worked some days and nights, but always motorman. Sometimes would work a double shift when during the War they were short of men. Cora Holt would pack him a dinner and he would get time and a half on Saturday and double time on Sunday. After I passed forty hours, I preferred not to work, but it was hard to say you wouldn't work. They might tell you to go "on down the road." Also a lot of men depended on him. Donald Whalen's Dad, Cawood Whalen, was an exceptional superintendent to him. He had known him all his life.

I began mine work through my brother-in-law. Dad would not sign to let him work, being less than 18 years old and having quit school, but Dad finally gave in. Dad did not want him to work in the mines because he knew that they were dangerous. Stearns mines had a reputation for safety. He felt that Barthell was the safest of the places he worked. I saw two or three get burned with gas at Barthell and Shafter Slaven killed on the nightshift, but none of the day shift that he saw.

The badly burned men were sent to Danville in an ambulance. The only way out if you were hurt was on the train. They had passenger trains to take you in normally. You bought tickets at Stearns depot. It was 12 rides for $1.20. A book of 12 tickets were sold at the Southern railway depot. There was one man at a desk for the Southern Railway and the K&T had a ticket office at the other end of the counter.