The Olga coal mining company in Coalwood, WV was one of the worlds biggest bituminous coal production centers.
The mine was incorporated in 1947. The mine usually sold its coal to the union so it could make it's steel for tools and weapons to sell to other companies/stores. In 1956 the Olga coal mine was conjoined with the mine in Caretta via underground tunnels. The company sold houses to Clearfork who then sold the houses to residents of Coalwood for various purposes like making it easier for miners to get to the mine and having shelter that is closer to the mine. In 1959 the tipple (the tower coal is brought out of on the surface) was torn down and coal was brought to the surface in the Olga/Caretta mine instead. At one point a group called "The Rocket Boys" was of a big impact on the The Tipple miners and the mine in general but not so big as to ruin or make production better. Eventually some of the companies men at one of the machine shops started to help these boys and may or may not have affected the mine. About halfway through "The Rocket Boy's" production of rockets and progression the mine had a big explosion when one of the "towers" collapsed. The mine is carved out via large paths that leave 72" walking space. The towers are the big blocks of stone left alone so that they can support the massive mountain sitting on top of the mine. When one of them collapsed it caused a large explosion killing one of the miners. When a miner dies in Coalwood, his family is sent away because they can't mine anymore. There was another problem later on in the years. around 1970 the ventilation system designed by Homer Hickam, father of "Sonny" Homer Hickam Jr. failed and methane gas started to fill the mine. An emergency rescue went off and Homer along with a rescue team went down into the mine to help the stranded miners. All but one miner survived. Homer lost his eye and the miner who died was Ike Bykovski. He was operating a continuous miner when a slab of rock fell on him. They fixed the air vent problems and everything went back to normal. The continuous miners were used for mining instead of picks because they were able to mine and transport coal with almost no effort. Sadly, it was shut down in in 1986 after being bought by LTV in 1980.
The mine was incorporated in 1947. The mine usually sold its coal to the union so it could make it's steel for tools and weapons to sell to other companies/stores. In 1956 the Olga coal mine was conjoined with the mine in Caretta via underground tunnels. The company sold houses to Clearfork who then sold the houses to residents of Coalwood for various purposes like making it easier for miners to get to the mine and having shelter that is closer to the mine. In 1959 the tipple (the tower coal is brought out of on the surface) was torn down and coal was brought to the surface in the Olga/Caretta mine instead. At one point a group called "The Rocket Boys" was of a big impact on the The Tipple miners and the mine in general but not so big as to ruin or make production better. Eventually some of the companies men at one of the machine shops started to help these boys and may or may not have affected the mine. About halfway through "The Rocket Boy's" production of rockets and progression the mine had a big explosion when one of the "towers" collapsed. The mine is carved out via large paths that leave 72" walking space. The towers are the big blocks of stone left alone so that they can support the massive mountain sitting on top of the mine. When one of them collapsed it caused a large explosion killing one of the miners. When a miner dies in Coalwood, his family is sent away because they can't mine anymore. There was another problem later on in the years. around 1970 the ventilation system designed by Homer Hickam, father of "Sonny" Homer Hickam Jr. failed and methane gas started to fill the mine. An emergency rescue went off and Homer along with a rescue team went down into the mine to help the stranded miners. All but one miner survived. Homer lost his eye and the miner who died was Ike Bykovski. He was operating a continuous miner when a slab of rock fell on him. They fixed the air vent problems and everything went back to normal. The continuous miners were used for mining instead of picks because they were able to mine and transport coal with almost no effort. Sadly, it was shut down in in 1986 after being bought by LTV in 1980.