John "Jackie" and Janet "Jessie" (Tennant) While
Images and notes from Bob Leathers
While, John Jr. and Janet "Jessie" (Tennant) (While Family Collection from Bob Leathers)
Life Story
1897 January 25th: John "Jack" While was born in Hanna, Wyoming to John "Jackie" and Louisa (Hadley) While.
Janet "Jessie" Tennant (While Family Collection from Bob Leathers)
1910 April 28: Jessie Tennant, age 6 and her two younger brothers, Willie Tennant, age 4 and Earl Tennent, age 1 were living with their mother Mary Tennant, age 27 and father Robert, age 29 a coal miner, in house #164 in Hanna. (1910 Hanna Census)
1910: The only coal mine open for Jessie Tennant's father Robert Tennant to work in at the time was the Union Pacific Coal Company's No. 2 Mine in Hanna.
1914: John "Jack" While graduated from 8th grade in Hanna. The school only went to 8th grade. A twelfth grade graduation would not occur in Hanna until 1920.
1914 about: John "Jack" While started working in the Hanna Mines for the Union Pacific Coal Company. He worked in the No. 2 Mine with his dad and brothers.
1914 April 20: The Ludlow Massacre of Colorado Coal Miners occurred. It was an attack by the Colorado National Guard and the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company, owned by John D. Rockefeller, on a tent colony of 1,200 striking coal miners and their families at Ludlow, Colorado. It had a profound affected on the Hanna miners.
1916 November: Mary J. Jones - Jessie's mother - died in Hanna, Wyoming.
1916: Not long after her mother's death, Jessie Tennant, age 13, went to live with her grandmother and grandfather David and Mary Ann Jones. Her bothers: Alex "Moon" Tennant; Evan "Sleepy" Tennant; William "Bill" Tennant; and Earl "Weary" Tennant went to live on the North Ranch with their grandmother Mary Tennant.
1918: A new two-story Hanna K-12 School was approved to be built.
1918 November 11: John While was inducted into the service by the Local Draft Board for Carbon County and the State of Wyoming. He reported to Camp Lewis, Washington.
1918 December 13: John While was discharged from service about a month after entering the Army, at Camp Lewis, Washington because World War I had ended in November. (Military Service Notice)
1920 January 18: Jessie Tennant, age 16 was living with her grandfather David Jones, age 59, a Gas Watcher [at the Union Pacific Coal Company's No. 2 Coal Mine] and her grandmother Mary Ann Jones, age 55, in house #157 in Hanna. In addition, Jessie's father Robert Tennant, age 40, a laborer in the [Union Pacific Coal Company's No. 2 Mine, and his four sons: William Tennant, age 14; Earl Tennant, age 12; Evan Tennant, age 9; and Alex Tennant, age 6; were living with them. (1920 Hanna Census)
1920 May 28: The first Twelfth Grade Graduation in Hanna took place. Up to this date, the school only experienced Eighth Grade Graduations. The school adopted orange and blue as school colors.
1921: The use of Black Powder as an explosive was eliminated from the Hanna Mines. All coal was now shot with permissible powder, which was much safer in the mine.
1923 October 17: John "Jack" While, Jr. of Hanna married Janet "Jessie" Tennant of Hanna in Rawlins, Wyoming. Witnesses were Lucille Crawford and Robert "Bob" While. (Marriage Certificate)
While, John Jr. and Janet "Jessie" (Tennant) (While Family Collection from Bob Leathers)
1926: The Hanna Opera House burned down. Strong winds created a huge blaze and the building burned to the ground in a short period of time. Community and school activities, such as movies and graduation held at the Opera House, were moved to the Community Hall.
1927: The United Mine Workers of America organized a Hospital Commission in Hanna. The Commission obtained the old school, which had been turned into a boarding house, and created the Hanna Hospital to take care of the Hanna Miners and their families. The hospital was in operation until the Union Pacific Coal Company Mines were closed in February of 1954.
1928 May 3: Jessie While was confirmed in St. Mark's Church in Hanna by Bennett Acting Bishop of Wyoming. (Confirmation Certificate)
1930: The average Hanna Miner made $7.00 a day in wages.
1930 February: John While, a Miner, was injured in the Union Pacific Coal Company's Hanna No. 2 Mine.
John had the misfortune of severely injuring his foot while at work in the No. 2 Mine. (UPCCEM, Feb. 1930)
John walked from then on with a severe limp.
John had the misfortune of severely injuring his foot while at work in the No. 2 Mine. (UPCCEM, Feb. 1930)
John walked from then on with a severe limp.
1933 January: John While, a Miner in the Hanna No. 2 Mine was injured and had to have his right thumb amputated.
The period of disability not known. John was loading coal with his two partners and while he was lifting a chunk of coal onto a car, a piece of rock scale fell from the roof, twenty-four feet in height, striking his thumb, lacerating and fracturing it so severely that it had to be amputated. Extreme precaution is used at Hanna in handling roof scale, but even with all the care taken, injuries of this nature happen occasionally. (UPCCEM, January 1933)
The period of disability not known. John was loading coal with his two partners and while he was lifting a chunk of coal onto a car, a piece of rock scale fell from the roof, twenty-four feet in height, striking his thumb, lacerating and fracturing it so severely that it had to be amputated. Extreme precaution is used at Hanna in handling roof scale, but even with all the care taken, injuries of this nature happen occasionally. (UPCCEM, January 1933)
After two severe injuries, John "Jack" did not return to underground mining. He continued to work for the Union Pacific Coal Company but worked outside the mines until all the mines closed in 1954.
1939: A new Union Pacific Coal Company Store was opened on the Lincoln Highway that ran through the center of town. It contained all the necessities a mining family would need such as school supplies, gifts, tools, clothing and groceries. G. E. Bullock was the first manager.
