SAFETY FIRST

OK, so what about Safety First?? in coal mining, there are endless reminders (GOOD REMINDERS) about safety being first. What about exploring the coal towns?? Yes, safety should also come first. Is it safe to explore coal towns? YES. Is it safe to explore abandoned buildings and see our culture and history?....YES, BUT there are conditions.....A few places remind us how safety is bound and tied in the harshest of ways to finding and exploring 

In Gary WV, the middle school is slowly decaying but lets us know, there was energy and great strength. Gary was home to the largest processing plant on the earth. To date (2021) the towers that held the conveyor belts still stand...and yes, you feel tiny. PLEASE do comment below. Clicking on any image will show you its full size.

Again, the words....Safety First. These words are carved into the stone hand cut shops at Gary. Of note, the sign reads: "No persons allowed in carpenter shop with out safety shoes and hat during working hours."

As I explored more, I found the Gary Middle school, and I got that reminder about safety....though a bit more implicit than before. One step...

Outside, its very obvious what a grand building this was in the day

I want to be very clear, that yes, these are abandoned or long idled places, but all of us can learn. In fact, look below and all folks do what I did as a child, we look around. 

KEEP LOOKING

 Sometimes, Things do Disappear

Not so many years ago, I was in McDowell County, and stopped at Caretta WV. Caretta had what I called a tipple or what others name, a processing plant. Then one day, it was all torn down. Luckily, I stopped and saw what I could. Its good to know someone had been there, but I wonder how fast they had to go? Click on each image for a full size picture. Please do leave comments..

I do not thrive on the abandoned. I want to know what was there? How hard did they work? 

How many people went through the doors?

I bet the day was busy and so much had to be done. This side shot of the tipple looked good to me and let me know, folks worked hard.

How many arguments did they have about the shift change??

Across the road, the coal passed on a belt

 Old and Modern....in a long gone place

One of the greatest thrills is finding something old and something modern in long gone places. Think about it, you are driving along in a far off place in West Virginia and you see BOTH the old technology for coal and the very modern architecture that honestly, should not be there....Truth is, in order to show wealth and power, BOTH the old and new combined in a coal town.

The OLD

Processing coal meant loading the coal and later on sorting it. In the OLD, we see people literally built coal chutes with hewn trees ands sheet metal. This was in Whitby, and has only recently gone away:

My son had come along and I could not believe how lucky I was

The chute was massive, the sheet metal had been stripped, and I finally saw how hard they worked, and how intelligent you had to be just to load the coal, much less process it.

AND you still had to get the trains in, with their power, they moved the coal. This was near Bowyer Hollow in Whitby again......IF you look, you will find it

CAUTION

Its tempting to see the old, and think we know its meaning. They saw luck in symbols below. These were tricky because I did not grow up at that time

The symbols then were for luck. HOWEVER, today, its a curioso. This was a power station in Raleigh West Virginia. It was again built to show wealth, power and permanence. Now, as a relic, some folks just sit and stare.

The NEW

As I drove further south, I did find the new, the modern. Vivian West Virginia,  there I saw art deco letterings and post classical structures.

I ALMOST missed the lettering, but as I looked behind the trees, I saw the school below. This is isnt unique or random. This is how you show power. You build the highest quality you can, and many years later, its still beautiful 

YES, I did go inside, BUT thats another blog entry..stay tuned. Please do feel free to leave comments.