Rock Springs Deep Mine

On Friday morning, we left the Best Western Logan Inn early to drive to Rock Springs deep mine near East Lynn, WV. Rock Springs is part of Alpha Natural Resources. We were given a safety course then we were taken about three miles underground to observe a continuous mining process in operation. It was quite impressive to see the coal removed, loaded into transfer cars and dumped onto a belt that delivers the coal to a nearby prep plant. No one in our group had ever spent much time underground so the trip was very informative. We were all impressed with the speed with which the mining machine can fill a 15 ton cart. The roof bolting operation was also a sight to behold. Two holes are drilled, a two part epoxy glue and six foot long roof bolts are inserted within two minutes. The roof bolting machine is manufactured by J. H. Fletcher Mining Equipment of Huntington, WV. The miners report that these are the best machines in the industry.
We concluded our trip with a stop at the prep plant for Rock Springs. Their plant is much like the one we visited earlier at Mountain Laurel but was about twice as large.
The drive back to Huntington on Friday evening was bittersweet. While everyone was happy to be back at their homes and with family, we were sad to see the trip come to an end. Everyone learned about the science, technology, history, economics and culture of coal. In addition, we made many friends not just among our group but with our hosts at each location we visited. Everyone was anxious to infuse their knowledge and experiences with coal into their classrooms.

Singing Bear

Here is the infamous singing bear from our closing dinner at the Logan Country Club in Chapmanville, WV.

Coal Mac and Mountain Laurel Mines

On Thursday morning we left the Best Western Logan Inn in Chapmanville and drove behind the Walmart at Fountain Place near Logan. We saw the work being done to make the abandoned mines at the area safe and secure. A helpful construction worker informed us that the area had been an underground shaft mine. He also told us that mines under Walmart could potentially collapse so Walmart is paying for 2500 trucks of concrete to be pumped into the empty mine, reducing the risk of subsidence.
From there, we went to Coal Mac surface mine facility near Holden, WV. Coal Mac is a subsidiary of Arch Coal. Their huge surface mine was quite impressive. Even more impressive are the areas of their property that have been reclaimed for five or more years. The ecosystem was diverse and becoming well developed. We saw evidence of deer, bear, song birds, insects and other wildlife. We learned that Coal Mac is experimenting with switchgrass and other planting for former surface mine areas. Our guide for the drive around the mine used a comparison that really resonated with most of us. “Immediately following a surgery the wound is unpleasant to see. However, given time and proper treatment, the surgery can return to normal with minimal scarring.” That seemed to be an excellent description of surface mining. While the surface mining is taking place, the area is quite unattractive, however, if properly reclaimed, the area can return to woodland or be repurposed for human use.
Coal Mac provided a nice lunch of sub sandwiches that we took to the First Christian Church in Logan to enjoy while we discussed our visit.
In the afternoon, we drove over Blair Mountain to Mountain Laurel deep mine near Sharples, WV. After a brief safety course, we toured the prep plant where the coal is separated from the rock and is cleaned and prepared for used in making steel. The prep plant was much cleaner than we expected. Mr. Freeman’s statement that the prep plant is really just one big machine with a variety of components seemed like a good description of the overall operation.
We returned to the motel that afternoon to dress for our dinner at the Logan Country Club. Miners and their families were invited to join our group to have informal discussions over dinner about the work and life of coal miners. Clay and Nicole Spradlin were at our table and were very pleasant in sharing information about life in Logan County mines. It was especially interesting since Nicole is a real estate agent and has her finger on the pulse of the economy of the region through home sales. Everyone in our group enjoyed the conversations with the mine families at their tables.
Karen and Annette were recognized by the group for all of their hard work in making the trip possible through handling the logistics of food and lodging. Dennis was honored for his ability to come up with the overall vision for the project and to leverage AMSP funding along with local sources and donations from coal companies. Then came the roast of Pat and Steve by Mr. Strait and others. Pat can certainly use the water from the fountain of youth that was his gift. I received a bottle of Nair as well as a singing bear should I have a desire to wrestle something.

