Coal Fall Paralyzes Wilkeson Mine Loader Thomas Smith
A coal mine loader suffers a devastating, life-altering injury on the job, highlighting the brutal risks faced by labor in late 19th-century Washington.
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.
Thomas Smith, a loader at Mine No. 2 at Wilkeson, was seriously and perhaps fatally injured by a fall of coal, according to the page. He was reported to have been injured about the spine.
His lower limbs are paralyzed as a result of the spinal injury. The account supplies no other details of the accident.
“His lower limbs are paralyzed from injuries to the spine.”
While Washington transitioned away from coal mining, the story of Thomas Smith resonates with the modern struggle for workplace safety and the lack of a social safety net for injured laborers, a persistent issue for gig workers and those in precarious employment today.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.