1941 December 7: The Japanese bombed the American Naval fleet in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, killing more than 2,400 Americans. The Hanna men would be going to war. The Japanese miners in Hanna stayed in Hanna and continued to work primarily in the No. 2 Mine. They were not sent to an internment camp.
1945 May 7: The German armed forces officially surrendered. The Hanna Basin boys could now come home.
1949: The While family experienced the great Blizzard of 1949 which was the worst storm in Wyoming history. The storm created nearly intolerable conditions in Hanna especially on Tipperary where John and Jessie lived.
1950 May 11: Sixty-nine years after Big Nose George was lynched in Rawlins, construction workers, putting a new foundation in for a new building at the corner of East Cedar and Fourth Street, uncovered a whiskey barrel containing the remains of Big Nose George. The location was near the building that belonged to Dr. Maghee.
1950: The Finn Hall was moved from near the old high school to the north end of town near the present day football field in order to make room for a new Hanna High School.
1953 January 14: The beginning of the end for the Union Pacific Coal Company mining operations in Hanna when about 100 miners were fired.
1954 March: The firing of all the miners in Hanna created difficult times for the miners and their families. Many families became destitute with no job, no income and no place to go. With a large number of miners suddenly unemployed in Hanna, the lack of income to buy food became a critical issue, consequently the Federal Commodity Program was started in Hanna. The program assisted the needy unemployed Hanna miners and their families with food items until other employment could be found. In the beginning the program consisted of beans and potatoes, but later expanded to canned meats, flour, rice and other federal surplus food items as they became available. The program proved to be extremely beneficial and lasted for several years.
1954: When the Union Pacific Coal Company closed their mines in Hanna the Hanna Hospital was closed as well.
1955 October 13: John "Jack" While died on his way to the Rawlins hospital from Hanna. John was 58 years, 8 months and 18 days old at the time of his death. He died of complications from an earlier surgery. He was buried in the Hanna Cemetery in lot 440. The lot is located below the "bottom" or South road toward the west end of the cemetery.
1979 Thursday April 12: The first issue of the Hanna Herald was printed.
1982 July 5: The Finn Hall in Hanna burned down while being converted into apartments.
1985 April 17: Janet "Jessie" (Tennant) While died in Laramie. Jessie was 81 years, 2 months and 28 days old at the time of her death. She was residing in a nursing home in Laramie, Wyoming when she died. She was buried in the Hanna Cemetery next to her husband John "Jack" While.
2001 July 8: A memory of John While from Don While Sr. John's son:
"Dad walked with a limp. His left leg was injured in a coal mining accident. He was also missing three fingers on his right hand because of another accident in the mine."
"Dad walked with a limp. His left leg was injured in a coal mining accident. He was also missing three fingers on his right hand because of another accident in the mine."
John "Jack" and Janet "Jessie" While Family (While Family Collection from Bob Leathers)
John and Jessie While Family. Violet, Don, Joyce, Francis, Hank, Dorothy, Jessie, Edna and Sonny (While Family Collection from Bob Leathers)
John While Family: Don, Sonny, Francis, Hank, Violet, Joyce and Edna. Dorothy is missing from the picture. (While Family Collection from Bob Leathers)
John "Jack" and Janet "Jessie" (Tennant) While had eight children in 17 years. They have all passed away.
- Violet Louise While (August 6, 1924 - December 21, 2001)
- Dorothy Jean While (December 25, 1926 - March 31, 1981)
- Francis While (May 28, 1929 - January 4, 1991)
- John Robert While (August 14, 1931 - December 26, 2000)
- Donald William While (June 14, 1934 - April 5, 2003)
- Edna Pearl While (May 31, 1936 - December 25, 2020)
- Joyce Elaine While (April 15, 1939 - May 18, 2017)
- Henry While (May 10, 1942 - October 10, 2000)
Hanna Basin Death and Burial Records
While, Janet "Jessie"
Cemetery: Hanna
Headstone: "Jan. 20, 1903 - April 17, 1985; Mom"; shares a stone with husband John While.
Plot: 440
Born: Jan. 20, 1903
Died: Apr. 17, 1985
Age: 82 y's, 2 m's, 27 d's
Note: Daughter of Robert and Mary (Jones) Tennant.
Cemetery: Hanna
Headstone: "Jan. 20, 1903 - April 17, 1985; Mom"; shares a stone with husband John While.
Plot: 440
Born: Jan. 20, 1903
Died: Apr. 17, 1985
Age: 82 y's, 2 m's, 27 d's
Note: Daughter of Robert and Mary (Jones) Tennant.
While, John Jr.
Cemetery: Hanna
Headstone: "Jan. 25, 1897 - Oct. 13, 1955; Dad"; Shares a stone with Jessie While.
Plot: 440
Born: Jan. 25, 1897
Died: Oct. 13, 1955
Age: 58 y's, 8 m's, 18 d's
Note: Son of John and Lousia While. (BL)
Cemetery: Hanna
Headstone: "Jan. 25, 1897 - Oct. 13, 1955; Dad"; Shares a stone with Jessie While.
Plot: 440
Born: Jan. 25, 1897
Died: Oct. 13, 1955
Age: 58 y's, 8 m's, 18 d's
Note: Son of John and Lousia While. (BL)
(Image by Bob Leathers for the Hanna Basin Museum Website)
John and Jessie (Tennant) While on the right. William "Bill" While on the left, 2001. (While Family Collection from Bob Leathers)
JOHN AND JESSIE (TENNANT) WHILE 2001. (WHILE FAMILY COLLECTION FROM BOB LEATHERS)
grandmother and grandfather