Quality Trip with Quality People

You know there is a lot of work and money that goes into making a trip like this happen, however the success of a trip is due, in large part, to the work ethic and personalities of the participants. We have done a lot of workshops and taken teachers on lots of trips, however I am so impressed with the group we have on this trip. I am encouraged to see the teachers work with this new technology and hear them talk about how they plan to implement their new appreciation for West Virginia and coal into their classrooms. We have science teachers talking about how interested they are in the history of coal and the social or economic impact it has played or will play on the state of West Virginia. In turn, we have math and social studies teachers tromping through streams taking environmental data to determine the streams water quality and then discuss the ramifications of, not only stream life, but the life of the surrounding area. They are truly developing cross-curriculum ideas. Instead of hearing about teachers talking about how tired they were or what they planned to do once the trip was over, we heard stories about how teachers in all the vans (4) were discussing how interesting the last visited site was or how they planned to implement what they were learning into their classrooms this fall. Parents in Cabell County should be proud to have these teachers in their schools. Take a look at the teachers blogs on the right to get an idea of what they have been learning. Two more days to go.................

Beckley, Welch & Matewan

Today was a long but interesting day.

We started with a visit to the Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine. Our guide, Marvin, was excellent and interjected a lot of personal anecdotes and humor. We took time to visit the mining museum and the model coal town.

A short drive took us to Terex SHC where highwall mining equipment is manufactured. This was a very impressive operation. This equipment allows a very small but highly skilled mining crew to extract a large amount of coal very quickly without having to send miners underground. Their operation is a credit to our state and is the only major manufacturer of highwall equipment.

Leaving the Beckley area, we drove to Welch, WV to see the courthouse where Sid Hatfield was assassinated.

Here is a snapshot of the McDowell County Courthouse in Welch, WV where former Matewan Chief of Police, Sid Hatfield died in 1921. He was only 20 years old.



An article in the New York Times discusses the assassination.

From there, we went to Matewan, WV to visit the museum then to walk around the town with Dr. Little to learn about the fateful events of May 19, 1920 when the Matewan Massacre occurred. Dinner a local pizza place in Matewan then a drive-by at the Williamson railyards and the Williamson Coal House before headed for our home for the next couple of days, the Logan Best Western.

Everyone is tired but it was an interesting and informative day.

Joe Knob & Nuttallburg

While the weather may have made much of the day seem like a bust, it really worked out well that we saw some interesting things and had some time to work.

We met Jerry "Boozie" Scarles of the Department of Environmental Protection this morning at 9 am to visit mining operations at and near Joe Knob at Anjean, WV in Greenbrier County. Despite the buckets of rain that assaulted us, we were able to see active surface mining and recovery of former mine spoil from gob piles at Bucklily. We were impressed with the monitoring of mining and reclamation by the DEP at the site. Mr. Scarles was an excellent guide and gave us full access to the operations at the site.

After leaving Joe Knob, we made a quick stop at the Meadow River Community Park then on to Nuttallburg after stopping at a picnic shelter for a nice lunch from Karen & Annette’s magic cooler!

Much of Nutalburg was under construction when we were there. Parking, restrooms and improved access is being construction. However, all of this work means that we were unable to reach some of the ruins in the town. The groups were able to do a few water quality assessments and found the water to be of much better quality that anyone expected.

From Nuttallburg, we traveled to the New River Gorge visitor’s center where we visited the observation platform to view the bridge then many of us watched an educational video on the New River Gorge area. We left the visitor’s center and drove to Fayette Station for some bridge photos and great views.

A short trip to the Hampton Inn in Beckley had us back in time for a quick shower before dinner at Bob Evans’ next door. The time this evening is most welcome to allow for time to catch up on blogs and to rest in anticipation of a long day on Wednesday.

Davis & Thomas areas

Sunday - July 17, 2011

The visit at the windmills in Parsons was interesting. I think that most people were surprised at the speed of the tip of the windmill blade after doing calculations based on the size of the windmill and the rotational speed. The stop in Thomas to learn about the history and geology of the area from Dr. Little was a great way to begin the trip.
We finished up the evening with a dinner at Canaan Lodge, a short meeting on using the LabQuest then some time to update blogs.

