A boy growing up in the southern West Virginia coalfields just finishing the eighth grade and starting summer break thinks of a lot of things. They include girls, swimming and fishing, becoming a better basketball player and hoping to grow taller. He does not envision the end of his childhood and that overnight he would become another slave to the coal company. Nevertheless, here he was.
Stephen Seplocha, a son of immigrant parents, came home expecting another summer vacation but instead discovered that he would be required to enter the coal mine as helper to his ailing father. The plan was to be temporary and came with the promise of returning to school in the fall. Unfortunately his father's black lung condition deteriorated rapidly and his passing sealed Stephen's fate. School turns into a memory and the boy becomes the primary bread winner for his large family. He would never leave the mine.
Stephen's family barely survives the great depression but during that horrible time he meets Juanita, the love of his life. She is a coal camp girl with great responsibilities to her family as well. Together they contrive a plan to break away and start a family of their own. A young married couple is a welcome sight n the coal camp. They bring hope and light to an otherwise dreary existence. Stephen and Juanita forged a bond built on promises and love that would be needed to survive the very difficult life that lay before them.
A son he called "Joe" relates, from stories and personal observations, the life of a truly remarkable man. Stephen, his father, was a teacher, disciplinarian, protector and hero to Joe. This young man watched as his father encountered trials and triumphs throughout a life cut short by fate. He learned that turning the other cheek and revenge were equally wrong. He also learned that human frailty and weakness were to be understood and accounted for but laziness was not to be tolerated. Joe ultimately learns that when life extends a devastating blow one simply makes the necessary adjustment, picks up his lunch bucket and returns to work.
In 1960 work in the coal mines came to a halt. All the mines in the area were closed or scheduled to close shortly. Stephen saw this as an opportunity to relocate to another state which offered better conditions for employment. He decided on Florida which offered the possibility of varied career choices which would never be available in West Virginia. Joe comes home from college for summer break and discovers that he will not return to school in the fall. Like his father before him he will be required to provide financial assistance to keep the family together as they travel south to establish a home base. From here they will begin a new life far from the coal fields.
Stephen's plan came to fruition. His three children found careers and were settled into a comfortable life in the sunshine state. Out of the blue he is offered a job in West Virginia as foreman of a coal mine. Working this job for the next eight years would provide him the financial security for his retirement. So ignoring the trepidation of his family, he goes back to the job he knows best. Into the hands of destiny Stephen returns.
Stephen Seplocha, a son of immigrant parents, came home expecting another summer vacation but instead discovered that he would be required to enter the coal mine as helper to his ailing father. The plan was to be temporary and came with the promise of returning to school in the fall. Unfortunately his father's black lung condition deteriorated rapidly and his passing sealed Stephen's fate. School turns into a memory and the boy becomes the primary bread winner for his large family. He would never leave the mine.
Stephen's family barely survives the great depression but during that horrible time he meets Juanita, the love of his life. She is a coal camp girl with great responsibilities to her family as well. Together they contrive a plan to break away and start a family of their own. A young married couple is a welcome sight n the coal camp. They bring hope and light to an otherwise dreary existence. Stephen and Juanita forged a bond built on promises and love that would be needed to survive the very difficult life that lay before them.
A son he called "Joe" relates, from stories and personal observations, the life of a truly remarkable man. Stephen, his father, was a teacher, disciplinarian, protector and hero to Joe. This young man watched as his father encountered trials and triumphs throughout a life cut short by fate. He learned that turning the other cheek and revenge were equally wrong. He also learned that human frailty and weakness were to be understood and accounted for but laziness was not to be tolerated. Joe ultimately learns that when life extends a devastating blow one simply makes the necessary adjustment, picks up his lunch bucket and returns to work.
In 1960 work in the coal mines came to a halt. All the mines in the area were closed or scheduled to close shortly. Stephen saw this as an opportunity to relocate to another state which offered better conditions for employment. He decided on Florida which offered the possibility of varied career choices which would never be available in West Virginia. Joe comes home from college for summer break and discovers that he will not return to school in the fall. Like his father before him he will be required to provide financial assistance to keep the family together as they travel south to establish a home base. From here they will begin a new life far from the coal fields.
Stephen's plan came to fruition. His three children found careers and were settled into a comfortable life in the sunshine state. Out of the blue he is offered a job in West Virginia as foreman of a coal mine. Working this job for the next eight years would provide him the financial security for his retirement. So ignoring the trepidation of his family, he goes back to the job he knows best. Into the hands of destiny Stephen returns.
