Those who knew Heman Drummond described him as an unusual person. He was a miner, of course. But he was also an oil driller, an innovator, and a risk-taker. He was a man who dreamed hard and worked hard. He was an honest and compassionate man who inspired others to work with him.
In 1935, Heman Edward Drummond founded the H. E. Drummond Coal Company when he began to develop a small drift mine in an area between Empire and Sumiton, Alabama called Drummond Hollow – on land homesteaded by his mother. On April 5, 1956 – just twenty-one years later – he died of heart failure, but he had built a strong foundation for what has become one of Alabama’s major businesses. He did not see the fulfillment of his dreams, but under the leadership of his five sons, Drummond Company, Inc. has become one of the largest privately held firms in Alabama and a prominent leader in America’s coal industry. Drummond Company, Inc. today employs 3,300 people and conducts business throughout the world.
Heman Edward Drummond was born in Walker County, Alabama (near Sipsey) on August 8, 1905, the son of Dr. Isaac Freeman Drummond (a country dentist and school teach er) and Ida (Phillips) Drummond. In the late twenties and early thirties, young Heman worked for the Debardelaben Coal Corporation, first as a machine cutter and then as a foreman.
In 1935, when he was thirty years old, he decided to go out on his own. He developed the small drift mine in Drummond Hollow, where daily production averaged about fifty tons. After he bought a coal-cutting machine in 1937, production increased to about 100 tons per day. The coal was loaded onto small rail cars, pulled to the mine mouth by mules, and then hand-loaded onto the two trucks he owned. Customers would come and pick up their domestic coal, which sold for $2.60 a ton, and coal was also sold to railroads.
Money was scarce in the 1930s and people de pended on each other to get by. (The saying was that people mined coal, but farmed for a living). Since there were practically no coal sales in the summer, Heman Drummond stockpiled coal in Drummond Hollow and depended on credit to keep the mine operating.
Testimony of these hard times is a loan note executed in 1943 by “Mr. Heman,” as he liked to be known. To secure a three-month bank loan of $300, he mortgaged three mules – described in the note by color, age, and weight, and one by name: “Tobe.” Because of his good name and reputation for honesty, Heman Drummond managed to get the help he needed. Out of respect for him banks – and even his competitors – provided needed resources.
In 1942, after acquiring land on the Sipsey River close to Burton Bend, Heman Drummond opened his first strip mine, in which he used a rented ¾ yard link-belt dragline. Making money as a small strip miner wasn’t any easier than it was as a small underground miner, but slowly
- E. Drummond Coal Company began to prosper. One reason was that Heman Drummond had the foresight to buy land whenever he could scrape the money together, thus enabling the company to expand operations.
Some people looked askance at the land buying Heman Drummond did because they wondered how he could support his family. He and his wife (nee Elza Eliza Stewart, whom he married in 1928) had seven children – five sons and two daughters. But those who knew him well always realized that he thought of his family first.
Mining companies have many mines in different locations today, but at that time the Drummond family surface-mined one location at a time. They mined near the Sipsey River, then in Sumiton, then went back to Drummond Hollow, then to Arkadelphia.
During World War II, Drummond and his family kept the mines operating in spite of the lack of manpower and various material shortages. The Drummonds became self-made mechanics, making parts and repairing machinery themselves. Only one tractor could be acquired during the war.
By 1948, the Drummond mining operation had graduated from the ¾ yard shovel to a 1 ¼ yard, 1928 model, Northwest and a 2½ yard, 2000 Manitowoc.
Heman Drummond was a risk-taker in many ways. In addition to his coal mining ventures, he was engaged in oil and gas exploration in North Alabama. He was successful in locating natural gas, but not in commercial quantities. During his short lifetime, Heman Drummond accomplished a great deal. He founded a company and directed its growth and progress during two decades that included part of the Great Depression, World War II, and the first post-war decade. He left his sons a rich heritage:
- A successful business in which they had been well trained and were well equipped to operate.
- Land holdings that would provide coal reserves for years to come.
- Valuable lessons in perseverance, hard work, business know-how, and concern for employees and fellow citizens.
As one of “Mr. Heman’s” friends once said, “Heman was one of the finest men I have ever known, and a true friend… I would give anything if he had lived to see his boys’ success… He would have been so proud.”
Heman Drummond was known throughout Walker County as a warmhearted, generous man who could always be depended on to come to the aid of individuals in need, quickly and without fanfare.
Long hours and hard work at the helm of a small but growing business occupied Heman Drummond’s days fully. His business skills were the product of inborn abilities and broad experience. With great foresight and honest effort, he forged his dreams into the beginnings of today’s Drummond Company.
Sources of biographical information: Contour, Drummond Company employee publication, Vol.2, No.4, Winter1978-79; Wayne Flynt. Mine, Mill, and Microchip: A Chronicle of Alabama Enterprise. Northridge, California: Windsor Publications, Inc., 1987.
