On 21st May, 1902 a tragic fatal accident occurred at Furnacebank Pit, part of the Devon Colliery complex, near Fishcross.
The following copy of the circular issued publicly about the accident was sent in by Iain Hunter, great grandson of the deceased.
It reads as follows:
Circular, May 28, 1902
Melancholy Accident
Quite a gloom was cast over the town last Wednesday when it became known that Adam Hunter, residing in East Stirling Street, Alva, had been seriously injured at Furnace Bank Pit.
It appears that he and his nephew Harry Hunter had been engaged pulling out props at that part of the pit known as the lower 5 feet section, west level, and had just been about to leave off work when a large stone fell from the roof, sticking Adam who was in a kneeling position, and doubling him up, causing a compound fracture to his left leg and crushing his ribs into his lungs. His nephew however was more fortunate, being only slightly hurt. The injured man was at once conveyed home where he was attended to by Dr. Cunningham. An infection, however, set in and he succumbed at 7 o'clock on Thursday night.
Deceased who was 42 years of age was married and leaves a widow and six children to mourn his loss, for whom much sympathy is felt.
He was of a quiet and retiring disposition and was much esteemed by all who knew him. In quoiting circles he was exceedingly well known having been connected with the Alva Quoiting Club for many years, during which time he has taken part in many many important matches. He was a brother of the late Andrew Hunter, quoiting champion of Scotland.
Sadly we must note that antibiotics were not invented until 1928, and so internal infections such as these were much more deadly then than they tend to be today. Also of note is that there was no national health service at this time, and local doctors charged for their visits directly to their patients and needed to react to a much wider range of injuries than would be normal today.
Accidents such as these were all too common in the mining industry, where the risk of injury and death came hand in hand with the wage packet.
Because of this risk, Adam's widow forbade her sons to work in the mines.
Dr W.L. Cunningham was also involved with the investigation following the uncovering of the Alva Glen "Dwarf's Tomb" in December 1912. The Tomb was discovered during quarrying work in the area.
Quoiting was a popular sport in mining communities across the country.
Quoiting greens were found in many villages in the last two centuries, usually near a pub. Quoits were heavy iron rings or horseshoes. Rings were rounded on one side, flat on the other and weighed 8-12 pounds but could be up to 23 pounds. They were hurled at a steel pin driven into a three-foot square clay bed, with the common length of the green being 22 yards.
Because of its physical nature, alcohol and heavy betting, most town councils tried to ban the sport. It declined after the First World War. In 1953 the only company making quoits in Scotland, the Johnstone Forge run by the Houston family, closed its doors. This led to the game dying out almost completely and the Alva quoits pitch was soon abandoned.