Dad's '84 GMC

MountaineerTom · July 19, 2002

I thought I'd post a pic of the '84 GMC that me and Elwoods' dad drives to the mines everyday. I think these were taken in December 2000. He asked Elwood how he could get his truck on here, so this is for you dad.

I've posted pics of his '76 3/4 ton Chevy and '86 3/4 ton Ram before, but for those who havn't seen them and are interested, you can see them here: Dad's Trucks

SilveradoWV · July 19, 2002

WOW! it snows there early, its still upper 80's here near Beckley!!!! I cant stand those "I love Coal" stickers either LOL!! Cool of you to post the pics though!!

MountaineerTom · July 19, 2002

I cant stand those "I love Coal" stickers either LOL!!

Why not?

Coal keeps my dad in a job and resulted in everything me and Elwood had as kids and pretty much everthing they own now. He's been working in either deep mines or strip mines for over 30 years.

Same for my wife's dad.

Elwood · July 19, 2002

I cant stand those "I love Coal" stickers either LOL!!

I hope the "LOL" at the end of that sentence was meaning that you were being sarcastic. Because I would hate to think that a guy that seemed so cool and lives so close by here has turned out to be a tree huggin' hippie. ???

SilveradoWV · July 20, 2002

No joke, I want a decal like that, but says "I hate Coal"!! My dad has worked in the coal mines all of his life! I just hate the effects of coal! The big companies come in and tear down complete mountains just to save an almighty $, The coal could be deep mined but would cost more so they just tear up our state, and when they get all the coal from that spot they just leave! They dont live here so they dont care about us! Its sad how the companies have people and employees brainwashed!!! Coal trucks also tear up our roads and cause accidents! And they show on TV how the truckers say they are going to lose their job if they cant haul so much and stuff! That just goes back to the big coal companies trying to squeeze out another buck, truckers should be paid by the hour not by the load, the truckers should stand outside of the company big shots house, not the state capital! I am not against them raising the weight limit if they enforce it! I could go on and on but will stop now!!!!

Jen · July 20, 2002

"I'm just an old chunk of coal, but I'm gunna be a diamond someday...." hehe a little John Anderson to lighten the conversation.....

Gig'em Ags!!

Elwood · July 20, 2002

No joke, I want a decal like that, but says "I hate Coal"!! My dad has worked in the coal mines all of his life! I just hate the effects of coal! The big companies come in and tear down complete mountains just to save an almighty $, The coal could be deep mined but would cost more so they just tear up our state, and when they get all the coal from that spot they just leave! They dont live here so they dont care about us! Its sad how the companies have people and employees brainwashed!!! Coal trucks also tear up our roads and cause accidents! And they show on TV how the truckers say they are going to lose their job if they cant haul so much and stuff! That just goes back to the big coal companies trying to squeeze out another buck, truckers should be paid by the hour not by the load, the truckers should stand outside of the company big shots house, not the state capital! I am not against them raising the weight limit if they enforce it! I could go on and on but will stop now!!!!

Not all of that coal can be deep mined, some of the best is ruined in the process of deep mining. And yes they are trying to save money, because they are a business just like any other business that wants to save. The more you save the more you make.

The people building Wal-Marts all over the state and logging the mountains leave it looking worse than coal companys do, and the run-off water from these places are tens times worse than from strip mines. But no one complains about that.

Stopping the coal business will have a trickle down affect that will cost

many more people in the state to lose their jobs as well. I guess people just want the entire state to be a tourist attraction and we can all be tour guides for the river hippies.

I'll stop now, before I get upset or offend anone further,

bscottb · July 21, 2002

Posting a picture of his dad's truck was a nice thing for Tom to do. I have to fight the "tree huggers" everyday in my job with a paper company. They don't understand that paper companies don't chop down redwoods that are centuries old. We plant 10 trees for every one we cut. It is a renewable resource, a crop just like any other. How can anyone possibly believe that paper companies want to run out of trees.

I posted this just to say that every industry has critics. But just let those critics try to live without coal or paper or other things they find offensive.

Tell your dad I like his pride in his industry, and I like the pride his sons have in him that makes them defend him.

I love coal !!!

SilveradoWV · July 21, 2002

Its sad how the companies have people and employees brainwashed!!!

I'll end this by quoting my previous post! And hopefully we can go on talking about trucks and such without letting this interfere!

Elwood · July 21, 2002

I'll end this with aone of my favorites quotes as well.

Treehuggers. Let the b@$t@rd$ freeze in the dark!!

Then I will continue to talk to you about trucks all you want; because that's the great thing about this country we can all have our opinions and express them.

pacodiablo · July 21, 2002

Wal-Marts

thats the real problem. we have them everywhere. their like an infection. we have targets and k-marts too, but only a handful and the k-mart looks like it could go under any day now.

SnakeEyeSS · July 21, 2002

hmm, sorry for seeming ignorant, but what all is coal used for in this day in age... beside backyard's grilling(reason enough to mine coal )

pacodiablo · July 21, 2002

u guys still have that ram? that is a nice truck

MountaineerTom · July 21, 2002

hmm, sorry for seeming ignorant, but what all is coal used for in this day in age... beside backyard's grilling(reason enough to mine coal )

I've never heard of people grilling with coal, maybe charcoal, but not coal. Alot of it goes to big industries such as Steel Mills, factorys, and auto makers.

GreenRado · July 21, 2002

Also a lot of coal is used in power generation, but that is mainly western coal, largely cause it's somewhat easier to get at, and less "damaging" to the environment - they say.

Charcoal is carbonized wood, BTW.

Oops, my original thoughts, which are on-topic: That truck looks in great shape for it's age - those models were durable, and I still like that general shape best!

Because of my geology background and the fact that I grew up in coal mining country, maybe I can weigh in here a little w/ my 2 cents. (Sorry if a little long - and off-topic kinda)

There was a term used for many decades, "king coal", and it was descriptive as coal really helped build this country into the powerhouse it is now. As a necessary consequence many families have multiple generations of coal miners, especially in the Appalachians. Coal mining, and associated industries provided the sole economic life-line for millioins, literally, so for this reason alone I can relate to and understand why there are "I Love Coal" stickers. This is true in many areas of the nation that have their economies dependent on 1 or 2 large industries, especially in what are now termed "environmentally sensitive" industries, BTW.

I have seen firsthand what largely unregulated strip mining has done to the beautiful WV country side in the last century, and it is not pretty (please read on before you decide to flame away ) . And even though much of this land has been "reclaimed", much long-term damage has been done to the water table, drainage basin hydrology and the ecosystem. Will it recover? Of course, given enough time. Now, do we necessarily blame the coal miners - absolutely not! Do we blame the coal company operators and owners? Maybe a little, but they were still doing their jobs, and the nation needed the coal. Can we really lay blame on anybody - probably not, but we can learn from it and set *reasonable* goals to get the energy, and not completely trash the surroundings. This is being done now very well in the paper and wood product industry - it's called sustainable harvesting, whereas, and this occurred in virtually every forested part of this country in the last 100 - 200 years, the old forestry practices was pretty much slash and burn and clear cut.

My experience is that if these "table top" mining operations are conducted with an eye to preserving the eco-system, and then reclaim the approximate contours of the land, minimal damage has been done - probably less than the wal-mart, shopping mall type of mountain levelling!!

Geez, my post kinda turned into a rant. I will never be a tree hugging eco-terrorist, as these people are way out in left field, and not in touch w/ reality, but I think it's possible to support the economy well, and not trash the planet in the process.