I grew up in the gateway to Southwest Virginia. I can remember taking an excursion train to the Pocahontas demonstration coal mine, which is essentially on the West Virginia line, not far from Coalwood. I also recall reading about the Rocket Boys in our local newspaper. The film was great, and when it mentioned the Olga Coal company, that brought back memories. Our local TV station used to run ads for them which were 15 second spots. The most memorable used one of the cardboard discs that were scattered in the coal as a flying saucer with a voice saying: "Olga coal, Olga coal --- Out of this world, Out of this world."
Thank you for sharing your experiences, it's nice to hear about. :) I'm glad the video was able to bring back some memories for you. I hope you have a Merry Christmas!
Such a small town. I would imagine not a whole lot to do, especially for a whole summer. Definitely not downplaying the area, because I'm completely fascinated by Coalwood's history, it's just so isolated. Did you learn of any history of the Rocket Boys while staying there?
From what I saw there (and later read about), all have been removed. The nearest active coal mine that I know of is the Caretta Mine. From what I've researched, the Caretta Mine is connected underground to the Coalwood mine, but that section is no longer actively being mined.
I grew up in the gateway to Southwest Virginia. I can remember taking an excursion train to the Pocahontas demonstration coal mine, which is essentially on the West Virginia line, not far from Coalwood. I also recall reading about the Rocket Boys in our local newspaper. The film was great, and when it mentioned the Olga Coal company, that brought back memories. Our local TV station used to run ads for them which were 15 second spots. The most memorable used one of the cardboard discs that were scattered in the coal as a flying saucer with a voice saying: "Olga coal, Olga coal --- Out of this world, Out of this world."
An ad featuring one of the Olga Coal discs can be found @5:53 in this video.
Thank you for sharing your experiences, it's nice to hear about. :) I'm glad the video was able to bring back some memories for you. I hope you have a Merry Christmas!
My mom is from there. I spent some summers there with my uncles.
Such a small town. I would imagine not a whole lot to do, especially for a whole summer. Definitely not downplaying the area, because I'm completely fascinated by Coalwood's history, it's just so isolated. Did you learn of any history of the Rocket Boys while staying there?
What?! No Mining Headframes still standing in Coalwood?!
From what I saw there (and later read about), all have been removed. The nearest active coal mine that I know of is the Caretta Mine. From what I've researched, the Caretta Mine is connected underground to the Coalwood mine, but that section is no longer actively being mined.