A little bit of history dug out from the Sokol attic - pictures taken by my grandfather during the Nemacolin Mine fire and the rescue operations in 1971. (these photos are scans of slides)
Some history on the Nemacolin Mine Fire... At about 10am on March 26, 1971, a fire occurred in the Nemacolin Mine in the 118 Straight Mains section. Out of the 125 people underground at tthe time, there were 11 working in 118, 9 of which escaped. In total, 3 people died - the 2 underground at the time and 1 death occuring on April 16 in conjunction with fighting the fire. If you're interested in learning more about the fire and to see many mre pictures, check out Nemacolin Mine Fire - March 26, 1971 & Memories of the Mine, the People by Lonnie Miller.
I can't thank you enough for this blog post. Charles Gibson was my Grandfather. Sadly I was born a a couple years too late to meet him. I was given a scrapbook filled with news clippings and told many wonderful stories over the years but I appreciate that you took the time to post these pictures. Mom told me about the drilling equipment that was brought in but color pictures really bring it to life.
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