Jon Chase

COAL COUNTRY REVISITED, 2024

  • The Roda Baptist Mission in Roda, Virginia. Located in Wise County and built in 1902, Roda was once a thriving coal camp community. But the mine shut down decades ago and this church is the last vestige of the old Roda that is still standing.
  • Visiting preacher praising God at Honeycomb Free Will Baptist Church service, Clintwood, VA.
  • Tarncy Mullins, former coal miner turned preacher, at his Honeycomb Free Baptist church in Clintwood, VA.
  • Tarncy Mullins, former coal miner, with the 1972 truck he still drives, Clintwood, VA.
  • Coal miner mural on Main St., Appalachia, VA.
  • Coal miner Robert Head at the Osaka mine, Appalachia, VA.
  • Miner Robert Head cleaning off his rock dust car at the Osaka mine, Appalachia, VA.
  • Ninety-five-year-old Claude Yeager holds a photo of himself with cousin Chuck Yeager, the legendary Air Force General, flying ace, and fighter jet test pilot, on his porch in Micco, West Virginia. Chuck Yeager became the first pilot in history to break the sound barrier in level flight.
  • Miners coming off day shift at the Osaka mine, Appalachia, VA. This 6-man crew was the only one working this mine.
  • Coal miner Robert Head hosing down his rock dust car at the Osaka mine, Appalachia, VA.
  • Former coal miner Bud Sampson stands by railroad tracks behind his home in Andover, VA. Bud did not lose his leg in a mine accident, but rather when he was hit head-on in his car by a woman driver having a seizure two years ago. The injury has merely slowed Bud down a bit, as he remains active with his grandchildren and with his local church. Outgoing and upbeat more than almost anyone i’ve ever known, Bud is buoyed by his strong family ties, including his wife Louise, and by his rock-strong Christian faith.
  • Retired coal miner Joe Porter, Roda, VA. I went to Roda to look for relatives of the people I’d photographed there 46 years earlier. But all the old structures had been razed by the coal company, and the area planted over. I stopped down the road at a home with a newer pickup truck and knocked on the door. Joe answered, and I proceeded to show him photos from my previous trip. He identified one legendary union organizer for me, and gave me a lead on another old resident. Like his miner father before him, Joe is proud of his heritage, and maintains a collection of historical books on coal mining. His welcoming me, a total stranger, into his home was a generous gesture I have not forgotten.
  • Billy Privett in Micco, West Virginia. Micco is a tiny village with only a handful of houses. I saw Billy working on this roof and stopped to ask him if he might have known the preacher I photographed in Micco years ago. I asked if he was now retired, and he responded, “Well, not exactly.” I then asked if he was on disability, assuming he’d worked in the mines. He said yes, disability, but he worked construction. His co-worker shot him accidentally in the head with a nail gun. A large 16 penny spike went 5 inches into the back of his skull. He was fully conscious, and walked himself to the local hospital. The injury was so severe they couldn’t treat him and he was helicoptered to a larger hospital, where he stayed overnight until a qualified surgeon arrived. After the surgery he was told if the nail had penetrated another millimeter it would have hit his spinal cord and killed him instantly. He suffers from short-term memory loss and can’t hold a job. If he needs to run errands he has to write down a list of what he is supposed to get.
  • James standing outside his house in the unincorporated hollow of Micco, WV.
  • Intro
  • Feature Photo of the Month
  • COAL COUNTRY REVISITED, 2024
  • COAL COUNTRY
  • HOSPICE
  • CHINA
    • CHINA ORPHANAGES
    • CHINA FLOOD
  • THE FIGHT for NEWTON CORNER
  • PRISON
  • JAZZ GREATS
  • GRAND CANYON
  • BROCKTON FAIR
  • PERU
  • PORTRAITS
  • EDITORIAL
  • SPORTS
  • Private Galleries
  • Bio
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