It’s all mine
An Anton lamp produced in Monongahela and once used as a source of light for coal miners
A turtle shell-shaped miner’s hat invented in 1922 was the first hard hat worn in the coal industry.
A poster from a May 1955 executive board meeting of the United Mine Workers of America shows Joseph "Jock" Yablonski at the top left. At the bottom, third from left, is W.A. (Tony) Boyle, who was convicted of ordering Yablonski's 1969 murder.
John Michael Konat, a California Borough native, is shown with some of the collectibles that will be included in the Eastern Mining Collectors Association show Saturday at Cambria Suites in North Strabane Township.
This old photograph shows Lincoln Hill Mine employees, some still with soiled faces after finishing the first shift in the North Franklin Township coal mine.
John Michael Konat was given an old turtle shell-style coal miner’s helmet that belonged to one of his wife’s ancestors, and it was all it took to ignite his passion for collecting artifacts once used in coal mines.
The type of helmet dates to 1922, when miners, for the first time in the industry, were given a hard hat for protection, he said.
“Before that they wore cloth hats,” said Konat, a retired coal miner from Westmoreland County and a native of California Borough.
Konat will be among collectors buying, selling and trading in old coal mining items Saturday when the Eastern Mining Collectors Association fall show moves for the first time from Johnstown to Washington County, which has a rich coal history and two interstate highways that will make it easier to reach.
“We’re trying to get some younger members,” said Konat, who started working in the industry in 1978 at Mathies Mine in Courtney and retired nine years ago from High Quality Mine in Fallowfield Township.
The Anton sunshine oil wick lamps dating to the late 1800s and produced in Monongahela are among the items he cherishes the most. Carbide miner lamps were introduced in 1908, and both styles were “worn on their heads with an open flame,” Konat said.
“Imagine, right below them was dynamite and black powder. Can you imagine how dangerous it was? We’ve come a long way.”
Miners hats in the early years were worn more as a place to attach lamps rather than for protection, and the first hard ones were made from steamed canvas, glue and black paint, and covered with leather.
“In 1978, when I was at Mathies, some of the older miners still wore the turtle shells,” Konat said.
Brothers Christopher, John and George Anton set up their lamp business in Monongahela in 1898 at the foot of Seventh Street, and they quickly became the premier lamp manufacturer in the world. The business folded to 1918 due to competition from carbide lamps, which were quickly replaced by electric lights, Konat said.
“They got on board too late.”
These lamps sell anywhere from $200 to thousands of dollars apiece, depending on condition and the manufacturer. Collectors find them at flea markets, estate sales and auctions, he said.
“A lot of people discarded this stuff.”
The nearly 50 collectors expected to be at the show will provide free appraisals and also deal in stickers, blasting cap tins, miner’s lunch buckets, photographs and United Mine Workers of America memorabilia.
Admission is free to the event, which takes place from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Saturday in Cambria Suites, 451 Racetrack Road, in North Strabane Township.