George H. Phillians’ Dream

My Grandfather George H. Phillians wanted to be an electrical engineer, but the Great Depression killed that dream.

He was born on October 17, 1910, in Millsboro, Washington County, Pa., to Harry Ernest and Olivia Horner Phillians. He graduated from East Bethlehem High School where he studied Latin and science. He was a very gifted carpenter, a talented artist, and he was a man who enjoyed a good laugh and an off-color joke. He drank Rolling Rock beer, he only ate homemade bread, and he always took a Peppermint Patty in his lunchbox.

In 1929, George was studying at Fenn College in Cleveland, Ohio, where he stayed at the Central YMCA on Prospect Street. He was a reporter for the school newspaper and was having a grand old time, writing regularly to his younger brother Russell Irwin Phillians and his mother. He completed one year and then the Great Depression crippled the economy. He didn’t return to school because he was needed in Millsboro to care for his mother. Eventually, George was off to the coal mine. 

For 20 years, from 1934 to 1954, he was employed by Republic Steel at the Clyde Mine in Fredericktown. His resume states that he worked as a coal loader/shot firer for almost 12 years and as the assistant foreman for eight years. In 1942, he completed a five-year Penn State Extension Course in Coal Mining and secured a Pennsylvania First Grade Foreman’s Certification. 

“Supervised a crew of 15 men in preparation, loading and transportation of coal at working face,” he wrote on his resume when he was 44 years old and out of work. “Responsible for maintenance and repair of all electrical and hydraulic machinery used on section. Responsible for safety and welfare of crew. Also ordered and distributed all supplies used. Rate of pay - $622.00 per month.”

On June 12, 1940, he married Blanche Louise Shipley of Brownsville and they had one daughter, my mother, Roberta Lee Phillians, who was born on March 17, 1945. Eventually, the family bought a house in Williamstown, a coal mine patch in the Clarksville section of East Bethlehem Township, Pa.

In July 1954, George typed on his resume that he was unemployed because the mine had shut down. I’m thinking the mine closure was temporary, because I believe the Fredericktown mine was operational after 1954.

My Grandfather Vance Ross, my dad’s father who was also a coal miner, said that George shouldn’t have given up a union position to be an assistant foreman. He explained that although George made more money as a company man, he shortchanged himself out of some pretty generous UMWA benefits. He was right, because George and Blanche didn’t have the lifetime health benefits and the pension that my other grandparents had.

George eventually landed a job with the Southwestern Pennsylvania Water Authority in Jefferson, Pa. and after a successful career, he enjoyed a brief retirement before he was diagnosed with cancer. He died at the age of 69, on March 3, 1980 and is buried under a ginkgo tree in Greene County Memorial Park in Jefferson, Greene County, Pa.

In 2014, I was cleaning out my mom’s attic when I found these items from his coal mining days: his miner’s hat, a map of the Clyde Mine, his mining manual, a self-contained breathing apparatus and handbook, a miner’s lamp, his old glasses, and his Coal Mining diploma from The Pennsylvania State College. 

One thing is certain, George H. Phillians’ career didn’t take the path he had planned, but he dedicated his life to hard work and he did whatever he could to provide for his family. 

Sources:

Pennsylvania Birth Certificate

Obituary of George H. Phillians

Resume of George H. Phillians

Letters of George H. Phillians to his mother Olivia Horner Phillians

Family lore

Written by Randi Ross Marodi ~ randileeross@gmail.com

George H. Phillians’ map of the Clyde Mine