|
| Title | Coal miner Joe Shimmel on steps of abandoned store, Ravensdale, April 14, 1955 |
| Photographer | Brownell, Tom
Seattle Post-Intelligencer |
| Date | 1955 |
| Caption | As Ravensdale's No. 2 coal mine was being dismantled in 1955, old-timers like Joe Shimmel, 81, a miner for 50 years, recalled the boom days. He had quit working in Ravensdale's mine No. 1 shortly before a gas and dust explosion killed 38 miners in 1915.
The Ravensdale population dropped to about 250 at the time of the dismantling of Ravensdale's No. 2 coal mine. Though the rich McKay coal seam still had enough coal underground for centuries of mining, demand was too low and production costs too high to remain in operation. The mine ceased operations in September 1954. |
| Notes | Handwritten on sleeve: RAVENSDALE, Wash., Mining town abandoned, Joe Shimmel miner for 50 years, on steps of boarded up company store.
Caption information source: P-I research files.
Date photograph was published in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer: April 15, 1955. |
| Subjects | Coal miners--Washington (State)--Ravensdale; Staffs (Sticks)--Washington (State)--Ravensdale; Aged persons--Washington (State)--Ravensdale; Shops & stores--Washington (State)--Ravensdale; Abandoned buildings--Washington (State)--Ravensdale |
| Personal Names | Shimmel, Joe |
| Places | United States--Washington (State)--Ravensdale |
| Digital Collection | Museum of History & Industry Photograph Collection |
| Image Number | 1986.5.6629.3 |
| Ordering Information | To order a reproduction or to inquire about permissions contact photos@mohai.org or phone us at 206-324-1126. Please refer to the Image Number and provide a brief description of the photograph. |
| Credit Line | Seattle Post-Intelligencer Collection, Museum of History & Industry, Seattle; All Rights Reserved |
| Repository | Museum of History & Industry, Seattle (MOHAI) |
| Repository Collection | Seattle Post-Intelligencer Collection |
| Type | Image |
| Physical Description | 1 acetate negative: b&w; 4 x 5 in. |
| Digital Reproduction Information | Scanned from original negative as a 3000 pixel TIFF image in 8-bit grayscale, resized to 600 pixels in the longest dimension and compressed into JPEG format using Photoshop 6.0 and its JPEG quality measurement 3. |
