A Coal Miner's Son

Being a child of ten, here is what I can say about our coal mine village. Facing up river one would see four rows of neat, freshly painted houses built on a carpet of green grass. I can vividly remember the two cable cars that ran up and down the steep mountain. One was for dropping monitor loads of coal down to the coal tipple. While the other hauled miners and mine supplies up to the mine operation. Overlooking the town, was the four-room school, along with a band of ponies that could be seen browsing at the base of Chocolate Knob Hill. My words fall short of describing this new mining town in the Elk River Valley above Webster Springs; an artist’s painting would bring it to life much better. However, one thing that this picture cannot capture is the people themselves with their hearts full of gratitude for being among the chosen few to become a part of this unbelievable utopia. I knew because I was one of their number.