My father, John Wesley Steele, was born in Pratt, W.Va. on July 15, 1912, in the midst of the labor strife taking place on both Cabin Creek and Paint Creek. I won't go into a lot of detail, but the Paint Creek miners' demand for pay equal to other area miners was rejected by the mine operators, and the miners walked off the job on April 18, joined by those from Cabin Creek, about five miles to the west. In retaliation, the operators brought in guards from the Baldwin-Felts Detective Agency to evict the miners and their families from the company housing, and the miners had to resort to makeshift tent housing.

To cut to the chase, during 1912-1913, numerous violent acts took place on Paint Creek. On February 7, striker Cesco Estep (a possible relative through another of my lines) was killed at Holly Grove, and at least 16 deaths occured in Mucklow (now Gallagher). Fortunately, most were guards. Martial law was declared, and Mother Jones, one of the country's leading union activists, was placed under house arrest in Pratt, and remained so for at least two months. Finally a settlement took place, and the coal fields returned to a relative calm for a few years, that is, until around 1919-1921, and this time in the Southwestern part of the state around Logan and Mingo counties - at places like Blair Mountain and Matewan.

As a footnote, my grandfather Jonie Steele was born in Logan County and was a miner, probably on Paint Creek. Several of Dad's brothers and sisters were born at Mucklow (grandmother Steele's parents, John E. & Cornelia Sarver are buried at Holly Grove), and there is a good possibliity that he was one of the miners on strike at the time. I wish I had known about this interesting bit of family history when they, or even my parents, were alive to provide answers.

"In 1920 the Matewan Massacre took place. Seven of twelve Baldwin-Felts detective "thugs" were killed. I don't remember details as they occurred, but I heard about it as time went on. I have two books, Blood Letting in Appalachia and Thunder in the Mountains, which describe what happened in minute detail. (Thanks for the books, Ruth.)

"In 1987 John Sayles made the massacre into a movie called Matewan; This is also available on VCR. I wrote to Mr. Sayles when I learned he was making the picture, asking if I could be of some help. His reply was the filming had already been done, and the editing was 95 percent finished. Sayles thanked me for my interest. When the show came to Denver, my wife Ginnie and I were invited to a special preview at the Mayan Theater. A movie critic from The Denver Post did an interview with me and put a half-page spread in the paper along with my picture on October 25, 1987.

"In Cedar, we had a neighbor named Jim Steel, who lived next door. Jim and his brother-in-law, Jason Daniels, were in partnership operating a moonshine still along a mountain stream on the Kentucky side of Tug River. Jason lived across the river from Stafford. As the story goes, Jim and his brother Ralph, questioned why they should split the profits with Jason, so they dismantled the still and reassembled it on another small, secluded stream about a mile away on the Kentucky side of the Tug.

"For a few weeks they were pleased with their operation but, one day, as they approached the site, the still had been removed. Jason had finally located the still and had moved it back to its original location. That was just too much for Jim and Ralph.

"Jim and Ralph made plans to kill Jason, but Jim's wife overheard their conversation. She was Jason's sister and wanted to prevent her brother's murder.

"The next day Jason walked down the railroad tracks, going to the station where he boarded the train for Williamson. Oh his return, his sister met him at the station where she pleaded with him to cross the railroad bridge near the station and take the foot trail, on the Kentucky side, back to his home.

"Jason wasn't afraid of his brother-in-law. Anyway, he had his pistol under his left arm in a shoulder holster. Just before dusk, they walked arm-in-arm in between the rails. Al they were directly in front of our house, two rifle shots rang out.

"Jim Steel, who was in a second-story window, fired the first shot, hitting Jason. Ralph, who was hiding below the berm of the road on the far side of the tracks, first the second shot as Jason fell. That bullet hit Jason in the shoulder and penetrated his body lengthwise. Jason's sister ran screaming. We were in Dad and Mom's bedroom parching corn under the grate at the time. We ran to the front door but did not go farther for fear of being shot ourselves.

"Clarence (Snub), my younger brother, had been playing with Neely Hatfield's younger sisters and brothers. They lived in a "holler" near the barn. He was on his way home when he stumbled over Jason's dead body. It scared him so badly Mom thought the incident had a profound effect on Snub the rest of his life. Within an hour, Dad and two other men pulled Jason's body from the railroad tracks where he would have been mangled by a train if left there. They carried him into our living room and placed him on a leather-covered couch. The next day the coroner came and put the body in a basket and took it away on a flat or pollcar. They crossed the river at Stafford and buried him near his home on the Kentucky side of the river. (I visited his home in 1980 and told his grandchildren about Jason's murder.)

"Jim Steel was given a life sentence in prison. About forty years later, as Dad and I were walking down the street in Williamson, Dad said to me, "Willard, do you know the crippled man who is walking towards us?"

"I said, "No."

"Dad said, "That's Jim Steel." He was all bent over and out of shape from rheumatism he had gotten while in prison. Dad said Jim had just recently been released."

Note: The book is located at the W.Va. Archives & History Library, Charleston, W.Va. (1875-15760 - 57780).

Willard Mounts address is listed as:
2585 S. Holly Place
Denver, Colorado 80222
(303) 756-6105