Photography

My paternal grandfather, the son of a Welsh immigrant, was a coal mine worker in Frostburg, MD just like his father and brothers. He came from a family of 13 kids. Most of the brothers and uncles worked in the mines, too, just like their the family did in Wales.

Grandpa was caught in a mine collapse but was able to escape. That made him decide that he did NOT want his son, my uncle, to be a coal miner. He'd lost his father and several brothers and cousins to 'coal miners asthma' which is what they called Black Lung Disease.

Anyway, just like my maternal grandfather, he moved his family to Flint and got a job at Buick. Both grandfathers were passing acquaintances at Buick and had no idea there would be a family connection through marriage.

I never met my maternal grandfather. He died about 6 months before I was born. However, from what I've been told about him, we are very much alike.