The Pennsylvania state legislature has named a stretch of state road “The Dr. Betty Hayes Memorial Highway” in honor of the subject of my 2021 biography, A Mighty Force: Dr. Elizabeth Hayes and Her War for Public Health.
I was thrilled to get an invitation to the Labor Day dedication ceremony. I’ll be back in Force, PA, where in 1945, “Dr. Betty” led 350 coal miners on a strike that forced Shawmut Mining to clean up its filthy company towns. Because Shawmut had failed to make improvements for thirty years, outhouses were leaking into wells that were the only source of drinking water for the miners and their families. Fearing a typhoid outbreak, Elizabeth Hayes quit her job as the company doctor and organized a work stoppage with the community’s full support.
I look forward to returning to Bennett’s Valley in the north-central part of the state, where three local historical societies and area history enthusiasts have been so helpful and supportive. It’s always exciting for me to meet people who had heard of Dr. Betty from their grandparents or great-grandparents—and even some who were delivered by her!
