Little Cities of Black Diamonds

Mine Fire

The Decline of Coal in the Little Cities

Nicki Mazzocca

Nicki Mazzocca

The Decline of Coal In the Little Cities

Learn about the changes that impacted our region in the 1920s, when coal mines opened and created boom towns like New Straitsville in this short documentary made for Little Cities Fest 2021. The labor history comes from this southern Perry County town. Cheryl Blosser relays this story, interviewed by Tyler McDaniel from the mouth of Robinson’s Cave. John Winnenberg introduces the Knights of Labor Hall in Shawnee, while Grant Joy, at Miner’s Park in Shawnee, describes the Knights of Labor emblems, including the equatorial triangle, represented three goals or philosophies. Cheryl Blosser talks about the decline of coal and the economic depression that raged across the Little Cities 10 years before the rest of the country.

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