Miners Day

Our theme today is miners, and we start with some Mexicans on strike in 1985.

Nude protests would seem to have been a thing in Mexico for quite a while.

 

British Beef

For those of you who like your men bald and burly, here's some British beef.

 

Wardrobe Malfunction

This Sicilian sulfur miner's loincloth doesn't quite cover all the goods.

 

Documentary

This is a frame lifted from a 1980s documentary on the closing of an English mine.

 

Workers

There's something appealing about photos of proud working men together.

 

More Beef

These two beefy guys are working on the business end of an enormous boring machine.

 

Cleaning up

In the days before mine showers, English miners cleaned up at home using metal tubs and water 

heated by their wives on coal fired stoves.  There's something noble about this man doing that.

 

1983

This group from 1983 looks like they would be fun to work with.

 

For Albert

The closing photo in today's series is a repeat from seven years ago, 

and I dedicate it to Albert the Belgian, a friend who will 

always have a special place in his heart for miners.

 

Miners Day

While we all know that coal as a fuel is nasty, I have always admired the men who have mined it.  

The work is dirty, dangerous, and unhealthy, but it's a living.  We start with Welsh miners singing Christmas carols far underground in 1943.  If you've never heard a Welsh male choir, you're missing out on one of life's big treats.  I've had the privilege of hearing them in person, and all I can say is that nobody can sing like the Welsh.  The Welsh national anthem is very moving, and here is one of my favorite renditions.  Don't be put off by the rugby logo, it's the right video:

Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau - Land of our Fathers

And something more modern:

Welsh Male Choir Has Judges In TEARS

 

East Germans

These are East German miners from 1978.

 

Muscle man

Gotta love this proud miner showing off his muscle.

 

Dutch

Google Image search says these are mid-20th Century Dutch miners.

 

Another amazing group

I posted a photo similar to this one in a previous miners' series, and it got a bigger viewer response 

than any of the nude pictures I posted that day.  I found those responses touching and an affirmation that my viewers do have some class.  Like the previous one, all the men here have facial hair, 

but two are sporting beards, whereas the others all had mustaches.

 

Hoist

Instead of using lockers, the miners at this facility hoist their clothes and other personal items on cables while at work and lower them for access.  This man has returned from the showers and is drying off in the cavernous changing room before getting into his street clothes.

 

Turks

This undated photo is supposed to show Turkish miners on their way to the showers.

 

Corrugated partitions

While most of us find partitioned shower stalls unfortunate, we do get two good views here despite them.  The corrugated metal makes it look like they were installed by the mine owners 

on the cheap.  I really like the sideburns on the burly guy at right.

 

Hot

One usually thinks of caves and mines as being cool places, but deep mines 

are often hot.  Perhaps as a result, these men have gone shirtless for work.

 

Lofthouse

Our last image of the day is from a photo essay on the Lofthouse Colliery Disaster of 1973.

Seven miners were lost in the incident at the North Yorkshire mine,

and the scene above is presumably from happier times.

 

Early Days

A California museum curator has authenticated these mid-19th 

Century miners as wearing one of the earlier versions of Levis.