Coalwood, West Virginia: Home of Homer Hickam's Rocket Boys and October Sky
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 15 ต.ค. 2024
- Coalwood, West Virginia: Home of Homer Hickam's Rocket Boys
You can purchase a copy of the book Rocket Boys by Homer Hickam on Amazon at this link:
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5 Anonymous
The book was superb and the movie was excellent. I showed it to my students every year to inspire them with homers story. An absolute favorite of mine.
I am sitting on a couch in New York watching your video with my husband and his brother who grew up in Coalwood in the 1940s and 1950s back when it was a thriving place. Great job. Thank you for keeping the memories of these lost places alive.
That's awesome, so glad you enjoyed it. Hope things are well in NY.
Thanks for taking us to Coalwood. Never got to see when I was dating a lady from Kimball!
Like so many small West Virginia towns, seemingly abandoned, the trailer houses, the barking dog(s). So much coal wealth extracted from the region to enrich distant landlords leaving the local folks impoverished when the economic winds shifted. Thanks for highlighting Homer and the 'Rocket Boys'.
Always think it's weird there are so many trailers. All the trees around why not build from wood?
Most of those trees you see now are new growth. Late 1800s and early 1900s timber companies practically clear cut WV to build the eastern cities. Left the land barren. Massive flooding occurred leading to the start of the environmental laws. 1 tree was cut down near the town of Richwood WV that supplied all of the wood for the staircase of the Titanic plus most of the railings. The virgin forest in WV had Massive trees well just about all of the trees were Massive according to George Washington when he surveyed here.
@@georgeadkins7587 Very poignant and sad. In PA, the Cook State Forest is the only remnant of a once seemingly endless stand of forest. Thanks for your thoughtful comment.
@@samanthab1923So much cheaper to put up a mobile home especially used mobile home than to build a house on a foundation unless you own your own saw mill and timber and build it yourself
@@altec19 With all those trees around? Sad. Even in the old days the coal mines squeezed the houses onto the least desirable plots.
My eldest daughter got me “Rocket Boys” by Homer Jr. As a modern rocket engineer, just loved the memoir. Great video here with some nice Coalwood history. Watching October Sky, the movie, next!
It’s a great movie too. I was blessed to meet Homer last year and he was such a gracious and kind man. It was a true honor to meet someone of his caliber.
I knew Homer and Jimmy, his brother. Jimmy and I attended Virginia Tech at the same time. Jimmy became one of the most successful H. S. Football Coaches in the state of Virginia.
They seem like great people, I met Homer a few months after this video and he was very kind about it
And, my dad passed away about 4 years ago at 95 yrs of age. He retired from Olga Coal, and one of the original local boys from Dugspur, Va that Mr Carter brought from Va to work in the mines at Coalwood. He didnt have to go to the Army because at that time he was driving the grocery delivery truck for Olga Coal, and he was essential there. Olga had a company Dr, and dentist to treat the families of Coalwood. I have so many stories, I love my memories of Coalwood so much!
The memories flood my mind
fantastic comments, thank you so much, Donna!
I'm assuming the mine paid very well considering high schoolers aspired to work in the mines?
Hi Donna, I remember you, Vinton, Juanita and Junior. Junior was in my class. Those were great days weren't they. A wonderful place to grow up. Take care - Mark Alderman
@@angry-white-men wrong.
My newest passion in life? Following SpaceX and soon to be Starship launches but I’m old enough to have been following Mercury, Apollo then (pause) Shuttles (pause) and now the present. Thank you for never allowing history to die … The Rocket Boys helped begin the US journey into space and this humble town should always be remembered.
I think you and your wife do an excellent job with this show. I'm a black man in indianapolis and I've learned much from you about the small coal towns and hollers. I get to see a totally different way of life. Yashua-jesus bless you and your wife always.
Blessings to you too, Mebaratu, you're too kind and we appreciate you watching
@@realappalachia 🙂🙂🙂
What does the color of your skin matter
@@glhunt108 stop the mind games. Stop the pretense. I would have explained it normally because there's a logical reason however f u no go.d tree dw.lling d.m.n. stop pretending nothing has to do with color. Your people built this country around race and exclusion. Don't try to pretend you do not know nor see color. You have used the n word, you have said derogatory things about us. If you would have asked properly instead of insinuating then I would have told you. F u you d.v.l.
