Miner Phillip Patsco Killed by Falling Rock in Wilkeson
A long-time miner is killed by a falling rock after warning his partner to safety, leaving behind a family and a devastated community.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Phillip Patsco, a miner employed in the coal mines at Wilkeson, was struck in the chest by a falling rock yesterday about 12 o’clock and instantly killed. With his partner, John Wilesco, he was at work in the mine. They had fired a blast in the stope in which they were working, about 11 o’clock, and upon returning to work Patsco saw the overhanging rock and warned his partner of the danger. Wilesco then went to get some timbers to hold the rock in place, and upon returning found Patsco dead. Deceased had worked at the mine six years. He leaves a wife and one child. The remains will be buried at Wilkeson tomorrow.
“Patsco saw the overhanging rock and warned his partner of the danger. Wilesco then went to get some timbers to hold the rock in place, and upon returning found Patsco dead.”
Mining was the backbone of Pierce County's industrial economy, but the human cost was frequent and brutal. Fatalities like Patsco's were common occurrences that rarely made front-page news, reflecting the expendability of labor in the early resource-extraction industries.
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