Miner at the Company Store: Pennsylvania, 1946

In 1946, Louis Shafer, a miner from the Westland Mine operated by the Pittsburgh Coal Company in Washington County, Pennsylvania, is captured carrying an armful of groceries from the company store. The scene reflects the common practice in coal towns where miners relied on company-owned stores for their daily provisions. For many, like Shafer, shopping at the company store was not just a convenience but a necessity, as wages were often paid in company scrip, usable only in these stores. This moment is a reminder of the intertwined lives of miners and the corporations that controlled much of their day-to-day existence during the mid-20th century.