Thanks for the look at what's left of my home town. My aunt worked in the company offices next to the swimming pool for many years, she and my Uncle Bill lived in a section of the apartments that is no longer standing. There was a school next to the offices that was torn down to make the swimming pool out of its basement, and next to that a movie theater that was torn down for a tennis court. I went to that old school on the hill for grades 1 through 8. It had two playgrounds terraced into the hill behind it with swings and slides. As for Mr. Carter, there is a railroad museum at ETSU dedicated to him. Keep up the good work!
Thank you so much for sharing your memories and information. I have a love for Coalwood so I love learning more.
thanks for the video. My grandparents lived in a house around the 14:44 point of the video a very long time ago. great info also!
That’s great, James, thank you
The swimming pool used to be a theater I think. The coal miners converted it to a pool for their kids. I can remember fees to swim was $25 a summer per family. I believe the deepest end was like 3'5". I learned to swim there. Lived in Coalwood the 1st 18 years of my life, graduated Big Creek. The church with the stained glass windows, had a fantastic MYF group (Methodist Youth Fellowship). Red Carrol would clean out his garbage truck for us at Christmas, load it up with hay and we would go caroling. Then end up with hot chocolate at the church. As teens, taking advantage of no traffic, in the winter we would tie our sleds onto car bumpers and get pulled up and down the road, those curves by the tennis court was always a hoot on a sled. We would play "Tin Can Alley" on our bikes around the machine shops. So many good times, I wouldn't have wanted to grow up anywhere else.
Do you remember the hotel that sit on the corner of Welch. Was run by a little person. Remember the bowling alley, was owned by Joe Hasson or Hanson.
That’s awesome ❤️
I must be in the minority as I've never heard of Coalwood, WVa., nor read the book, nor seen the movie!! Now my mind is broadened with info. that's new to me~~ I wonder what kind of inspirational teachers these four guys had in high school, and wish I'd had them! Thanks so much for giving us the history of Homer, his aspiration, his invention and his award winning brilliance!! Excellent!!
The movie was good, but the book was great. Obviously the book goes into much more detail.
I lived here for 15 years of my life, I remember when they used to do the October sky festivals before moving to bigger areas.
My dad and Jim Hickam were life long friends. Jim was Homer's brother. They played football against each other and later on in life coached football against each other in Roanoke. Dad at Cave Spring and Jim Hickam at Northside
That’s fantastic, I met Homer last year for the first time and he was such a classy and thoughtful man. Cave Spring and Northside both have great football histories so I’m sure those were some real battles
@@realappalachia my dad, Coach Hammes, was the Cave Spring head football coach from 1966 until 1989. He is still has the school's best record as a football coach
@@jonhammes6209 now that is a great career, must've been a great coach
My Dads family was from West Virginia The Nichols family. That one thing he always told me if you set your mind to it you can Accomplish it.
My dad’s family is from West Virginia and that’s one thing he always told me if you set your mind to it you can accomplish anything
I went to Big Creek H S with the Rocket Boys. Had a really good time there in 1960
Tell us some stories of living there. Were the wages pretty fair for the day? Was there the same pecking order for families as there were in the company strata? Were foremen or management children treated more favorably than the children of rank-n-file miners; i.e. given places on teams even though they did not deserve it or always given the leading roles in school plays or community activities.
What happened when a miner was laid off or fired, what happened to their families? Did they evict them immediately? How were houses assigned? Was housing included or did families lease or rent the company housing?
Anything you can add would be helpful.
I worked 9n the waste water treatment plant there back in the mid 90s. It is located on the site of the tipple that he and his father worked at. The Welcome to Coalwood sign is located on the site. The sign is at the end of the rail yard. If the weeds were removed you would be able to see the building.
I also would recommend the book, "Rocket Boys." In the book Hiram goes to town and buys a bright colored suit of clothes for the science fair and is wearing it home when JFK motorcade comes along and Kennedy jumps up on his car. I like to think Hiram yelled to Kennedy, "When are we going to the moon?", and that is what gave Kennedy the idea to go to the moon. That probably did not happen, but maybe it did!
