Dozer Summers

by David C. Brown

This short book provides a window on the now archaic equipment and methods used by early strip miners. History as seen through the eyes of a college student who learned to operate Caterpillar bulldozers during summer breaks. He worked for his father who owned a small coal company in Venango County. The time was the 1960-61 in the western Pennsylvania coal fields. The new environmental regulations on strip mining were pressuring the small operators and forcing the marginal operations to adapt or close. While working those summers, the author acquired an appreciation for the perils of operating a business and insight into character as events frustrated his father’s efforts to save the family mining business. Readers will find that Dozer Summers speaks to the importance of perseverance and the need to resist the temptation to compromise on principles. BISAC HIS036080 BUS008000

50 pages, Paperback

Published March 13, 2011