“A good Democrat is someone who is fair, honest and hard working,” local coal operator Eddie Asbury says. “I do what I do because it gives me a good feeling.”
Long noted for his altruism and generosity to a variety of worthy causes, Asbury, according to those who know him best, personifies all that’s good about the Democrat Party and the Free State of McDowell.
That’s why Executive Committee Vice Chairman Harold McBride recently nominated Asbury to be McDowell County’s 23rd Annual Democrat of the Year. Asbury, along with his counterparts from throughout West Virginia, will be recognized Saturday, September 20th during the Jefferson-Jackson Celebration at the Charleston Civic Center.
“Eddie Asbury is a hard worker, an all ‘round nice guy and one of the most generous people in the county,” McBride says. “I can’t think of anyone who deserves the Democrat of the Year Award more than him.”
“I didn’t expect this, but I am honored,” Asbury says.
Whether he’s laboring on behalf of the Democrat Party or in the mining business, Asbury relates that he learned his work ethic and his values from his mother.
“My father left when I was two years old, and my mother raised me and my siblings alone. We lived at Leckie,” Asbury smiles. “I can still remember how she’d walk us to the Methodist Church every Sunday. Those are the kinds of things that you remember, the kind of things that stick with you.”
Dropping out of school as a teenager, Asbury joined the Army, where he completed his education. A tour of duty in Vietnam, he says, turned out to be an enlightening experience, which deepened his patriotism and respect for the American Free Enterprise System.
“I’m really proud of how successful our country and county has become in recent years,” he says. “It takes years of hard work to bring various projects to fruition. I think our state and local leaders have done a great job.”
When his time with Uncle Sam ended, Asbury returned to McDowell County and went to work at Consol.
“I started out as a belt shoveler,” he says. “Three months later I was in charge of that mine. That was 33 years ago.”

Having gone from coal shoveler to coal operator, Asbury now employs 190 workers directly and another 100 indirectly through his preparation plant and Bay Star and Southern Minerals operations.
I see the coal market staying where it is for a while,” he says. “China is a big importer and is in need of all the coal it can get.”
With the coal market booming, Asbury admits that he has had offers to sell his operations, but don’t expect the Berwind resident to leave the mining business anytime soon.
“I don’t like working on Sunday, but sometimes I have to in order to fulfill a contract and get the job done…I guess I do what I do because I like helping people.”

HONORING A HARD WORKER - Local Coal Operator Eddie Asbury will be recognized as McDowell County’s 23rd Annual Democrat of the Year Saturday, September 20 during the Jefferson-Jackson Celebration at the Charleston Civic Center. Asbury (right) is pictured here being congratulated by Executive Committee Vice Chairman Harold McBride, who nominated him for the honor. (Photo by Cathy Patton)