WHEN COAL WAS KING: Andy Gorjup Ravensdale

Voice of the Valley shared a historical profile of Andy Gorjup, an Austrian immigrant coal miner who worked in Ravensdale around 1913. The article traces Ravensdale’s coal mining boom from 1900 onward, including the catastrophic 1915 mine explosion that killed 31 miners. Gorjup, who arrived in the U.S. at age 16 in 1902, worked as a mine engineer and electrician—a step up from typical miners—before the town’s tragic decline.