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Show June 2002 Historical Guide Legend reflects coal camps fears Abandoned coal camps and ghost towns fill chapter after chapter in Castle Valleys min- form of an underground explosion, a cave in or another type of serious accident in the min- ing history. Older residents in the Carbon and Emery County area enjoy visiting with former neighbors ing shafts. and worked in towns Consumers, Peerless, Spring Canyon and They swap stories, share memories and relive the experiences - good and bad stemming from living in coal towns. Older Carbon and Emery coal miners, community members and longtime friends take considerable delight in sharing personal memories of the bygone era with Castle Valleys younger generations. And the personal recollections capture the attention of the young audiences. The conversations frequently who lived like Latuda, Stan-dardvill- e. -- turn to one popular, particularly fascinating local myth or leg- end - Carbon Countys White Lady. During the 1960s, droves of teenagers traveled up Spring Canyon to the haunted" mine office, hoping to catch a glimpse of the shadowy spirit dressed in white. Many teens leave the canyon claiming they spotted the woman and taking delight in relating the experience to friends. The mysterious Lady in White would appear to entice workers to leave the underground mining shafts. The miners who followed the lady miraculously avoided falling victim to a disaster. The lady's husband was killed in the mine and the body was never recovered from the underground shafts. The White Lady wanders every night in the vicinity of the mine and inside the underground tunnels looking for the body of her husband. The White Ladys husband was killed in a mining accident, but the company failed to pay the guaranteed money to ease the womans struggle to feed her family. After a confrontation at the mine office, the widow was angry and driving too fast for the narrow winding road. The vehicle ran off the road and the woman died in the accident. The White Lady still roams the canyon seeking revenge on the mine officials. Afamily consisting of a man, wife and two children, one boy and one girl, lived in Spring Canyon. The husband and son were killed in a mining accident, leaving the widow to fend for her Even after the companys mine office was blown apart with a blasting cap, the legend of the White Lady managed to persist in the local community. In fact, Castle Valley youth still self and infant daughter. Three to four weeks later, the woman was doing the laundry clothes in the Spring Canyon wash and someone kidnapped the baby. The infant was thrown into the wash and drowned. The woman subsequently lost her mind and died. But the White Lady still searches along the wash banks for her baby and seeks revenge for the childs death. A couple lived in the town of Peerless, next to a store that had overalls displayed in the window. The couple had one infant child. The husband died while working in the underground shafts - not due to a mining accident, but from blood poisoning caused by an infected tooth. Since the death was not mining related, the company did not have to pay compensation or benefits to the widow. Destitute and hungry, the young widow did not want her child to suffer and starve to death. After drowning her baby in the wash, the mother lost her mind and was placed in the Provo mental treatment facility. The woman escaped from the facility, returned to Peerless to find her child and eventually died. But the White Lady still wanders the area searching for her at Wilberg traps: (Continued from page 5) rounds into the radiator cooling the diesel engine running the generator. The engine subsequently overheated and stalled, effectively shutting down the generator and stopping the fan circulating air into Wilberg mine. By Thursday, Dec. 27, 1984, all but two of the mine shafts at the Wilberg underground mining operation were sealed. Officials declined to predict how long it would take for the fire to extinguish and allow the recovery teams access into the mine to retrieve the bodies of the 27 victims killed at Wilberg. The remains of all of the victims trapped and killed by the Wilberg fire were not recovered until December 1985 - one year after the fatal underground mining disaster occurred. Initially, the state and federal officials investigating the December 1984 incident speculated that an overheated bearing on the belt drive at the main entry at the Wilberg coal production facility may have caused the fatal blaze to erupt. But in 1986, MSHA released the federal agencys investigation results and final determination regarding the fatal underground mining accident. The federal agencys investigation pinpointed an air compressor operating inside the Wilberg coal mine as the source of the fatal 1984 fire. ENJOY THE WORLD'S LARGEST HOTEL CHAIN ONE AT A TIME baby. Building For Carbon Countys Future visit the coal canyon area to watch for the spirit to materialize and catch a glimpse of the niiJi jm I ghostly figure. Numerous variations of the story of the White Lady continue to circulate throughout the Castle Valley area. The most popular versions include: A lady wearing a beautiful white dress would float around the coal camp and lure the workers into the underground mining shafts. If the underground workers followed the lady inside the mine, it meant disaster would occur. Disasters could take the Blaze College of Eastern Utah Prehistoric Museum 4 blocks 7 blocks Desert Wave Pool, open year-rounCarbon County Club, public golf course 5 mi. Western Mining and Railroad Museum 7 mi. Indoor pool and whirlpool d 18-ho- CDC Environmental is proud to support the Carbon County Community as we now enter into the 22nd Century. Creating jobs. Supporting city, county and school programs. coal be more competitive by Utah lelping sharing ECDCs rail equipment. All are 1 examples of how ECDC is working to help build an exciting future for our community mtm Allan wuutv company Waste;trainportation;and;dispotal coastltoTcoastroiTAnierica'sTrailroads! Free continental breakfast Fax and photocopy service Each Best Western hotel owned and operated. Is Independently 2001 Best Western International, Inc. Best Western Carriage House Inn 590 East Main Street, Price, UT 84501 435.637.5660 . Fax 435.637.5660 www.bestwestern.comcarriagehouseinnprice For Reservations Call 1.800.241.7234 7 |