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DM inter. Mary & Tom Ferko -8- 8/7/72 Tape 6
DM Because I haven't heard anybody admit that they get free coal yet
TF Well they wouldn't
MF They wouldn't say it but there was quite a few women here gettin' it
DM Well when you guys were, well when Piker was working in the mines did you guys buy your coal
MF Yes and when we got a chance we picked it too and and when we could afford it we'd buy it, when we lived at the mountain we use to pick all our coal there because we were right close to the strippin there it was right across the road so we use to pick all our coal down there same thing down there we use to pick coal
DM What about the Coal and Iron Police did they ever give you any trouble
MF You would just have to watch or they'd catch you
DM I don't blame you I'd be out there picking coal too, if I was a coal miner you couldn't get me to buy coal
MF When I was home yet livin' up on the Back Street yet after school we always went down on the coal bank back of there and pick coal and take it home and as soon as you seen the cop we'd run and how many times he'd catch they kids and smash the buckets
DM Is that how they did it they'd smash their coal buckets, I heard a couple people say and I don't know how true this is but on a couple tapes I heard they said that if you were caught continuously picking coal they would report you and you would either have to move or change your name
TF They could put you out of your house if they wanted to because they woned the property
DM And then you would have to move and change your name to avoid prosecution
MF I don't know about changin' the name but they could put you out of the house if they caught you a couple times like that, but everybody picked coal around here
DM Who were the Coal and Iron Police people from the town