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Page 15 · column 6 of 6 · from the scan, no model involved
beat went on day and night ‘til closing time in the fall.
Ten to twelve colliers plus numerous assistants were required to produce the coals for just one of the furnaces. And after the labor, heat, dirt, etc. of this charming warm weather pursuit, most of these workers continued cutting wood through the winter months both to smooth out the cash flow and to make sure there were enough billets to burn come next spring.
By the mid-1800s coal (the hard-rock kind) fired blast furnaces appeared that could operate much more efficiently than the charcoal cookers of the Valley. Nonetheless, the Valley furnaces operated during the Civil War and up until around 1900 in some cases. The collier’s pits then became a thing of the past, but if one knows where to look the vestiges of this mysterious art may be found throughout the Massanuttens.
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