Interview with Johnny Robertson

Audio recording and transcript of Johnny Robertson's 1979 interview with Dale Lovick and Nelson Dean for the Coal Tyee History Project. To begin the interview, Robertson shares some of his family's history and he explains how his father was also a miner until he was injured in an accident in 1924. He speaks critically about both safety and working conditions in the mines and shares several examples of how miners were injured on the job. He touches on how mules were used in the mines, how the community, especially women, supported striking miners, and how the war impacted coal mining. Robertson talks about race relations in Cumberland, leisure activities, and housing costs. Throughout the interview, Robertson speaks about union organizing and the Communist Party's involvement in union activities, and he reflects on how conditions improved for miners once the union was recognized.