“The Christmas Candle at Barker”
“The Christmas Candle at Barker” A Historical Christmas Narrative Based on the 1900 Barker Mine Disaster, Fayette County, WV “The people which sat in darkness saw great light.” — Matthew 4:16 (KJV) The year was 1900 , and winter had settled early over the rugged hills of Fayette County. The coal camp near the Barker Mine , tucked between the ridges outside Thurmond, was a place where families lived close to the earth and even closer to one another. Coal dust clung to every porch rail, and the sound of the New River echoed through the valley like a restless hymn. Life was hard, but the people were used to hard. What they weren’t used to was the kind of sorrow that would strike just weeks before Christmas. The Morning the Mountain Spoke On December 8, 1900 , the men of Barker Mine descended into the earth before dawn. Among them was Jonas McClure , a father of four, known for singing old hymns as he walked to work. His wife, Eliza , had packed his lunch pail with leftover cornbr...