Snappshot in time

This photo shows George Schoser and his wife Catherine with their children Pauline, Jacob and William 'Bill'. It was taken in about 1916 in Meade, South Dakota where the family lived at the time. In total, George and Catherine had eight children. Five of them however died at a young age including Pauline and Jacob on the picture. In contrast, William was almost 90 when he died. 

Tough job in tough times

While the world was at war, Bill Schoser worked as coal miner in the 'Rocky Mountain Fuel Company' operating coal mines e.g. in Superior, Lafayette and Louisville, all Colorado. The latter also being Bill’s home town where he married Louise Schoser in 1947. The company was severely impacted by the Great Depression, declining productivity of local coal deposits and the increased popularity of natural gas and went bankrupt in 1944.

The photo is archived in the Lafayette Public Library and shows in total 37 miners posed in working clothes beside mine building in Superior on 17 August 1942. Unfortunately, it is not reported who of them was Bill Schoser.