Djuro Klipa Writes on Hutchinson Mine

Speaking of boarders my Grandmother kept four boarders at their home along with her seven children. She took care of these men cooking for them and washing their clothes and packing their lunches along with all of her responsibilites to her own family These boarders became like members of the family. It always amazes me how she was able to do all she did. They had a big garden behind their house and smoked their own meat. My dear late Baba was very resourceful. The other women of Hutchinson were also, they made rugs out of rags on big outdoor looms.

Oakdale Park provided country western music and movies at an outdoor screen. Sewickley Pines provided the hard working men with a place to get a drink. Ray, I hope you find this helpful, will be in touch again with more information. We are thilled to help you with this endeavor. The Klipa family has played an important part of Hutchinson history.

I would also like to thank my Dad's brother Pete Klipa my uncle for also helping me.

"My grandmother Evdokia came from Imperial Russia and met her husband in the coalfields of Greene County," said Klipa. "After she met my grandfather, they moved to Hutchinson."
Evdokia became known in the coal patch community as Victoria Klipa, the mother of seven children. As Stevan worked the mines, Evdokia took in four boarders in the family home, a common occurrence in towns and cities across the coalfields of Pennsylvania.

"A lot of the families kept boarders to supplement their incomes," said Klipa. "The boarders also worked in the mines and they became part of the family."

Hutchinson was a tight-knit community of approximately 100 houses surrounding the mine. The Hutchinson Mine, known as the "Hutchy Mine" and resulting company town were constructed by the Westmoreland Coal Co. in 1924. It soon became one of the company's largest producers with a daily output of 2,700 tons of coal. In the early Depression years, the company employed 425 men at the mine. More than 500 men found employment at the Hutchy Mine during World War II.

Stevan Klipa suffered through two terrible mining accidents at Hutchy.
"My grandfather was covered in a cave-in," said Klipa. "My father heard the emergency whistle and knew something bad had happened at the mine. When that whistle blew, everyone in Hutchinson knew something dreadful had happened."
The mine boss told the remaining crew to save the machinery because "Steve's gone." However, one man wouldn't stop digging until he rescued his friend and fellow coal miner.
Stevan Klipa's coal mining career ended one day in 1944 as he worked on a joy loader machine. According to George Klipa, his grandfather was trying to clean the machine's coupler when his glove got stuck and his hand was pulled into the machine. The accident destroyed his hand.

"He didn't let that accident stop him from being an adventurer," said Klipa. "He got a job at Westinghouse Air Brake and moved to Pitcairn."
Klipa spent the first seven years of his life living with his beloved "Baba" (grandmother). His grandfather Stevan died in 1955 at the age of 66.
"There was a mystique about growing up in Hutchinson for my father," said Klipa. "They loved all the dear people. The people in the community took care of each other."

George Klipa has his own memories about the Hutchinson Mine. "There are 500 steps down the shaft. My dad took us to the mine and we were able to go into the entrance. We felt that cold draft coming up from the mine shaft."

Pittsburgh Consolidation Coal Co. purchased the mine in 1957 and continued operations until 1973 when it closed the shaft. The company continued to use the preparation plant to process mat coal that was shipped from mines around Indiana and Fayette counties.
George Klipa credits his grandmother for his interest in the coal mining community of Hutchinson.

"Baba told me so much about Eastern Europe and the history of the family. It was amazing how much she was able to recall."

As the official family historian for the Klipa clan, George Klipa has traveled to Yugoslavia twice to learn more about his family.
"When I went to Yugoslavia in 1980, I did everything as they did." During his visit to the family farm, Klipa slept in the barn and learned about his grandparents' culture firsthand.
"I also learned more of the language," he said. "I experienced their way of life. I just loved it."

The Clemens family purchased the rights to mine the coal on their property in the 1920s. The coal was an extended vein from the Claridge mine that had been in existence since the 1880s.
"They mined the coal for 10 to 12 years," he said. "The family then had a company come in with massive equipment and they strip-mined the coal from the hillside."
Clemens' two uncles, Gerald and Vincent, operated a mine under the name of Clemens Brothers, on Harrison City Road, outside of Jeannette. In addition, they also operated a mine in Claridge, adjacent to Boquet Airport. Both were slope mines. Mining the coal from the family-owned mines provided the family with its sole source of income for years.
"The coal was very good bituminous - low in ash and sulfur content. It was excellent for making coke," said Clemens. "Now these mines are all worked out. All the good coal is gone."

Clemens voiced concerns about the number of housing developments under construction that sit atop old Westmoreland County coal mines.
"In the old mines, they used locust posts to support the rock," he said. "Now I'm sure those things are starting to rot out. It's a real danger."
Many areas in the county are "honeycombed with mines," he added.
"The coal companies would sometimes leave 60 to 70 percent of the coal in the mines. In other areas, water would enter the mines and it became too difficult to pump out. It became too costly to remove the coal."
In his opinion, developers should pay more attention to the areas that have been heavily mined out.
"It's very dangerous."

or
Go to Top of Page