Today we traveled due East to West Virginia. Here we stopped to tour the Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine in Beckley, WV. This was a very active coal mine back at the turn of the century and it’s now owned by the county to preserve the Coal Miners way of life!
While there, we took a train ride deep into the Coal Mine. Much to my surprise, there was water dripping in everywhere, and in some places, the tracks for the train were completely covered! Originally, the mine was only 28” high, just enough to get the coal out, but enlarged for the tour train to get through! Despite being mildly claustrophobic, the trip thru the mine was cool (56F) but not overly scary!
After the mine tour, we walked around the Old Coal Town and the Homestead Town. The tour guide thru the Homestead Town enlightened us as to where many sayings came from. This ranged from a machine called a Weasel that popped when a yard of yarn was reached…coining the term ‘Pop goes the Weasel’. Another was the use of corn cobs as toilet paper…coining the term ‘Rough as a Cob’. Another was the bed filled with corn husks suspended by ropes…coining ‘Sleep tight and don’t let the Bed bugs Bite’.
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