Interview with Lon B. Rogers, May 30, 1989

Interview Summary

Lon Rogers was born in Pikeville in 1905 and attended a Presbyterian school. He talks extensively about his father's job as a coal operator. Rogers father, Fon, and his brother became involved in banking in Greensburg, Kentucky and then in Pikeville, Kentucky. Rogers explains that his father took over the Elkhorn Consolidated Coal and Coke in 1907 due to the debts that it owed to his bank in Pikeville. Rogers describes how his father and his uncles increased production and sold the mine in 1916. Rogers also discusses some legal problems surrounding the ownership of the mine, which was taken over by the Semet-Solvay Company. Rogers explains that his father bought and sold a series of properties and small mines, but was never truly successful in the coal mining business. Rogers also discusses his view of the unionization efforts in Pikeville.

Rogers' family moved to Lexington when he started high school in 1921. In 1937, his father sent him to western Kentucky to look into a coal venture. While there he married. He then moved to Pikeville where he and his wife raised their family. Rogers describes getting into the oil business in the early 1970s.

Interview Keyword

Coal Operators

Interview LC Subject

Appalachian Region Coal miners Coal mines and mining--Appalachian Region Rogers, Lon B., 1905- Rogers, Lon B., 1905- --Interviews

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Interview Usage

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