The West Virginia Coal Association and the Coal Mining Institute inducted two new members Friday into the West Virginia Coal Hall of Fame. Charles Jones with Amhurst Industries and WVU College of Engineering and Mineral Resources Associate Dean Royce Watts were inducted into the 11th class.
The Hall of Fame was started back in 1998. It was created to honor the careers and accomplishments of individuals who have had a significant impact on the West Virginia mining industry.
Jones owns and operates 35 towboats and 10 floating cranes used up and down the Ohio River as well as Amhurst Coal.
Watts has been teaching at WVU for more than 50 years. But says the mines have always been a part of his life. "I was born in a coal company house. My father worked all his life in the mines. He died in a mine accident in Boone County in 1942,” he told MetroNews Friday.
Watts, who's helped coordinate the awards portion of the Hall of Fame since its inception, says all those inducted have one thing in common. "They all are people who have been vitally concerned for a large portion of their life with the West Virginia coal industry,” he said.
Watts says he is humbled to be among those honored.
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