Latest news with #HawksNest
The Age
24-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Age
Hats off to Swede machines
'Wow! Looks like I've stirred up some pent-up 'Volvo Rage',' writes Duncan McRobert (C8) of Hawks Nest. 'I therefore claim the right of reply. First, all my 'Swedish Kingswoods' were wagons, so I didn't have a back window shelf for the hat. Second, I never wore a cardigan, I wore a 'car coat' and driving gloves. Also, I'll bet Bob Hall and Peter Farquhar drove Ford Falcons, which for some reason seemed to be the most prolific of the 'flashers'.' Noted master of reality Peter Miniutti of Ashbury notes that 'with the sad passing of Ozzy Osbourne, I wonder if the bats of the world can at last feel safe and come out of their caves'. 'Snap, Susan Howard [C8]. That Christmas, I received two Trump toilet brushes,' says Viv Mackenzie of Port Hacking. 'And the orange makes a colourful statement in my all-white bathroom.' As an accessory, Caz Willis of Bowral received a roll of Trump toilet paper: 'Much mirth developed whenever it was shown. The best result was giving one to a friend dealing with cancer. It made her smile and laugh as she gave him the treatment!' After our attempt in verifying whether there were large, amphibious reptiles descending on Noosa (C8) turned into an attack on the humble 13-holer, Graeme Finn of Campsie has come out in defence of Crocs: 'Crocs may not be fashionable footwear, but they are popular with kitchen staff as spills don't soak into their shoes and socks.' Fancy a game of pass the antimacassar (C8)? Gara Baldwin of Randwick does: 'David Rose's comment got me pondering how many unwanted gifts are offloaded onto Secret Santa each year. The antimacassars may well have been a gift to the donor by an elderly relative, and passed on anonymously. The following year they could be gift-wrapped by David's stepdaughter and passed on again, ad infinitum …' John McIntyre of Port Macquarie finds it 'surprising that Mike Parton is 'still making use of' Macassar oil as 'the hair oil of choice' and didn't follow the trend to Californian poppy hair oil. Or perhaps, sentimentally, he likes using antimacassars. But does he still use Bay Rum Aftershave? Does anyone?' 'I'm surprised the couple involved in Coldplaygate [C8] didn't see trouble coming,' says Jack Dikian of Mosman. 'I'm pretty sure they were playing one of their hits, Trouble, which contains the lyric: 'Oh no, I see'.'
Sydney Morning Herald
24-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
Hats off to Swede machines
'Wow! Looks like I've stirred up some pent-up 'Volvo Rage',' writes Duncan McRobert (C8) of Hawks Nest. 'I therefore claim the right of reply. First, all my 'Swedish Kingswoods' were wagons, so I didn't have a back window shelf for the hat. Second, I never wore a cardigan, I wore a 'car coat' and driving gloves. Also, I'll bet Bob Hall and Peter Farquhar drove Ford Falcons, which for some reason seemed to be the most prolific of the 'flashers'.' Noted master of reality Peter Miniutti of Ashbury notes that 'with the sad passing of Ozzy Osbourne, I wonder if the bats of the world can at last feel safe and come out of their caves'. 'Snap, Susan Howard [C8]. That Christmas, I received two Trump toilet brushes,' says Viv Mackenzie of Port Hacking. 'And the orange makes a colourful statement in my all-white bathroom.' As an accessory, Caz Willis of Bowral received a roll of Trump toilet paper: 'Much mirth developed whenever it was shown. The best result was giving one to a friend dealing with cancer. It made her smile and laugh as she gave him the treatment!' After our attempt in verifying whether there were large, amphibious reptiles descending on Noosa (C8) turned into an attack on the humble 13-holer, Graeme Finn of Campsie has come out in defence of Crocs: 'Crocs may not be fashionable footwear, but they are popular with kitchen staff as spills don't soak into their shoes and socks.' Fancy a game of pass the antimacassar (C8)? Gara Baldwin of Randwick does: 'David Rose's comment got me pondering how many unwanted gifts are offloaded onto Secret Santa each year. The antimacassars may well have been a gift to the donor by an elderly relative, and passed on anonymously. The following year they could be gift-wrapped by David's stepdaughter and passed on again, ad infinitum …' John McIntyre of Port Macquarie finds it 'surprising that Mike Parton is 'still making use of' Macassar oil as 'the hair oil of choice' and didn't follow the trend to Californian poppy hair oil. Or perhaps, sentimentally, he likes using antimacassars. But does he still use Bay Rum Aftershave? Does anyone?' 'I'm surprised the couple involved in Coldplaygate [C8] didn't see trouble coming,' says Jack Dikian of Mosman. 'I'm pretty sure they were playing one of their hits, Trouble, which contains the lyric: 'Oh no, I see'.'
