OCR Text |
Show April 2002 Energy 21P Mining myths, legends survive demise of Castle Valley coal camps Abandoned coal camps and ghost towns fill chapter after chapter in Castle Valleys mining history. Older residents in the Carbon and Emery County area enjoy visiting with former neighbors who lived and worked in towns like Consumers, Peerless, Spring Canyon and Standardville. They swap stories, share memories and relive the and experiences-goo- d 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 'VhlleyByounger generations. And the personal recollections capture the attention ofthe young audiences. The conversations frequently turn to one popular; particularly fascinating local myth or legend - Carbon Countys White Lady During the 1960s, droves of teenagen 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 daimingthey spotted the woman anH faking iMight in relating bad-stemmi- ng the experience to friends. Even after the companys mine office was htown apart with a Masting cap, the legend ofthe White Lady managed to persist iH tkn local nrrmmiinify In fact, Castle Valley youth still visit the coal canyon area to watch for the spirit to materialize and catch a glimpse of the ghostly figure. Numerous variations of the story ofthe 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 hire the workers into the underground mining shafts. If the underground workers Mowed the lady inside the mine, it meant disaster would occur. Disasters could take the form of an underground explosion, a cave in or another type of seri- ous accident in the mining 3' ..US shafts. The mysterious Lady in White would appear to entice workers to leave the under-- . ground mining shafts. The miners who followed the (Continued on page 22B) Houses line the roadways and the base of the can-yons surrounding Standardville, once a thriving min-ing community in Carbon County. The population in the town plummeted after the mine closed and all of the residents eventually moved to find employment Coal camps like Standardville, Latuda, Peerless and Spring Canyon may have faded into history, but the legends and memories survive. TATTON INSURANCE Serving the insurance needs of Carbon and Emery Counties since 1957. A GENERAL LIABILITY COMMERCIAL AUTOMOBILE COMMERCIAL PROPERTY INLAID MARINE UMBRELLA COVERAGE a moment to review your Insurance needs and give Ihtton Insurance a call or stop by 854 North 100 East in Price Thke (435) 637-18- 48 (800) 773-18- 48 |