Post office should open the door for coal miner stamp Gerard Hetman Commentary

AS IT works to adjust to operations in the 21st century, the U.S. Postal Service has been seeking ways to re-connect with customers across America.

An initiative along those lines, announced this week, is to allow – for the first time – living people to be honored on U.S. postage stamps.

According to The Associated Press, U.S. citizens previously would not be considered for the honor of gracing parcels and stamp collections until they had been deceased for at least five years. An exception traditionally was made for former presidents.

But in an effort to appeal to crowds more in tune with email and instant messaging, the post office and its Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee intend to honor citizens who themselves are still able to mail a letter.

While I am sure that the names of entertainers, athletes and politicians will be submitted, I know of one group of Americans whose time for their own stamp is long overdue.

Efforts to have a stamp dedicated to coal miners are nothing new, and such initiatives have been well-documented in the pages of The Times Leader over the years. Only weeks ago, state Rep. Eddie Day Pashinski, D-Wilkes-Barre, detailed recent efforts by the Coal Miners Stamp Committee of Northeastern Pennsylvania and the state House of Representatives to persuade the post office to honor coal miners.

What makes the issue relevant to the new postal legislation is that while the heyday for coal mining in Northeastern Pennsylvania might have passed, the mining industry is still alive and well in many places across the United States. That means, under the new rules, thousands of living coal miners should be eligible for consideration.

As Rep. Pashinski points out, 29 miners died just last year after a mining accident and subsequent explosion at the Upper Big Branch Mine in West Virginia. Other accidents, including the 2002 Quecreek Mine rescue in Pennsylvania’s Somerset County, illustrate that many of the dangers faced by our ancestors in the anthracite fields of Lackawanna and Luzerne counties are still present for thousands of hardworking miners.

A quick glance at the U.S. Postal Service website reveals stamps for sale that are dedicated to everything from wild birds to jewelry, actors to national parks, Sunday comics to Disney characters. All of these stamps pay tribute to some segment of American culture and lifestyle, and I am happy to see all of them being published and offered for sale.

What disappoints me is that there has not yet been a stamp commissioned to honor those people who have worked, and continue to work, in an industry that embodies so many of the values that have made our nation great.

When I think of coal mining in Northeastern Pennsylvania, I think of an engine of multiculturalism, where workers from many nationalities labored shoulder-to-shoulder to provide the fuel that powered America.

I think of the dedication displayed by so many hard-working Americans who took care of their families by venturing deep below ground, sometimes never seeing the light of day during their shifts. Many of these brave workers never came back up from the mines, while countless others were scarred for life by black lung disease and other job-related aliments.

The sacrifices made by these early generations of coal miners are reflected in the miners of today, who still venture below ground to work with picks and shovels. While safety and working conditions have improved a great deal, dangers still remain. That’s why the U.S. Postal Service should consider American coal miners – living and deceased – for a commemorative stamp.