HICKS: Stanley, you grew up in West Virginia in a coal mining family and started coal mining when you were 19, back in the late 70s. What do you think drew you to that job?
STEWART: You know, it sounds silly to me now, but I was fascinated by going into a coal mine. It was just, just another world… and I knew that it ain't everybody can do this. So, you know, it made me feel a little bit special, although there's nothing really special about being a coal miner.
HICKS: So you worked in coal mines for more than 30 years and then you wound up at the Upper Big Branch mine in Montcoal, West Virginia. Can you share with me what you experienced on the day it exploded, at the start of your shift?
STEWART: It was Monday, April, 5, the day after Easter. I was headed underground. I felt the air flowing from inside the mine coming out and I realized , 'Uh oh, it ain't far to the outside, but you gotta get there.'
So I got outside and turned off to the right and looked, and you could see the air and debris gushing out of the mines. And I knew immediately that it had blown up.
You could hear the mine phone over and over hollering “Hello longwall? Hello longwall?” trying to get someone to answer.
HICKS: Twenty-nine miners died that day. And you were still there at the mine entrance when rescuers started pulling guys out, right? What was that like for you?
STEWART: Yes, I did CPR on two or three of them. They smelled like dynamite and their faces were black — nostrils, mouth just filled with black soot. You're working on them, and you know that they're gone, but you hope maybe...
We started lying them on the parking lot in single file. We had blankets down the lame on rather than the gravels…and so then I went over and sat down and just. I looked around, and actually I started crying. That was a bad day.
HICKS: You retired after that day, and you never stepped foot back into a coal mine. But you also spoke up. You told courts and Congress that the mining company, Massey Energy, cut corners on safety. That eventually led to the CEO, Don Blankenship, spending a year in prison. Back home in West Virginia, how did people feel about that?
STEWART: People actually, you know, they were proud of me. They pat me on the back and say 'Hey Goose, you go on, you go on telling your story and —'
HICKS: Why do you think more people didn’t speak out?
STEWART: Simple fact, they knew that they would be fired or not have a job. The upper management at Massey, they operated under fear intimidation and propaganda. Don Blankenship, he'd offer trips, bonuses, gifts. I’d tell them boys, now listen fellas, no amount of money is worth your rights, especially in a coal mine.
HICKS: Today, 15 years later, we’re seeing federal job cuts affecting the Mine Safety and Health Administration. Of course you know that’s the agency that inspects and enforces the mine safety laws which are meant to prevent mine disasters. What do you think about that?
STEWART: If they destroy the mine inspecting in these mines, I feel sorry for the miners. These guys, it’s going to be tough, it’s going to be real tough. If they hit the coal industry where it can't be policed, I’ll tell you right now: I wouldn’t want to be in a coal mine.