Monday - July 18, 2011

We left Canaan Lodge and headed to the Yellow Creek area on CVI property near Davis, WV. The day started with Pat having everyone set up and calibrate LabQuest probes. Groups selected locations in Yellow Creek and the Blackwater River to assess for dissolved oxygen, pH, turbidity, total dissolved solids and temperature.
After leaving Yellow Creek, a nice lunch at Blackwater Falls got us ready for the afternoon's work.
A short drive to Thomas, WV had us at the beehive coke ovens at Coketon. Only a few dozen of the original hundreds of coke ovens remain. Tests of the North Fork of the Blackwater River there showed pH around 4 and a general low stream quality. A stop at Douglas Falls provided a nice photo opportunity.
The drive from Thomas to Lewisburg was a long one down Rt. 219 but the conversation in the vans was a pleasant way to pass the time. We arrived at the historic General Lewis Inn around 6:30 for a very nice dinner. It was after 9 pm by the time we got to the Holiday Inn Express in Lewisburg. We are all tired but looking forward to visits to Joe Knob and Nutallburg on Tuesday.

Getting ready to leave

As time nears for our departure I am getting a few last minute items together. Since the forecast for the heat is for unusually hot weather, I am bringing mostly short pants and lightweight Aloha type shirts.
Our first stop this afternoon will be at the windmills near Parsons, WV. You will want to download the spreadsheet to calculate windmill speed from Dropbox. You can do the calculations on your Samsung Tab spreadsheet.

Last Minute Preparations

The itinerary has been updated with some minor adjustments in times. You can download the itinerary HERE or from our shared Dropbox folder.
Please check the suggested packing list on the itinerary document to make sure that you have everything you need for the trip. On the first few days of the trip there will be very limited options for shopping in case you forgot an item.
Also, please do not forget to download the water quality lab and associated data sheet. Pat has been working hard to get this lab ready for you and he plans to have us go through the protocol at several locations.
Electronics should be fully charged prior to our departure.
Don't forget that we will depart promptly at 1 pm on Sunday afternoon so please come early so you can load and your gear and get ready for an outstanding educational experience. We hope that this project will be a transforming experience for you.

Ten days to go!

The time is nearing for our big trip across much of the state to study how we can use coal to enhance our teaching.
Pat, Dennis, Karen, Annette and I have been meeting to plan for a trip that will be an unforgettable week that will become a transforming experience for your classroom.
Several items have been placed in the Dropbox folder for the coal class:
First, a lab that we will use at Yellow Creek, Coketon, Joe Knob and Nuttallburg to measure water quality is available. This is Lab 4 from your LabQuest Inquiry with Environmental Science manual. A separate single page document is available for the data sheet. Since Dropbox will only be available when a 3G or WiFi signal is present, you will want to download these documents to your Samsung Tab.
Karen has also placed a final itinerary in our Dropbox folder. This document is much the same as the one you were given in April at our first class meetings. However, some of the locations and times for stops on the trip have been tweaked. Please note that this document lists the deliverables that you will provide (lesson plans, blog posts, implementation in a classroom, etc) and also provides a list of items that you may wish to bring. Lodging locations and contact telephone numbers are in this document as well.
To cover the major items:
Sunday – Depart at 1 pm – visit Parsons windmills and mine locations in Thomas
Monday – Yellow Creek, Coketon – we have scheduled time to collect data and conduct labs here
Tuesday – Joe Knob, Nuttallburg – compare two abandoned mine areas, conduct labs
Wednesday – Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine, Terex Manufacturing, Welch courthouse, Matewan – this is our busiest and longest day
Thursday - CoalMac surface mine, Mountain Laurel Deep Mine – compare modern surface and deep mines
Friday - Rock Springs Mine – potential early completion, unload vans at BOE in afternoon
As you can tell, each day will be busy but we want you to get the absolute most from each and every opportunity. We will do quick picnic lunches many days since there are few places to eat along the way and a roadside lunch is a quick way to get to our next stop for the trip. Lack of bathroom facilities is always an issue on these trips. We will try to alert you when we will be away from a bathroom for some time.
The weather is always unpredictable so be prepared for anything.
There has been some discussion as to whether you need to bring your LabQuests. The answer is YES. We want you to use the probeware to conduct the labs and to gain confidence and experience in using the devices. Please have the LabQuests charged and ready since we will be putting them to immediate use on Monday morning. Also you will want to bring a charger for your cell phone. Coverage is minimal at best.
On another topic, please don’t neglect to develop your coal based lesson plans. The previous blog post gives directions for these lesson plans. These deliverable are an important part of demonstrating to NSF and other contributors to this project that we are putting the skills to work in our classrooms.
Pat and I will be working out of town from July 11-15 but we will be watching the blog and checking our emails. If you need us or have any questions, please shoot an email or post a comment to the blog. We will try to respond as quickly as possible.