This morning, we go to sleep in a little bit before catching the bus to the Black Country Living Musuem. This museum is a historic replica of Dudley that depicts what life was like as coal miners. It has an open-air concept that utilizes a more hands on and interactive approach (it kind of reminded me of when I went to Colonial Williamsburg). Personally, I think all museums should be like this because it makes the experience much more enjoyable.
Similar to how the steel industry propelled Pittsburgh’s industry and infrastructure, the coal mining that happened in Dudley played a huge role in Birmingham’s infrastructure as well. Coal mining began in Dudley in 1872, lasted for 69 years and manufactured eight million tons of pounds of coal. Today we got the opportunity to tour a coal mine. We were given hard hats (which I don’t think were available to the actual coal miners) and flashlights that has the same brightness as a candlelight to replicate the amount of light a coal miner would have. Coal miners would work in the mine form 6am to 6pm with a snack break at 1pm. Essentially, they didn’t get to see the daylight until Sunday, which was there day off. To enter the mine, coal miners would enter via a shaft. This shaft lifted a group of 24 men down into the mines and if they didn’t hold on to the chain they could fall and die. The work they had to do in the mine was absolutely brutal and they had to be unbelievably skilled. The most skilled miners would be the ones doing the most dangerous work. They would be responsible for supporting the walls of the coal mine, so it doesn’t collapse on them and chipping away at larger chunks of coal (which included getting underneath that piece of coal). The younger men would be responsible for opening and closing the door of the mine. However, men had to be above the age of ten to work in the mines due to a flooding incident that occurred in a mine, killing a large group of young boys. From this experience I learned that I would have never been able to work in a coal mine because it is too dark and I would be afraid that the mine would collapse on me the whole time I was in there. As a woman, tough, I wouldn’t have to worry about working in the mines because only men were allowed underground. Men were the only ones allowed underground because it gets so hot in the mines that they would take their shirts off and it is unimaginable for a woman to do that. Instead, women worked above the mines and did things like prepare meals for the men. Coal got to Birmingham from Dudley due to the canals that connected them.
Another thing I got to do there was participate in a mock school lesson. This was really interesting because education and the way we are taught has greatly evolved over the years. One major difference that stood out to me was that students showed their mastery of skills orally. They would have to go to the front of the class and do their math problems and read, among other things. I genuinely don’t think I would have been able to graduate school if that is still how they determined mastery of concepts nowadays because I have social anxiety and tend to do poorly when the spotlight is only on me! In schools back then teachers were allowed to hit their students, thankfully that practice is no longer used today! It was interesting to see how much has changed and it was also fun getting to sit through a mock lesson!
For lunch I had the best fish and chips I have ever had. My dad always told me that proper fish and chips should come wrapped in paper and that paper should be covered with oil by the time you are done. The fish and chips I got today were just like that. It came wrapped in paper and the paper was covered in greased. It was so good!
That’s all for today! Tomorrow we are back at BCU!