BRAIDWOOD — Braidwood Area Historical Society is sponsoring a free coal mining program, presented by Dick Joyce, Thursday, July 19 at 7 p.m. at Braidwood City Hall, 141, W. Main Street.

Joyce, a retired teacher and member of the Grundy County Board from Coal City is a descendant of coal miners of his family and grew up on a farm near South Wilmington. He will discuss the history of the coal industry in northern Illinois, types of mines, groups that comprised the workforce, social life in mining towns, labor struggles that impacted the area, miners’ attempts to unionize and two major mine disasters that occurred in northern Illinois.