Oklahoma Coal Fires

For a few years during the 1940s, Oklahoma families used coal for heating and cooking, as well as coal oil for lighting. The coal mining regions of Oklahoma were located in the eastern half of the state, with the most prominent shaft mining areas in the counties of Coal, Pittsburg, Latimer, Haskell, and LeFlore. Strip mining areas were located in Rogers, Nowata, and Craig. Notable mining towns included McAlester, Krebs, Hartshorne, Adamson, Lehigh, Poteau, Panama, Savana, Dow, Alderson, Phillips, Howe, Coalgate, Heavener, Wilburton, McCurtain, and Haileyville. OKLAHOMA COAL FIRES is a collection of poems about the experiences of three children during this period of time. Coal burning stoves and coal oil lamps were an integral part of their daily life, commonplace- yet unforgettable. Like smoldering embers in yesterday's ashes, they spark the memories of family and childhood.