W.Va. event to pay homage to coal miners
FAIRMONT, W.Va. (AP) — The Northern Appalachian Coal Mining Heritage Association plans an event in Fairmont to pay homage to mining and miners.
The inaugural event is called the Coal Mining Appreciation Day Swap Meet. It will be held on Friday.
Blair Montgomery is a volunteer with the nonprofit mining heritage association. He tells the Exponent Telegram the organization was founded to promote the culture and heritage of coal mining in Appalachia.
The swap meet will coincide with National Miner’s Day, which recognizes the contributions of miners to the nation. The day falls on Dec. 6, the date of the nation’s deadliest coal mining disaster in Monongah in 1907.
The association’s president, Mike Rohaly, said the primary purpose of the swap meet is to bring together collectors of mining memorabilia.