Bio-Minerd, ThomasMichael

Thomas Michael Minerd was born on Dec. 17, 1897 in Dunbar, Fayette County, PA, the son of Thomas Watt and Theresa (Dowling) Minerd. He was a coal miner for 51 years, and once resided in a patch town that literally sank off the face of the map. In many ways, his story symbolizes the experience of coal miners in Western Pennsylvania.

When he was 15 years old, Thomas lied about his age and went to work in the mines. Later in life, he forgot that he had fibbed about his age, and ended up working a year longer than he should have to be qualified for retirement.

He was a third-generation coal miner, following in the footsteps of his father, uncles and grandfather. An uncle, William H. Minerd, was the first known cousin in our family to be killed in a mining accident, in 1884.

Thomas played baseball for the teams of coal mining companies in the Uniontown area. In 1915, for example he was a catcher for the Keister club. He is seen at right, in the uniform of an unidentified team -- the letters on the shirt appear to read 'AC CO.'

Thomas registered for the World War I military draft in 1918, and stated his occupation as mine laborer for the Atlas Coke Company at Helen

On Feb. 4, 1926, at age 29, Thomas married Anna J. DZiak (1908-1992), the daughter of Emory and Anna (Trembach) DZiak. They had a son Thomas and a daughter Theresa, but tragically, the son died in infancy.

As young parents, Thomas and Anna resided in the patch town of Helen, Fayette County. The patches were built as inexpensive worker-housing by coal companies, and often their construction was of poor quality. Thomas is seen at right, standing in front of the house which appears to be on a foundation made of field stones. One day the Minerds' house began to collapse. Daughter Theresa, writing in our 1999 Coal, Coke & Steel reunion booklet, said:

Dad was at work in the mine when the house we lived in began shifting and caving in on one corner. When my Mom realized what was happening, she got me (an infant) out of the baby crib then tried to open the door to get out but it wouldn't budge. She then went to the window and fortunately men were doing road work nearby so she yelled and pounded on the window to get their attention. They came running and got us out.

The house was in ruins, and it was torn down along with all the other destroyed residences. Today there's little evidence at the site that a town once existed.

From Helen, the Minerds moved "over the hill" to the patch town of Keisterville, later shortened to Keister. Their new house, a duplex, is seen here.

The Minerds were members of the St. Mary Roman Catholic Church of Uniontown, PA. Thomas always said he was "Scotch-Irish," and it probably was through the faith base on his mother's Dowling side, or his grandmother's Smiley side.

Thomas is known to have enjoyed visiting with a second cousin, Wilbert "Patsy" Minerd, who lived about two miles away, and wondered if they might be related, but never were able to make a connection. While they didn't realize at the time that they were related, their grandfathers were brothers.

Thomas worked at several mines in Fayette and Greene Counties until they closed, such as Helen, Keister and Dearth (1946). He also was employed as a laborer at the U.S. Steel coal mines at Vesta, Sauerkraut and Robena, operated by the H.C. Frick Coke Company.

Combination belt lines distribute coal into blending bins at U.S. Steel's Robena Mine, the largest coal mine in the world at the time, located near Carmichaels, Greene County, PA. Coal with higher sulphur and ash content is blended with coal of lesser impurities to insure chemical uniformity needed to produce metallurgical coke.

In 1926, Thomas worked in a coal mine at Waltersburg, Fayette County. In 1946, he is known to have worked at the Dearth plant of the H.C. Frick Coke Company, a subsidiary of United States Steel Corporation. (One of his pay stubs is seen here.) That year, his modest net pay for 2 weeks of work averaged between $158 and $176, including overtime. The following year, he worked at Frick's Robena Mine. He was a member of the United Mine Workers of America District 4, Local 6321.

In 1986, the Minerds were pictured in the local newspaper when they celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary with a family dinner.

Anna passed away in Uniontown Hospital on Feb. 27, 1992. Thomas died just about 6 months later, on Sept. 1, 1992. They are buried together at LaFayette Memorial Park, Brier Hill, near Uniontown.