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Leo S. Bielinski : The Back Road to Thurber

Joy Presswork Collection, Baird, Texas, 1993

8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. BA3 - A hardcover book SIGNED and inscribed by author to previous owner on the front free endpaper in very good condition in poor dust jacket that is mylar protected. Dust jacket has wrinkling, chipping, crease, and tears on the edges, corners and some sides, less than 2" tears on the front top right side, scattered scratches, rubbing, wrinkling, scuffing, fading, and stains, light tanning and shelf wear. Book lightly cocked, some bumped corners, scattered light foxing and stains on the page edges and endpapers, light patch smudge on some inside pages, light tanning and shelf wear. 9"x6". 282 pages. Satisfaction Guaranteed. Before Texas became noted for oil, a small part of north central Texas was a renowned coal mining center, and for 30 years Thurber, Texas was the fuel for railroad expansion across Texas, the southwest and other parts of the country. Consequently, in the early 1900's Thurber's population was 8,000, and it was the most modern city in the southwest. But by 1921 Texas oil replaced coal for railroad fuel, and Thurber became a ghost town. Thurber's 2500 coal miners were predominantly Eastern European immigrants, mostly Italian and Poles, and without this hardworking, cheap labor force, Thurber might not have become one of the world's leading coal producers. However, the immigrant miners' role in Thurber's success has been largely ignored in the writings, probably because in Thurber's time there was prejudice toward the foreign-born. The Back Road To Thurber tells Thurber's story from the immigrants' perspective, and it personifies characters, a feature which has also been neglected in previous narratives. The Back Road is historically accurate and relates other noteworthy events in Thurber, such as the fight for a second UMW local, 'The Italian Local'. The family of Leo S. Bielinski has been part of Thurber locale for over a hundred continuous years, ever since his grandfather came from Sierpe, Poland in 1889 to work in the Thurber coal mines. Now retired from the Air Force, meteorology and teaching, Bielinski's avocation is restoring Thurber's rich past.. Book Condition: Very Good. Binding: Hardcover. Jacket: Poor

Signed by Author

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