I meant to say Homer Hickam, not Hiram. My mind must have mixed the first and last name while I was writing and not thinking.
@@rockycoyote No worries. We knew where you were going with it!
I am proud to say I was there -- lived just a ways down the road from them --
I wish they would make a movie about the rest of the Rocket Boy's lives. They have had some interesting things happen since.
Hey friend. I live near this area and that orange building on the site of the road is an old power plant.
thank you so much for the info
I just drove all through Coalwood and Welch on my way home from visiting my daughter in Nashville, I hate driving the interstates so on my way home I always try to find something to see, it’s truly amazing the things you can find when you get off the interstate
I grew up in Coalwood. Lived there for 30 years of my life. My grandparents owned Homers old house, so I grew up my whole childhood being there.
We just left west virginia....the nicest people I've ever met I will be there every year for vacation from now on Gatlinburg Pigeon forge wayyyyy to busy anymore
I have a passion for "Rocket Boys" / "October Sky". I read the book, saw the movie, and have read every single book by and about Home Hickam.
He does fantastic work
Shame you certainly pick a beautiful day to film. You do a great job on giving the history of the areas you go to.your videos peaked my interest in seeing these areas for myself this summer
Gracias por mostrarnos el pueblo real donde los recket boys crecieron y soñaron, me gusto mucho tu video, saludos desde Mexico.
This is such an interesting story. Thank you for presenting it. Your knowledge and passion is why I watch your videos and probably the reason the others here watch as well. I appreciate the time and effort put forth for all of your videos; no one is perfect and your personality is one of sincerity and, to me, that is very important and just enhances the content. I truly believe that God gave us life and free will. What you make of it is up to each of us. This story is a fine example of that belief. I totally agree that I wish there was some way to maintain and preserve all of this wonderful history but at least you can show all of us out here that history to appreciate.
Another great video. My grandfather was a coal miner in northeast Pennsylvania before he ditched the underground and created a dairy farmer with my young father in the 1950s.
Crazy to think that’s where the Space Race began. Shame the factory isn’t a museum though.
Bradford Dillman, I bet you have a collection of really fascinating family photos considering the historical information you've shared.
@@twistoffate4791 I have tons of the farm being built, but none from the mine era
My dad was born in Scranton but raised in the Bronx. They would go back every summer to stay on the family farm. His mom's maiden name was McCrone.
I live in Bartley WV about 25 minutes from coal wood and I can tell you the people in McDowell County are some of the best people you'll ever meet.
This is fantastic. Thank you. Our family LOVES this movie. We must have watched it 30x. We showed it to our son when he was a young boy and it inspired him to study aerospace engineering. He starts his Junior year at the University of Arizona next week and someday I want to take him to Coalwood just to see where the Rocket Boys started dreaming. Love this and thank you for sharing. I just texted my son asking him it he wants to watch this while he is home this week before he heads back to college.
From what I was told, Carter was a timber buyer and picked up the mineral rights for himself in the process. I have been in the mine as a mining engineer for Lykes Resources. The Pocahontas coal was excellent metallurgical grade coal. The No 4 seam was the best for height but, had been eroded away to the north (Wyoming County). Where there was 'low cover' (close to the surface) the roof was unstable and difficult to stabilize, safely (even resin bolting wasn't adequate). I started my mining career with US Steel, and they were the safest mining company, by far!
Excellent information, thanks for posting it for everyone. Love learning more about these mines
Used to deliver oil to Amtrak in Bluefield W/Va ,and had to pass thru Welch West Virginia.
I really like seeing this video showing this light homer was a big part of my child hood growing up in southern WV he is a family friend and I would always get to spend a lot time with him when I was younger when he came in for the rocket boys festival my parents are graduates of Big creek high school and we are all extremely proud of one of WV favorite sons
that is awesome, I am a huge fan of Homer. He seems like such a talented but humble man.
Thanks again for another beautiful and informative video.
