Nothing Gold (Or Coal) Can Stay

In his poem "Stay Gold" Robert Frost says.."Nothing Gold can stay". Its a nice way of saying that beautiful things are not forever, they fade. However, I tend to see that while yes, things do fade, you can see that they were gold by slowing down and knowing that what you see, must have been incredible once. THAT is the exact reason I take photographs. Its obvious to see a thing and know an object has passed its prime, BUT it can still TEACH. In many places in West Virginia, we do see these places. Why cant we slow down and look? Imagine what we could learn.  Click on any image to see its larger size and please do feel free to comment.

The Bank of Matoaka, located on Matoaka WV in Mercer County. I remember watching 2 men walking about trying to locate the old bank building....They stood at its base for 20 minutes and just needed to look up.

The Miners memorial in Madison WV, located in Boone County. I am glad I stopped at the courthouse and just looked.

Coalwood High, the ORIGINAL located in Coalwood WV, Mcdowell County. It hides near the main road behind trees and yes, its roof is gone. BUT just look at the archway..I had to look.

Coke oven at Nuttallburg WV, located in Fayette County. A perfect brick dome coke oven that fired all the impurities out of the coal and made coke.  

The next 2 pictures are from Elkhorn, WV, located in McDowell county. While the church does have services, the turret top and the service station show wear. BUT can you imagine the stories they have heard?

I conclude this entry with the shot below of tracks at Nuttallburg. NOTE how the trees have literally grown through and over the tracks. Now rails pass through the bottoms.

The log church at Artie WV. I hope it stays, but in this moment and photo, it will