Posted on by Forgottonia Project

Oral History of Forgottonia: Was Cuba the Strip-Mining Capital of the World? Braxton Humphrey’s Interview with local mining enthusiast and Retired Teacher Dick Mowery

“Mining played a really big part in our town. At one time our population was 2,500, but now it’s down to 1,200. This population is the biggest legacy of mining. Most people we know who live in our community have ancestors who worked in the mine.”

Dick Mowery, local mining enthusiast and former CHS educator

ON THIS EPISODE

As part of our Oral History in Forgottonia series, Cuba High School student Braxton Humphrey continues his exploration of local mining in the western Illinois Region (you can listen to Braxton’s previous episode on mining by visiting this link). This time Braxton was overjoyed to speak with Mr. Dick Mowery, the heartbeat of our local mining history and a cherished figure in our community. For decades, Dick has been a passionate mining enthusiast, dedicating his time to preserving and sharing the rich industrial heritage of tunnel and strip-mining in our region. As the go-to person for all things mining in our town, he has delivered captivating presentations and curated exhibits that give live to the stories of our mining past.

Mr. Mowery was kind enough to host this interview in his home, a historical gem itself that serves as a living museum. Nestled in one of the oldest farm homes in our community, it houses a treasure trove of artifacts, newspapers, and documents that chronicle mining in our region. Mr. Mowery was a long-time educator and coach at Cuba High School teaching various courses like P.E., driver’s ed, Current Events and Illinois History–where he was especially known for delivering engaging presentation that instilled a sense of pride in students about their local roots and the importance of preserving our industrial legacy.

Through these interactions, Dick continues to pass on the torch, charging young minds like Braxton with the responsibility of safeguarding our mining history for future generations.


Mr. Mowery showing Braxton an old coal miners helmet

Essential & Supporting Questions

  • Was Cuba really the strip-mining capital of the world? What evidence is there to support these claims?
  • What is the difference between shaft mining (aka tunnel mining) and strip-mining? Did our community feature both?
  • What mining companies operated in our region and why are they so difficult to track?
  • How dangerous was it to work as a miner in our region?
  • What is the legacy of mining and why should young people in this region care?
Massive strip mining machines were commonplace throughout western Il in the late 20th century (United Electric Coal Company #9, 1951)
This photo was taken by Mr. Mowery’s brother and is located near route 9 where Cuba H.S. exists today. The Kolbe excavator was as tall as a 15-story building and 420 feet long!  While the tunnel mines would dig around 40 feet, these machines could dig as deep as 100 feet or more.
This newspaper article from the Canton Daily Ledger in September, 1970 not only confirms Cuba’s claim as the world’s strip-mining capital, but it also shows the looming reality of an undetermined future without the mining industry.
Section of the article that confirms the origins of the “Strip-mining capital of the world” claim, as well as the presence of a sign on the edge of town confirming this claim. The article once again references residents concern about the future of the town without mining (which would indeed occur very rapidly in the next 10-20 years after this article was written. Braxton references the vandalism of the sign in the interview and challenges readers to figure out for themselves how youth in Cuba might’ve altered a sign that read “Welcome to Cuba, the strip mining capital of the world!”
The article also references the origins of parks that young people often enjoy in our region, but likely are unaware of its historic roots in mining.
Coal like this flourished throughout our region and was a huge contributor to the vibrant, industrial economy in our rural region throughout the 20th century.
Note the Applegate & Lewis West Cuba Mine in the center yellow which operated from 1901-1908. Mr. Mowery referenced this in our talk as the 1st tunnel mine to exist in our region. You can also see the presence of the United Electric Coal Mining Co. which was also referenced frequently in this conversation (Source: United States Department of the Interior Geological Survey).
Mourners from the 1909 Cherry Mine Disaster located in Bureau County, Illinois (just 2 hours north of Cuba). It’s the 3rd deadliest mining disaster in history killing some 259 men and boys. Mostly immigrants who couldn’t speak English as well as boys as young as 11 worked in these mines. Although there wasn’t something as deadly as that taking place in Cuba, it still was a dangerous industry that employed many vulnerable people. This disaster led to more safety regulations and eventually legislation we know today as workmen’s compensation.  (Source: Bain News Service, Publisher. Cherry Mine disaster, mourners and coffins. , . [No Date Recorded on Caption Card] Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2014684364/)
A group of children that were made orphans by the Cherry Mine Disaster in 1909. (Source: Washington Photo Co, photographer. Group made orphans by Cherry Mine disaster where 400 men were entombed, Cherry, Ill. / Washington Photo Co. Cherry Illinois, 1909. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2011661524/)
This area of miners’ homes was designated “Widow’s Row” as just 4 men returned here from this row of 30 cottages.

Braxton Humphrey BIO

Braxton is a senior at Cuba High School and the son of Justin & Rendy Kass, and Sarah Humphrey. Braxton is involved with history club, football, basketball, baseball, and e-sports. He enjoys Texas Roadhouse and rooting for the Green Bay Packers and St. Louis Cardinals. After high school, Braxton is thinking about becoming a mechanic.

ABOUT THE PROJECT

Our ORAL HISTORY of FORGOTTONIA series is part of the NCHE Rural Experience in America grant in partnership with the Western IL Museum, and the Western IL University Archives.  In 2021, the National Council for History Education (NCHE) recruited teachers nationwide to participate in free and open professional development that occurred asynchronously and synchronously online, focusing on rural history and historical inquiry using Library of Congress sources. Teachers traveled to Norman, Oklahoma to collaborate with a community partner selected from their hometown to create a public history project.

These community-based, service-learning public history projects enable students to investigate their local and regional histories deeply and to connect their own histories to the larger human experience. A key purpose of this project is to link rural communities and their histories to national narratives and primary source collections, and the targeted focus of this proposal provides an avenue for such purposeful connections.

Our project, The Oral History of Forgottonia, is one of several throughout the country featured by the NCHE. To learn about other projects featured by this grant, check out this list and visit the links at the bottom of this post.

SOURCES

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