In 1902, during the coal strike that affected the Lykens Valley mines, the mine operated by Jacob Shiro on the north side of Short Mountain in Lykens Township, near Gratz, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, continued to operate, supplying coal only for the local trade. On the evening of Monday, 27 July 1902, an explosion caused great damage to a gasoline engine and colliery buildings and, according to reports, several men were injured.
The story of the explosion and fire was reported in local and area newspapers. The following stories are transcribed from that reporting:
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From the Harrisburg Patriot, 30 July 1902 (headline pictured above):
GASOLINE EXPLOSION
Engine Wrecked and Colliery Buildings Near Gratz Burned as Result
Building Near Gratz Burned as a Result
SEVERAL WORKMAN SEVERELY INJURED
Mines Had Been Operated During Strike by Individual Owner, Supplying Local Trade Only
Elizabethville, 29 July 1902. The explosion of a gasoline engine at the mines of Jacob Shiro, an individual operator, at Short Mountain, near Gratz, wrecked the power house of the colliery and destroyed by fire the breaker and storage house. The loss is not estimated but will run into thousands of dollars, a portion of which is covered by insurance. The cause of the explosion is unknown at this time, but the general belief is that the gasoline tank of the engine leaked and that a spark came into contact with the escaping fluid. The engineer, whose name could not be learned, and several foreign workmen, were badly injured but will survive.
The flames from the wrecked power house were communicated at once to the adjoining buildings and all destroyed, no fire fighting apparatus adequate to fight the flames being available. The loss in mined coal will be considerable. The strike of the hard coal workers has not affected the Shiro workings, which supply only local trade. There are no union men employed there. It is said that the mines will be put into operation again as soon as possible.
From the Pittsburgh Weekly Gazette, 31 July 1902:
FIRE AT SHIRO MINE
Explosion of Gasoline Engine Destroys Power House, Breaker and Storage House
HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania, July 30 [1002] — The explosion of a gasoline engine at the mines of Jacob Shiro, and individual operator at Short Mountain, wrecked the power house of the colliery and destroyed the breaker and storage house. The loss will amount to thousands of dollars, partially insured.
The flames from the wrecked power house were communicated to the the adjoining buildings and all were destroyed, no fire fighting apparatus being available. The strike of the hard coal workers has not affected the Shiro workings, which supply only local trade.
From the Elizabethville Echo, 1 August 1902:
The power house and other buildings at Jacob Shiro‘s coal mine at Short Mountain, near Gratz, were badly wrecked on Monday night by the explosion of a gasoline engine. This mine has operated for some time by Mr. Shiro of Gratz, and a number of men of that town have been employed at the mine for years. Just what caused the explosion was not learned, but it is thought the gasoline tank leaked and that a spark of fire came in contact with the gasoline. The explosion caused considerable damage and it will require some time to get things in shape before operations at the mine will be resumed.
From the Harrisburg Daily Independent, 30 July 1902:
TANK EXPLODES
Damage to Buildings At Coal Mine Near Gratz Monday.
The power house and other buildings at Jacob Shiros‘ coal mine at Short Mountain, near Gratz, were badly wrecked on Monday night by the explosion of a gasoline engine. This mine has been operated for some time by Mr. Shiro, of Gratz, and a number of men of that town have been employed at the mine for years.
Just what caused the explosion was not learned, but it is thought the gasoline tank leaked and that a spark of fire came in contact with the gasoline. The explosion caused considerable damage and it will require some time to get things in shape before operations at the mine will be resumed.
From the Lykens Standard, 1 August 1902:
The explosion of a gasoline engine at Shiro’s mine on the north side of north [sic] mountain near Gratz, caused the destruction of the building in which it was housed and the chute nearby in which the coal was dumped, on Tuesday [sic] night. The operation is a small one, supplying only local trade, but since the strike has worked full time.
From the Wilkes-Barre News, 31 July 1902:
GASOLINE STOPS MINE
SMALL, WORKINGS THAT WERE NOT AFFECTED BY STRIKE ARE IDLE ON ACCOUNT OF AN EXPLOSION
HARRISBURG, July 30 [1902] — The explosion of a gasoline engine last night at the mines of Jacob Shiro, individual operator at Short Mountain, near Gratz, wrecked the power house of the colliery and destroyed the breaker and storage house. The loss will run into thousands of dollars, a portion of which is covered by insurance.
The flames from the wrecked power house were communicated to the adjoining buildings and all destroyed,to fire fighting apparatus adequate to fight the flames being available.
The strike of the hard coal workers has not affected the Shiro workings, which supply only local trade. There are no union men employed there.
However, despite the reports of significant destruction at the Shiro Mine, the Harrisburg Telegraph reported the following on 30 July 1902:
Work Resumed by Shiro.
Work has been resuded [sic] by Jacob Shiro, whose mine at Gratz was compelled to shut down on Monday night by the burning of the storage house. The fire was started by the explosion of a gasoline engine used for power. The mine is run entirely for local trade and is a small one.
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In September 1902, to some extent, the Shiro Mine was supplying coal for local needs as evidenced by the following news briefs:
From the Harrisburg Telegraph, Berrysburg News, 9 September 1902:
J. Henry Howe will haul four loads of coal at 88 cents per load, from Shiro’s Mine for the public schools.
From the Elizabethville Echo, 12 September 1902:
J. Henry Howe will haul four loads of coal at 88 cents per load from the Shiro’s Mine for the public schools.
From the Philadelphia Inquirer, 12 September 1902:
Mining Coal in Farming District.
HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania, 11 September 1902 — The anthracite coal mines of Jacob Shiro, near Gratz, this county, are yielding as fine quality of coal as has ever been mine in Lykens Valley, and notwithstanding that prices have abnormally advanced elsewhere, Mr. Shiro continues filling orders at the old rates. Large quantities are being hauled from Gratz to Millersburg by team, a distance of seventeen miles.
From the Lykens Register, 10 October 1902:
Amos Spuce has the contract to haul the coal for the school houses at $4 per ton from the Shiro Mine.
The end of Shiro’s Mine probably coincided with this report that appeared in the Harrisburg Patriot, 14 September 1903:
Jacob Shiro, one of our reliable merchants, intends to retire from the mercantile business.
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News articles are from Newspapers.com and the on-line resources of the Free Library of Philadelphia.
Several of these articles were part of a post entitled Jacob Shiro – Some News Stories, 9 July 2014, appearing on The Civil War Blog.
Corrections and additional information should be added as comments to this post.