Well, I'll tell you, one of things I'm proud of is for someone from Southern California, who didn't grow up around coal mines, I learned a lot that tragic day we lost twenty-nine miners at Upper Big Branch coal mine.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
Here in Indiana and in many states throughout the union, we rely on coal to power our homes and provide good-paying middle class jobs - like the one my family relied on when I was a kid. The coal mine helped put food on our table and helped me pursue an education and realize the American Dream.
When I was born, my father was a copper miner in Butte, Montana. It was a hard-core, blue-collar situation.
I am proud of where I came from, and I am proud of what I've been able to achieve through hard work and perseverance. And I guarantee you that anyone who tries to say otherwise hasn't walked a day in my shoes.
I moved from Minnesota to Las Vegas when I was 13, so I spent my high school years there and did some things I'm not proud of.
I think what I've learned out of this lifetime is you should be proud of where you come from.
Arizona, our beautiful state, was built on mining.
I come from a coal-mining, working-class background. My father was a coal miner.
Growing up, I didn't know anybody who didn't have a miner in the family. Both of my grandfathers were miners.
I am proud to have been born in Iowa. Through the eyes of a ten-year-old boy, it was a place of adventure and daily discoveries - the wonder of the growing crops, the excitements of the harvest, the journeys to the woods for nuts and hunting, the joys of snowy winters, the comfort of the family fireside, of good food and tender care.
My father and brothers were coal miners.