CH 16: The Boney Pile Backstory
The Boney Pile is set in a small village next to Windber, PA, named Scalp Level. I believe the town got that name from a hill top which had its trees removed. Somehow the strangeness of the name helped affix the special place this town would occupy in my memory.
Courtesy FlickRiver.com by user 10K
If you live on flat ground you might have trouble envisioning this place: it is set in the short mountains of western Pennsylvania named the Alleghenies. They’re among the oldest mountains in the world (explaining their shortness), and their age added to the impression they created, too. The town itself rests upon the flanks of the hill facing into the bend of small river, which in turn traces another slight hill nestled into that bend. It’s upon this bend that Mine #40 of the Berwind-White Coal Mining Company set up operation and created a behemoth operation to extract bituminous coal from the earth. The boney pile appears in the middle right of the picture, but looked a lot larger from street level across from the mine.
Apologies to the source of this picture -- I can't find it -- but I believe it looks like Mine #40. It's from the Historic American Engineering Record in some manner (HAER).
My father grew up in this town and worked at the mine a few years before leaving for World War II like many of the other miners. In my youth, the mine was no longer in operation, though it’s hulking carcass remained to haunt the landscape until 2012. When my family visited, I’d often wander across the street, sometimes with my father, to investigate the buildings and hear stories about what it was like. Here’s a page of pictures from Eureka Mine #40 and Scalp Level. It seems appropriate to include at least one picture through a panel of broken windows:
See above site at coalcampusa.com
As for the story itself, though I walked the mine many times with my dad, we never had a chat like the one McGhee does with his father. It seemed, however, the backdrop of the mine and the boney pile were a good place to conduct a discussion of general decay and things falling into disrepair (including relationships). The boney pile itself (of the title) did seem to loom over the mine and the town as a symbol of the entire cycle, and the inevitable and ultimate surrender we all face to be reclaimed by the earth. This is the beginning of the end of McGhee's childhood which runs to completion in CH 11: The Calendar Lagniappe.
Courtesy of BubbaDelivers.com, Greensburg, PA
On that happy note, the family portrayed over dinner stands in contrast to the mine itself: a vibrant source of warm and raucous good humor juxtaposed to the somewhat grim reality across the street. The family is not so loosely based upon my cousins who lived there, though I took some liberties. As my cousin Gene points out, “My dad wasn’t like that at all.” From my recollections, there always seemed to be something hiding behind my uncle Walt’s smile, so I wasn’t shy about sketching it in. And as for Aunt Rose, everyone agrees I was spot on. The song still rises in her voice to this day every time I hear it.
All of that said, this is McGhee's extended family, not mine. These backstories are meant to provide insight into where the material came from, but you should consider it as FYI only. I have extra-personal connection to the details, but it doesn't really matter. The only thing that matters is how it performs in service to the backstory of my character, McGhee.
Many chapters in the book epitomize one thematic point or another, but for me, this one captures the essence of family. It seemed important to ensure the reader understood McGhee had the benefit of close family and all that entails. Though other chapters include lots of family detail and various experiences, this one demonstrates the operation of a family in the business of living. For me, my cousins in Windber (really, Scalp Level) encapsulate the warmth of family.
