
08/05/2025
In 1946, Clabe Hicks, a miner, and his family lived in a modest four-room house in Bradshaw, McDowell County, a region deeply embedded in the coal mining culture of southern West Virginia. The small home, likely built from locally sourced materials, was a reflection of the simple, yet tough life of the working-class families who relied on the coal industry for their livelihoods. The area, known for its rich coal deposits, had long been a center for mining activity, but it also carried the heavy weight of economic hardship and the challenges of industrial work.
Clabe, like many men in the community, worked long hours in the mines, often facing dangerous conditions in exchange for meager pay. His family, though modest in their living conditions, shared a bond of resilience. The house was more than just a shelter; it was a testament to the grit of a community that had weathered the ups and downs of the coal industry's boom-and-bust cycles. For the Hicks family, like others in Bradshaw, home was a place where survival, hard work, and a sense of community were woven into the fabric of their daily lives.