The first question you will ask is “Where is Marne, KY?” Each early coal company had a shipping address for their various mining operations, especially true for a company that had more than one mine. Many such names are known today, but for the majority, they are long forgotten, lost to history and remembered by only a dwindling few who lived and worked in the coal fields of the bygone days of the 1930’s and 1940’s. Marne, Kentucky was the shipping address for the Harlan Wallins Coal Corporation, Verda, KY. The company had mines at Verda, Lejunior, Sheilds, Redbud, and Molus. All these mines were in Harlan County, KY. Three seams of coal were mined at Verda: the Creech, Darby, and Harlan. The Darby seam was the coal sold under the Marne logo. “Skyline” was the logo for the Kellioka seam mined at the Wood mine, located at Redbud, KY. “East Kentucky Bear” was the logo for the Harlan seam.
During the 1930’s and until late into the 1960’s, it was a common practice for coal companies to use “Scatter Tags” to identify their products when the coal was shipped from the tipple. The tags, coal markers, or identification chips as they have been called, were first made of paper, sometimes waxed to protect the printing, and also of thin aluminum. They were cheaply made and produced in great quanities as they were “scattered” by the hands full over the tops of the loaded cars of coal as they left the tipple. Each company had a distinct design, much like the “Stickers” of today. Other forms of identification were also used to mark a particular brand of coal. One such practice was to print the company logo or design message on thin, cheaply produced sheets of paper. This was glued directly to the large blocks of coal on the top of the cars of coal leaving the shipping point. The large blocks, then commonly used for home heating fuel, made for a portable bill board as they traveled from the shipping point to the consumer.
The “Glue Man”, also the “Blocker”, was responsible for not only affixing the company stickers to the blocks of coal, but was responsible for positioning the large blocks of coal so that they would not roll or fall off the top of the loaded car. Two men worked the tipple position, one on the left and the other on the right. They would walk along the line of the top rim of the car, see that the blocks were positioned, and glue the sticker to as many large blocks as possible before the next car moved into position. This job was demandingly fast work and as one miner described his duties of “Glue Man”, “We had to work and eat on the fly.” This former tipple worker, Lawrence Helton, Corbin, KY, was the coworker and brother of “the fastest glue man in the coal fields.”
The Harlan Wallins Coal Corporation, a Harlan County coal producer from 1925 until 1957, had the distinction of employing the “fastest Glue Man in the coal fields.” This early coal miner and tipple worker was the late Nathaniel “trap” Helton. “Trap”, as he was called throughout his life, gained his nick name while holding the job of a “Trapper” at the Verda mine. He was a small man, slightly built, yet a very hard worker. He helped support his family of eight other brothers and one sister. He had a very difficult time obtaining a job, due to his small size, yet was hired and given the job of “Trapper”. He was 18 years old in 1930 and he was given the responsibility of maintaining the air flow and ventilation system that assured a fresh air supply to the miners. No major labor was required, only opening and closing the air tight doors, but proved early that he was a willing and dedicated employee. Soon after his period as a “Trapper”, Trap was transferred to the tipple and gained the title of number one “Glue Man” in the coal industry.
An interesting story is associated with his reputation as being the fastest “Glue Man”. “Trap” was born with an underdeveloped finger growing in the middle of the right palm. When asked how he became so much faster than any other “Glue Man”, he would say, in his always jovial manner, “Why I’ve got the edge on everybody else because I’ve got six fingers to their five.” The “edge” was an understatement for it was said, “ that he could deal the stickers, and apply the glue faster than a poker dealer at Las Vegas with two sets of hands.” Whether he was that fast will never be known, but he was fast.
The Harlan Wallins Coal Corporation and their little “Glue Man” from Marne, KY are now part of the history of Harlan County, KY. They have passed into the history of the bygone days of an almost forgotten era. Hopefully, the memories of their story will remain for the generations of tomorrow.