Oak Ridge Today

Coal Miners Reunion in Rocky Top on April 29

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Submitted photo

Submitted photo

 

There will be a Coal Miners Reunion in Rocky Top on April 29. It’s hosted by the Coal Creek Miners Museum.

The reunion is scheduled from 3 to 6 p.m. Saturday, April 29, at Lake City Middle School in Rocky Top. It Will honor the miners that worked in the Tennessee, Kentucky, and West Virginia coal mines, a press release said.

“The museum’s purpose is to honor the miners and the impact that they had on our communities, and now we want to host an event to bring the miners together to reconnect to each other and honor them for their years of hard work,” said Tim Isbel, chair of the Coal Creek Miners Museum.

There will be chili and soups, live music, door prizes, T-shirts for sale, and script vendors will be on hand to sale and trade script, the press release said. At 5 p.m. there will be a program to honor the hard working men and women who mined coal.

Tickets are $5 per person, and they can be purchased at the Coal Creek Miners Museum from Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., online at www.coalcreekminersmuseum.com, or at the door at the event. However, because of a generous donation, admission is free for anyone that has worked in a mine, the press release said. [Read more…]

Coal Creek Miners Museum has grand opening on March 11

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Coal-Creek-Miners-Museum

The Coal Creek Miners Museum in Rocky Top will celebrate its grand opening with a ribbon-cutting on March 11.

The museum tells the story of the miners that lived, worked, and died in Coal Creek, Fraterville, and Briceville, and it also tells about the historically significant events that changed the mining industry, a press release said.

The grand opening is scheduled from 2-5 p.m. March 11 at the new museum, which is at 201 South Main Street in Rocky Top (formerly known as Lake City). The ribbon-cutting with the Rocky Top Chamber of Commerce is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.

Here is more information from a press release:

The story starts in the late 1800s when the “free” miners fought against the convict lease system, a struggle that ultimately ended the system in the southern states. [Read more…]

Volunteers dedicate memorial to Windrock coal miners today

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Windrock Miner's Memorial Groundbreaking

Pictured above are Carl Lively, right, who started working in a mine on Windrock Mountain north of Oliver Springs in 1939, when he was 16, and Manuel Tinker, who was born on top of the mountain and later worked in the mines.

 

WINDROCK MOUNTAIN—Volunteers who have worked for months to build a wall honoring more than 1,000 miners who once worked on Windrock Mountain north of Oliver Springs will have a dedication ceremony this afternoon.

The dedication and reception for the Coal Miners Memorial is scheduled from 2 to 4 p.m. today (Saturday) at Lower Windrock in front of Union Valley Baptist Church.

Descendants of Windrock coal miners, retired miners, and many others have worked together raising money to build the red brick and granite wall. The names of more than 1,000 Windrock coal miners have been engraved into the granite. [Read more…]

Coal Creek Miners Museum has March 29 chili supper, fundraiser

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Bank of America Lake City

The Anderson County Commission has agreed to buy this former Bank of America building in Lake City for a Coal Mining Museum, storage space, and satellite county offices.

Information from WYSH Radio

The Coal Creek Miners Museum will host a chili supper and fundraiser on March 29 at Main Street Baptist Church in Lake City to raise funds for the remodeling and display construction of the museum’s new home on Main Street. The 6 p.m event will include live entertainment provided by the Coal Creek Old Time String Band and a live auction. The plans for the remodel will also be revealed.

“Coal Creek, the city that is now known as Lake City, has a fascinating story to tell about its coal mining heritage,” said Tim Isbel, chairperson of the Coal Creek Miners Museum. “The miners that lived, worked, and died here left a significant mark on history and it is our goal to make sure that story gets told.”

The Coal Creek Miners Museum has set a goal of $500,000, which will fund the renovations to the former Bank of America building and construct the displays for the historical artifacts. [Read more…]

Letter: Support museum for Coal Creek miners, who ‘left their mark on history’

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Aug. 7, 2013

To: Anderson County Commissioner Tim lsbel

From: Barry Thacker and Carol Moore

Re: Support of the Coal Miners’ Museum in Coal Creek (aka Lake City)

We would like to express our continuing support of every effort to preserve and honor the rich coal mining history of Anderson County, Tenn. There is nowhere on Earth with more dramatic coal mining history in such a small area with the effects felt worldwide—and it sits right on I-75!

The miners of Coal Creek in Anderson County, Tenn., left their mark on history. [Read more…]

Organizers forming ‘human chain’ to move Briceville Library books Aug. 24

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Briceville Library Construction

Construction work at the new Briceville Public Library in July. (Photo courtesy Coal Creek Watershed Foundation)

After years of work, it’s almost moving day at the new Briceville Public Library.

Supporters are looking for about 150-175 people to form a “human chain” at 10 a.m. Aug. 24 to move about 1,100 books from the old library to the new one. The library is now housed in a 20-foot by 22-foot room at the Briceville Friendship Center. It will move into a new 2,000-square-foot building at 111 Slate Stone Road, next to Briceville School.

[Read more…]