Sydney Morning Herald
24-06-2025
- General
- Sydney Morning Herald
Soft furnishings provide cold comfort
'My wife went shopping the other day for a new doona and came home with a comforter,' reports Bryan O'Keefe of Kembla Heights. 'I'm guessing the same marketing gurus were behind a dummy becoming a pacifier.' 'Geoff Turnbull's creek-side cubby tale (C8) reminded me of our visit to Burra (a fascinating town) in South Australia,' says Anne Kirman of Wilton. 'In the 1850s, some 1800 people lived in 600 dugouts excavated in the side of the Burra River. Sadly, flooding forced most of the occupants to leave, with only three dugouts surviving to the present day, albeit unoccupied. Life was tough back then.' 'In a makeshift room of a run-down old house in rural NSW, I watch as my son has two dental wires replaced,' writes Debbie Knapman of Nubba. 'A glue is being applied and needs to dry. For heat, a purple hairdryer is used, for water, a pink plastic spray bottle. When the yellowed autoclave machine becomes too noisy to speak over, it is intermittently turned off. I imagine I'm dreaming but just then, confirmation is torn from a carbon copy receipt book and handed to me. The year is 2025 and this is orthodontics in the country.' 'The Lone Ranger (C8) and Tonto were surrounded by tribesmen,' explains Duncan McRobert of Hawks Nest. 'The Lone Ranger turned to Tonto 'What should we do if the Indians attack?' Tonto was quick to reply 'What do you mean by we, white man?'' John Ure of Mount Hutton recalls that 'when I was a police detective at Toronto, Lake Macquarie in the 1970s, I would regularly assume the persona by declaring to my offsider: 'Off to Toronto, pronto, Tonto'. Groans all round.' You know, Granny was pretty sure that readers had had enough of radio serials back in April, with endless Blue Hills and Argonauts Club chat, then along came Anne McCarthy of Marrickville: ' Lone Ranger reminiscences (C8) brought to mind after-school radio serials of the '50s. These included Hopalong Cassidy and his horse Topper, and Tom Corbett, Space Cadet, a trainee at the Space Academy hoping to become a Solar Guard on the spaceship Polaris. Do any other C8'ers share these memories?' 'Lone Ranger fan Mickey Pragnell will no doubt remember the fastest mouse in Mexico,' says George Manojlovic of Mangerton. 'His name was Speedy Gonzales and I think he ran a carpet business called Arriba Underlay.'
The Age
24-06-2025
- General
- The Age
Soft furnishings provide cold comfort
'My wife went shopping the other day for a new doona and came home with a comforter,' reports Bryan O'Keefe of Kembla Heights. 'I'm guessing the same marketing gurus were behind a dummy becoming a pacifier.' 'Geoff Turnbull's creek-side cubby tale (C8) reminded me of our visit to Burra (a fascinating town) in South Australia,' says Anne Kirman of Wilton. 'In the 1850s, some 1800 people lived in 600 dugouts excavated in the side of the Burra River. Sadly, flooding forced most of the occupants to leave, with only three dugouts surviving to the present day, albeit unoccupied. Life was tough back then.' 'In a makeshift room of a run-down old house in rural NSW, I watch as my son has two dental wires replaced,' writes Debbie Knapman of Nubba. 'A glue is being applied and needs to dry. For heat, a purple hairdryer is used, for water, a pink plastic spray bottle. When the yellowed autoclave machine becomes too noisy to speak over, it is intermittently turned off. I imagine I'm dreaming but just then, confirmation is torn from a carbon copy receipt book and handed to me. The year is 2025 and this is orthodontics in the country.' 'The Lone Ranger (C8) and Tonto were surrounded by tribesmen,' explains Duncan McRobert of Hawks Nest. 'The Lone Ranger turned to Tonto 'What should we do if the Indians attack?' Tonto was quick to reply 'What do you mean by we, white man?'' John Ure of Mount Hutton recalls that 'when I was a police detective at Toronto, Lake Macquarie in the 1970s, I would regularly assume the persona by declaring to my offsider: 'Off to Toronto, pronto, Tonto'. Groans all round.' You know, Granny was pretty sure that readers had had enough of radio serials back in April, with endless Blue Hills and Argonauts Club chat, then along came Anne McCarthy of Marrickville: ' Lone Ranger reminiscences (C8) brought to mind after-school radio serials of the '50s. These included Hopalong Cassidy and his horse Topper, and Tom Corbett, Space Cadet, a trainee at the Space Academy hoping to become a Solar Guard on the spaceship Polaris. Do any other C8'ers share these memories?' 'Lone Ranger fan Mickey Pragnell will no doubt remember the fastest mouse in Mexico,' says George Manojlovic of Mangerton. 'His name was Speedy Gonzales and I think he ran a carpet business called Arriba Underlay.'
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
If not now, then when? Silica dust has been a problem for decades
Hawk's Nest Tunnel during construction in 1930. Workers had to drill through rock that contained high levels of silica, making workers sick within months. (National Park Services photo) As the West Virginia Legislature wound up its less than stellar session this year, the titled words to this commentary, rooted in the teachings of Hillel the Elder, a Jewish sage who lived in the first century CE, echoed in my mind, reaching an even greater, fevered pitch knowing that JFK and John Lewis were known to echo the phrase often in the context of political and social activism. The power in those five words resounds loud and clear to each of us — at least we can hope they do. While state legislators were tasked with a number of vital pieces of legislation, I honed in on the continued and shameful disregard for the certain and necessary protections of West Virginia's coal miners whose lives continue to be threatened from the inhalation of silica dust particles, which is the leading cause of black lung disease, along with lung cancer, kidney disease, COPD and cardiovascular illnesses. In learning that a federal appeals court issued a temporary stay on the implementation of what advocates have called a long overdue industry rule that would have limited how much silica dust coal miners are exposed to, I recalled one of the nation's worst industrial tragedies — the building of the Hawks Nest Tunnel in Fayette County, West Virginia, in the early 1930s, when an economic depression plagued this country. Stop for a minute to consider the incredulity of a period of time fighting the same issue that spans nearly one hundred years. It's outrageous. In the fall of 1990, shortly after completing my graduate work, I wrote a piece for Goldenseal titled, 'Hawks Nest, the Novel.' Since my graduate thesis focused on the history of early West Virginia authors, it would not have been complete without a discussion of Hubert Skidmore's controversial work. Still, after all these years, the same threat to every coal miner's life continues. It's unfathomable that this is still an issue. In fact, it's obscene. The silica rock that the builders of the Hawks Nest Tunnel drilled through — completely unprotected — is being breathed by Appalachian coal miners today, in 2025. The tunnel workers developed horrendous coughs and had trouble breathing, ending their shifts covered in a thick blanket of dust. Some died and were buried in unmarked graves in a field in Summersville, often before their families were informed of their death. The only time the dust was abated was when the foreman announced the arrival of the mine inspector and turned on the water to keep the dust down. Once the mine inspector left, the water was turned off and remained off. A reviewer for the New York Times reported in 1941, 'It is a story of crass injustice to make the reader's blood boil.' Fast forward decades later and the problem persists. Why? The answer is simple — money. Imposing regulations in order to keep the related diseases caused by the breathing of silica dust at bay cost money, and coal operators/owners don't want their bottom lines (i.e., profits) affected negatively. Valuing profits over people's lives is incomprehensible. How can basic, decent concern for your fellow man, the very men who risk their lives to line your pockets with even more profit, be ignored? Yes, we are a country that is divided at every turn, wrestling with politicians who, on one side, fight for the worker and who, on the other, quite simply don't. Corporate profits versus tighter safety measures for coal miners has a long history, none more obvious than in West Virginia. Are we going to be writing this same story in yet another decade from now? Are we going to leave it to the next generation to tackle? At what point are we going to say, 'Enough!' Theodore Roosevelt issued these resounding words: 'There can be no life without change, and to be afraid of what is different or unfamiliar is to be afraid of life.' I don't think it's inherent in the human spirit to belittle the worker and be concerned only with corporate greed. I think that the latter is a conscious choice that must certainly plague the conscience of those who choose to put their own interests above everything that is inherently decent and good about mankind. I often wonder what events, experiences led someone to toss aside respect and decency and concern for their fellow man and prioritize only their own agenda. I guarantee there is a reason, for to suggest that the workers' concerns are irrelevant is a clear example of pure disregard for those who built this country, brick by brick and shovel by shovel, asking only that they be protected as they reaped enough to provide the basic necessities for their families, while the industry barons rode their backs all the way to the banks, not feeling the least bit responsible for the price paid by the workers. It was unacceptable then, is now, and always will be unacceptable. Yet still, it continues. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
