Last week’s column detailed the history behind a large stockpile of waste rock and shale due west of Palmer Coking Coal’s retail sales yard in Black Diamond. This week we examine the mechanics behind that system and the coal miner who operated it. Frank Manowski was born in Black Diamond in 1913, the son of German immigrants. Frank graduated from Black Diamond high school continuing on to play baseball at St. Martin’s College. After an eight-month stint at a sawmill, he next joined his father working underground in the Cedar Mountain coal mine before landing in Black Diamond. For the next 42 years Frank mostly ran preparation plants, the last 32 for Palmer. Manowski is shown here to the right of the drum operating the cable hoist that sent waste rock and shale to stockpile. The cable turned on a pulley allowing the coal car to be pulled to the top. There waste material was dumped from the car’s sides then back down the tracks for reloading with more rock and shale.
In his job at the preparation plant called Mine #11, Frank fixed, repaired, reconfigured, and operated the machinery which turned raw coal into the finished product for shipment to customers. Manowski was remarkable having working most of his life at the same job and location. He retired from coal mining in 1978, passing away in Enumclaw in 1991. This photo by Larry Abele was taken for the Sunday supplement, “Now” and included in a January 14, 1973 feature story about coal mining appearing in the Renton Record-Chronicle, the Kent News-Journal, and the Auburn Globe News newspaper chain.
