Andrew was the third of seven sons born to George and Sophia Kuzara on August 31, 1901 in Dietz, Wyoming. Very little is known about his childhood. From 1907 until 1913, he finished grades 1 through 7 in Dietz, Wyoming. When the family moved to Roundup, Montana in 1914, he completed the 8th and 9th grade there. In 1917, Andrew went to work in the mines around Windham, Montana with his brothers Walter and John. In 1918 when the family moved back to Dietz, Wyoming, he worked in the mine at Carneyville until 1920---his older brothers Walter and John were in the army, serving in France. In 1920 he married Violette Grace Egbert and moved to Lewistown, Montana where he worked in a grocery store.

During the 1930's, Andrew's father George ran some cattle on the surface of the coal land, and also acquired some land of his own in the vicinity, in the area referred to as the Beatty Gulch area. The raising of cattle was actually his first love but he never could afford to go into the cattle business, yet he accumulated a herd of about 75 head. The selling of the mine to his son Andrew came at a time when he was advancing in years, and during the time Andrew had assisted him with the operation of the mine for all those years. In 1935, Andrew purchased the Star Mine from his father George, and operated the mine until the fall of 1942 when economic conditions forced the closing of the mine. The coal it produced for so many years was no longer the fuel of choice for heating the homes and factories of a changing world. The Star Mine supplied the fuel needs of the area for some fifteen years. Not only did the mine furnish employment during those years when jobs were hard to find, but also during the Depression when there were fewer still jobs to be found. The mine was a steady source of employment to as many as 35 persons of the community for some fifteen years.

It's not difficult to guess why Andrew closed the mine in 1942. In 1930, natural gas came to Sheridan. Coal was used for both cooking and heating in the homes. Coal cook stoves were slow to heat up and too hot in the summer. They were dirty and needed constant attention. The stoves were either too hot or not hot enough. For heating a room, it was slow. Natural gas was guick, clean and easy to use. The change-over was expensive, but coal furnaces could be converted to gas. Gas ranges replaced the heavy cast iron coal stove for cooking. Since it was costly, the best coal customers were the first to install gas.  Their numbers decreased each year, leaving a group of coal users less capable of paying their coal bills. This created a shrinking market for coal.

The grocery store in this picture (taken in July, 1992) has been at that location on North Main Street in Sheridan for over 50 years. In 1938, Andrew established a grocery store there, trying to find a life and livelihood away from the mine. All of the family members worked in his store, while Andrew continued to operate the mine---working in the store when not at the mine. Sadly, his attempt to break away from the mine proved to be unsuccessful. The effects of the depression and inadequate capital could not be erased by the long hours and the hard work.