09/06/2026
This Athens Messenger newspaper article from September 12, 1927, highlights the personal records kept by George A. Shust Sr. of his first 36 years of coal mining in and around Glouster, Athens County. The numbers are impressive, startling, and humbling. George loaded 40,405 tons of coal, which equates to 80.81 MILLION pounds. The first five years George mined, from 1890 to 1895, he was a pick miner. This meant he used a pick and shovel to extract and load coal. Beginning in 1896 he would work the rest of his time in mechanized mines, or the mine he worked in became mechanized. Most humbling is the realization that George made a very modest income in his decades in the mines. His average earnings of $753.60 per year equates to nearly $14,500 in 2026 money. This is a reminder that so many coal miners and their families struggled to keep up with the basic expenses of living during this era.
George A. Shust Sr. died on December 24, 1950, at the age of 77. He is buried in Maplewood Cemetery in Glouster.
