Hundreds of current and former residents of the Sharples area gathered Saturday at a lake near Blair for the dedication of a monument in honor of the state’s coal miners past and present. The dedication was part of the annual Sharples Community Reunion, hosted by the Spruce Citizens’ Action Panel.
The memorial stands on the shore of Mifflin Lake, about 12 miles from Madison and about 6 miles from Blair. The area played a key role in the 1921 Battle of Blair Mountain.
The lake is, itself, a man-made facility and is part of a restored surface mining operation.
Joining the Spruce CAP at the event were State Senator Ron Stollings (D-Boone), former Logan County Commissioner Art Kirkendoll, representatives of Arch Coal and Mountain Laurel Mine, Bill Raney and Chris Hamilton of the West Virginia Coal Association, representatives of Friends of Coal and Roger Horton, president of Citizens for Coal and himself a working coal miner.
Stollings, Kirkendoll and other speakers demanded an end to the federal government’s ongoing assault onWest Virginia’s coal industry. Horton said it is time to hold the nation’s elected officials accountable for their actions.