“What I have seen in my experience is that it is all about rhythm. Life is about rhythm, and mining is about rhythm. You have to go to work and you have to enjoy what you are doing.”

Paul Krivokuca, born in Slickville, Pennsylvania in 1956, is a fourth generation coal miner. Generations of his family, including himself, were raised in coal mining company towns, and his experiences sound very much like those shared by the Comox Valley miners we interviewed.

In 1998, with years of valuable experience in mining, PK brought his family to Canada, and is currently the chief operating officer of underground operations at Quinsam Coal and the general manager of the mine. Reading Paul’s story and comparing it with the others enables us to see that coal mining is the same wherever you are, and that coal miners are a breed unto themselves, possessing a kinship that crosses borders and transcends time.

Paul’s Story

Mining In a New Land

“My great-grandfather, on my father’s side, was a farmer and a miner in Yugoslavia. As young men, my grandfather and great-uncle came across in the early 1900’s, and ended up in coal mining in Pennsylvania and living in company housing. My grandfather on my mother’s side also came from Yugoslavia and worked in the coal mines. He lived about eight miles away from my paternal grandfather.