Why We Live in Milo

I was born in Mingo County, near the town of Matewan. My family was all coal miners. After them Baldwin-Felts men killed Pa and Uncle Jess during the strike, Ma wanted to leave West Virginia. I talked her out of it on account of our family being five generations here.  In a new state we’d lose that.

I took out a map. At the top edge stood Littleton, which used to be called Milo. Eventually, I wore her down.

Me, I never wanted to be no coal miner. Wildcatter was more my line, being mechanically inclined and all. I heard that oilfields were the coming thing in our state, and Littleton was said to be like Oklahoma in that regard.

We sold everything we had and boarded the train.

Only there wasn’t no oil. There wasn’t hardly even a town. Quarry closed the year we got here.

You can likely guess the rest.

 

What Pegman Saw

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