HARLAN, Ky. _ The echoes of the most tumultuous bankruptcy to hit Eastern Kentucky's coal industry in recent memory came to Harlan County recently in the form of Christmas carols.
Children, many of them the sons and daughters of coal miners who were laid off this summer, picked their way down aisles of toys in the basement of Harlan Baptist Church as the familiar holiday tunes hummed in the background. Members of a Lexington church, Heritage Baptist, had raised enough money to buy about 4,000 toys and hauled them to Harlan.
The donation came as a welcome break for many families, but also as a stark reminder of the ongoing hardship that resulted from the sudden and devastating bankruptcies that hit Harlan County this year.
It has been about six months since Blackjewel LLC, one of the nation's largest coal producers, filed bankruptcy and laid off hundreds of Kentucky miners with no notice and no pay for weeks of work. The bankruptcy sent shock waves through Eastern Kentucky _ most notably in Harlan County, where many of Blackjewel's Kentucky employees lived and worked.
Recently, Kopper Glo Mining, which bought up many of Blackjewel's Kentucky mines and hired many of its former employees, issued its own round of layoffs.
Six months after Blackjewel, many of those impacted by the layoff said they're still struggling.
Among them are Felicia and John Cress, who have four children and live in nearby Perry County, and who volunteered at the giveaway.
The Cresses were some of the first to take part in a highly-publicized protest where coal miners and their wives blocked a set of railroad tracks near Cumberland and sent a train hauling Blackjewel coal back to the mine.
Following the protest, the company agreed to pay its former employees for their uncompensated work, but late fees on numerous bills, along with other debts that families incurred to pay their living expenses, left many deeper in debt than those checks could cover.
For many families, Felicia Cress said, the Christmas giveaway was a godsend.
"It's either keep your lights on or give your kids a Christmas gift," Felicia Cress said. "No child should have to worry about that, and that's what upsets me."
Blackjewel's mass layoff left many miners with few options. Some left the region for coal mines in states like Alabama or Pennsylvania, and others opted to pursue work in industries they hope will be more stable, such as healthcare.
John Cress lined up a job with Toyota and said he'll take his family to the Georgetown area sometime in the next couple of months. In the meantime, the four Christmas gifts Cress picked up will help them get by.
"We try to spoil our kids as much as we can, so this is a blessing," John Cress said.
Heritage Baptist, the Lexington church, organized the giveaway with a nonprofit called With Love From Harlan, which has collected and distributed more than $100,000 to former Blackjewel workers and their families. Since July, Heritage Baptist has also organized multiple large donations, including winter clothing and school supplies, to families impacted by the layoffs.
"It's been six months, and these families are still struggling," said Leslie Bledsoe, president of With Love From Harlan. "A lot of people think they've been given their back pay and been made whole, but not by far."
With Love From Harlan has used its $100,000 of donations to pay power bills, buy groceries and school equipment and pay for other expenses. While some former Blackjewel miners have found work elsewhere, Bledsoe said many are struggling just to pay bills, let alone provide their children with Christmas presents.
"They don't have the gas money to go and look for a job, or to come to these giveaways," Bledsoe said. "They just don't."
As the children picked from the long lines of gifts laid out on tables, former Blackjewel miner Marty Helton stood by the door, waiting to help put the gifts in bags as the families left the building.
Helton said he feels blessed by the amount of support that he and his colleagues have received in the past six months, but still, he said, the full impact of the bankruptcies has yet to unfold.
"A lot of these kids, they're the ones that's suffering," he said.
