Steam, Gas and Horse show display brings mining above ground
Jake Crockett tends to a Lee Norse continuous miner, which American Industrial Mining Co. claims is the only one in the world that remains operational. It was last used in the former Vesta 4 coal mine in the 1980s.
From left, American Industrial Mining Co. members Jake Crockett, Matt Patterson, Pete Jedlicka and Ron Jedlicka stand by a Lee Norse continuous miner that is still operating. That piece of equipment and others will be featured this weekend at the National Pike Steam, Gas and Horse Association Show.
Pete Jedlicka, one of the founding members of American Industrial Mining Co. (formerly Ohio Vintage Coal Co.), operates a coal-cutting apparatus.
Pete Jedlicka, one of the founding members of American Industrial Mining Co. (formerly Ohio Vintage Coal Co.), operates a coal-cutting apparatus.
To the untrained eye, the Lee Norse continuous miner resembles a mechanical lobster with its elongated shape and claw-like gathering arms that push coal through the apparatus.
Few have ever seen this powerful machine in action, which explains why American Industrial Mining Co. wants to demystify the coal mining process. The continuous miner and many other machines will be on display Saturday and Sunday during the National Pike Steam, Gas and Horse Association Show in Centerville in conjunction with the National Road Festival events along Route 40.
Formerly known as Ohio Vintage Coal Co., the group of members from across the country has been traveling with coal displays since 2008. They come to the grounds in Centerville, off of Route 40 on Spring Road, twice a year in May and August.
Pete and Mike Jedlicka, founding members and brothers, started building their collection of discontinued coal machines in the late 1990s. It has grown ever since, and the group now has about 30 active members who also donate equipment. The oldest machine is from the 1890s, but most are more recent.
Pete Jedlicka said people who don’t work for the industry tend to think of 19th-century practices when they think of coal mining.
“They always think of the picking and the shoveling and the injuries and the deaths, and that’s such an old part of the industry. Most of the people nowadays, this is what they operate,” he said, gesturing to the machines around him at the large site, which also sits atop a former Vesta coal mine.
He said coal miners especially enjoy the show because they get to share a part of their lives that too often goes unseen.
“They always bring their families up here, and watching those guys light up showing their wife what they do, and their kids, that’s the kick-ass part,” he said.
Jedlicka’s father, Ron, said “stuff is vanishing” because many old coal mining machines are being scrapped for their metal.
The continuous miner is the show’s main attraction, and Jedlicka said it’s believed to be the only one of its kind that is still operational. It was built in Charleroi and was used in the 1980s at the former Vesta 4 mine in Coal Center and Daisytown. Nowadays, a similar coal-cutting machine is remote control-operated.
The display also features a working conveyor train from 1950, a shuttle car and a coal tipple. In addition to the coal show, events will take place from 9:45 a.m. to 6 p.m. including a working blacksmith shop, a tractor pull, kiddie train rides and museum exhibits.
The group is hoping to raise enough money by August to build a company store at the site that will serve as a kiosk for educational displays. Next year, they want to turn the August show into an international event with 16,000 visitors that weekend.
It’s a “big work in progress,” Jedlicka said.