On To West Virginia

We headed to Beckley, West Virginia for Carla's family reunion.  Her siblings get together every three years along with their children and grandchildren.  They decide on locations which they have not been to before and this time the destination was West Virginia.  They rented a large log cabin which was able to accommodate everyone.  We made a day trip to learn about coal mining and life in the mountains.  Our tour began with an introduction to coal mining by a retired coal miner who worked in the mine for over 40 years.  A section of a mine in Beckley has been turned into a living history museum in which an old mine train moves you from one exhibit to the next with the miner/guide providing an explanation and answering questions on the exhibit.  Co-located with the mine was a the mine superintendent's house, single family house, bachelor's shanty and school house. Buildings of historical interest such as a farm house, barn, blacksmith's shop, and whisky still were also moved to the site from nearby locations.  We all had an interesting learning experience and fun outing.  One evening the family had a large bonfire.  Other nights were spent playing games.

Entering the Coal Mine