They once toiled in the bowels of the earth where few people have ever tread, and now their lives can be viewed online with limitless access.
An award-winning documentary about local anthracite coal miners will be available to a larger audience thanks to a recent acquisition.
A Woodshop Films documentary, "Hard Coal: Last of the Bootleg Miners," has been acquired for online distribution through Snag Films, a website that broadcasts thousands of independent movies at no cost to the viewer. The documentary was released on the website in June.
"There are recent plagues and tragedies in the anthracite coal mining region that prompted the drastic transformation of this feature documentary. We couldn't be happier that Snag Films picked it up," said director Marc Brodzik, whose studio is based in Philadelphia.
The announcement comes on the eve of the 29th annual Independent Coal Miners Picnic slated for noon Aug. 10 at Hegins Park.
Picnic organizer David A. Lucas, Hegins, is among the miners interviewed for the documentary and his photo - taken by Christian Abraham of Connecticut - was used for the film's promotional poster.
Many of the miners who contributed to the documentary attend the annual gathering and part of the film was actually filmed at the Hegins picnic.
Lucas has invited Brodzik to the picnic and he's planning to attend.
"I'm really going to try. I've been there before and I've always enjoyed it, but I've never brought my kids before," said Brodzik, who has three children, ages 3, 7, and 10.
The film's editor, Andrew Geller, has attended with Brodzik previously, and may also make the trip.
Brodzik filmed independent - or bootleg - coal miners over a three-year period, beginning in 2005 and formed a close bond with his subjects.
"I got really attached to them . . .We have such a tight connection," said Brodzik.
He remembers the first time he met Lucas. The two were introduced by fellow miners. The local miners began explaining their struggle to earn a living while being strangled by federal regulations more suited to the bituminous industry than the anthracite method of mining.
Many said the indiscriminate regulation by the federal Mine Safety & Health Administration, as well as pressure from the United Mine Workers of America union, forced the independents out of business.
"He's an amazing guy," Brodzik said of Lucas. "He was the first one to key in on the inspectors and I started connecting the dots."
Lucas said he was glad the documentary is available to more viewers.
"I think everyone should see what a coal miner does for a living. The government made it so that it was illegal if we worked. I never thought something like that would ever happen," said Lucas, whose mine, D & D Anthracite, closed in 2007.
Lucas and a group of miners and their families who were interviewed for the documentary took a bus to Philadelphia for the film's premier. The documentary won Best Documentary at the DIY Film Festival in 2009.
Lucas received two standing ovations at the premier, he said, and told the crowd he wants miners who are due their black lung benefits to finally receive them.
"That made me happy the way people greeted us and I'm humbled by it," Lucas said.
Anyone wishing to view the documentary can find it at www.snagfilms.com.
For more information about the picnic, call Lucas at 570-682-9140.