Wilder Days: Coal Town Life on Dumps Creek
The old Clinchfield coal town of Wilder, Virginia, flourished along the banks of Dumps Creek in Russell County, Virginia, for just a short time, between 1910 and 1930. The neighboring towns of Clinchfield at the Shaft, Dixie Splint, and South Clinchfield were also once vigorous communities, vibrant with people from different cultures. They have all vanished now, but first-person accounts and 614 excellent old photographs bring these towns back to life.
By Kathy Shearer
Paperback
8.5" x 11", 336 pages
614 black and white pictures
Full index
ISBN 0-9724765-2-0
978-0-9724765-2-2
Clinch Mountain Press 2006
$35.00
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Bitha Rhea and family, returning from berry picking at the Allen Sutherland farm,
near the Meade graveyard. From left: Earl, Denver, Billy, Bitha, granddaughter Ann Rhea,
Burl, and granddaughter Jeannette. (John Rhea Collection)
near the Meade graveyard. From left: Earl, Denver, Billy, Bitha, granddaughter Ann Rhea,
Burl, and granddaughter Jeannette. (John Rhea Collection)
A banjo, a fiddle, and a pistol. Calvin Rasnake,
Lake Rasnake, and Howard Thompson, 1915.
Calv and Lake were brothers. Calv and his wife, Mattie,
lived on Hurricane Creek near the old Shaft mine.
(Dorothy Hall Sutherland Collection)
Reader Responses ~
"Thank-you for writing this book! Paul Glass was my grandfather and you did a terrific job pulling together all the details of his brothers and children and what life was like for them. I never knew Joe or Paul, and my dad died in his early 40's when I was 10. So I have so much to thank you for in compiling and preserving family history that otherwise would be lost to me. I've been trying to preserve as much of the heritage as I can. Your book is like gold in that process." Bob Glass
"I am so thankful that you and others like you have a heart for preserving the Southwest Virginia history. I have several of your books and check the web site frequently for new ones. I lived in St. Paul until 1965 when my family moved to Indiana. My father was a coal miner with Clinchfield. I have continued to love the area and cherish the memories of growing up there. Thank you for helping me show my husband and children my heritage." Sharon Stinson
"I received Wilder Days and I wanted to thank you. It's great!! Thanks for signing it also. I'll enjoy reading and looking at the photos for a long time. It has already assisted my "research" for my tree." Loretta Kiser
"Thank-you for writing this book! Paul Glass was my grandfather and you did a terrific job pulling together all the details of his brothers and children and what life was like for them. I never knew Joe or Paul, and my dad died in his early 40's when I was 10. So I have so much to thank you for in compiling and preserving family history that otherwise would be lost to me. I've been trying to preserve as much of the heritage as I can. Your book is like gold in that process." Bob Glass
"I am so thankful that you and others like you have a heart for preserving the Southwest Virginia history. I have several of your books and check the web site frequently for new ones. I lived in St. Paul until 1965 when my family moved to Indiana. My father was a coal miner with Clinchfield. I have continued to love the area and cherish the memories of growing up there. Thank you for helping me show my husband and children my heritage." Sharon Stinson
"I received Wilder Days and I wanted to thank you. It's great!! Thanks for signing it also. I'll enjoy reading and looking at the photos for a long time. It has already assisted my "research" for my tree." Loretta Kiser