For the second time in 10 years the Purdy coal mine east of Seymour is closing down while "the Purdy boys" go off to military service. This time, however, all the mine machinery is being sold and the mine will close for good.
The mine, sunk in 1932, was once the heaviest producer of coal in the Wayne-Appanoose county area, and even recently employed a full crew of 24 men. The mine had been in continuous operation since 1932, except for two years during World War II when the sons of Henry Purdy were in the army before.
Robert Purdy left Friday for duty as a radar repairman in the Air Force, and his brother, David, who was recalled at the same time, has been classified as a flight engineer trainee.
The other Purdy brothers will seek employment in midwestern industrial centers as soon as the final closing of the mine is completed.
William Morrow, who left with the Purdys, was the only one of the trio who was in the air corps in World War II. He also has been classified as a flight engineer trainee with the 90th Bombardment Wing, which consists of B-29 and B-50 bombers--now called "mediums."
----------------------
From an unidentified 1951 newspaper clipping in the files of the American Legion Post #180 in Seymour, Wayne County, Iowa, microfilmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah in 1990 and contained on FHL US/CAN Film 1672979.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment