Himlerville: Hungarian Cooperative Mining in Kentucky - The Filson ...

532 The Filson Club History Quarterly [October
The Himler Coal Company, like most other coal companies in
southern Appalachia, fielded a baseball team that played against
teams from Red Jacket, Williamson, Kermit, and other neighboring
coal camps. Miners took baseball seriously. Often the
games ended when fights broke out between opposing teams. A
former player on the Himlerville team recalled that racism often
provoked the fights. Other teams did not want the "Hunk team"
(a derogatory name given to the Himlerville team) to defeat
them. Racial emotions sometimes got out of control, and a brawl
broke out if Himlerville was leading in the late innings. Residents
of Himlerville formed a band to travel with its baseball
team. This band always contained several accordion players and
held public "showings" to inform residents of the progress the
band had made. 59
Himlerville's school system was one of the best in eastern
Kentucky. A modern building was erected and classes were offered
at both the elementary and high-school levels. The school
term was one of the longest in Kentucky. The Martin County
Board of Education funded a seven-month term for the Himlerville
district as it did for all school districts in the county. In
addition, the Himler Coal Company paid for three more months
of schooling. While the average school term in most of Kentucky's
rural districts was between seven and nine months, the Himler-
ville term was for ten months. Only people holding college de-
grees were employed as teachers in Himlerville schools. This is
significant because most teachers in Kentucky lacked even a
high-school diploma. Each child was required to study the Hun-
garian language and culture for two hours each day so as not to
lose touch with their Hungarian heritage. Like immigrants in
northern cities, Himlerville's Hungarian population wanted to
perpetuate their native culture. Primary classes in English and
American government were also taught. Half-day sessions devoted
to the study of Hungarian culture were held throughout
59 Balazs interview.