That is one road trip I would have loved to been with you Shane...I saw one of the 'Rocket Boys' speak at my church one time. I found their story so amazing too!! Thank you for sharing this video...I really enjoyed it very much!!
that is awesome, thanks for watching and commenting. Hope you are doing well and that I run into y'all at another restaurant soon lol
Enjoyed this. I’ve thought about visiting there myself, I’m a big Rocket Boys / Homer Hickam fan. Now I don’t have to, you did it for me. Thanks!
that is awesome to hear
I love Coalwood, went to the Coalwood Festival twice until they moved it to another location. Got to meet Homer Hickam. Love and have the movie October Sky.
Do you know why they moved the festival to another location?? It seems the town where the Rocket Boys lived, went to school and made their rockets would be the best place to have it.
@@rebeccahernandez3460 Yes. Hon, they moved it to Beckley, bigger area, the festival grew bigger crowds, the small town was getting dilapidated so they are tearing down a lot of the buildings, miss going there myself.
My family is from the Widen area of WV. In fact, my great-uncle, Charles Frame, was killed shot and killed in the coal strike of 1953-1953. Roscoe Ball was convicted of his murder. I never got to meet Uncle Charles since I was born in 1955. My parents say he was really nice and a lot of fun.
Thanks for the history lesson, I'm about to head down the rocket boys rabbit hole!
It’s a great book and movie. I met Homer Hickam last year and he loved that video and was such a cool guy in person. I can’t recommend him highly enough.
I'm glad you did this. My son loves trains & picked up a coffee table book of beautiful steam engines. There is a photo of an engine being driven by its owner!
This is a GREAT vid! Thank you! I love traveling to little known places to find out the history and meet locals. See October Sky a few times and after this vid might have to travel up there this spring! Thanks again !
Glad you enjoyed it, Lou, thanks for the kind words
My mother‘s family ran a boarding house in the community of Bartley down the road from Coalwood. Hope you can get there someday.
I have Bartley on the hit list for eventually going there
Enjoyed the Video, Full of history.
Thank you!
Incase some people need to know, After the book The Rocket Boys, there is the memoirs "The Coalwood Way" (2000) followed by "Sky of Stone" (2002).
Coalwood Way take place in the same timeframe as Rocket Boys but is about the town itself and their endurance.
Sky of Stone is about Homer Hickam's return home after college.
And I just found out about a more recent 4th book:
Don't Blow Yourself Up: The Further True Adventures and Travail of the Rocket Boy of October Sky.
I just discovered youre channel ,Great content.Im a fan of Hickams Film and books...There are three about coalwood...The Rocket boys...The Coalwood way and Sky of stone..They are all three called the Coalwood Trilogy and are fantastic..
Truly Wild Wonderful West Virginia.....always intriguing and interesting videos...keep em coming....
thank you so much, Gerard
That field next to the Olga offices was the company store or as it was known in Coalwood the Big Store.
The company store in the little coal mining town that I was born in was called the Commissary (Dorchester, in southwest Virginia).
Please upload the whole movie, it's historic for Pete sakes! 5/26/23
Thanks so much Shane.👍👋
Wow I was there when you filmed this thats my red suv across from the church
that is wild, small world
this is town is on my bucket list of places to go see
Mine too
I hope some day I get to come to West Virginia to visit my family’s home place.
Very sad but Coalwood is not there anymore
I thoroughly enjoyed the movie, "October Sky."
My aunts uncles and father either went to school with Homer or worked at the mine with his dad. They lived in John's branch right there next to the old big creek high-school before moving to Berwind. Several things in the movie was not exactly true
We have a saying here, “you close a mine, you kill a community”.
Brilliant footage.
I bought the legend that is Homers book not long after it came out, and yes he’s on my social media too.
A cool guy.
Thanks for taking us there, somewhere I’ve heard of for what, 20 years or more, but never seen
I just met Homer for the first time last month. He was complimentary of this video and was just as classy as I'd imagine him being
Watched this then had to go read Rocket Boys. Then watch this again to understand it better. What a great book and history!
That is truly fantastic, thanks for sharing
I would be drawn to checking out what's left of the school up on the hill. I realize for legal reasons the powers that be do not want trespassers, but I would still have that curiosity.
oh, it tempted me too and I would have if I had better shoes for it lol
I'm pretty sure it burned down
I really like watching your videos.
Very interesting story; I’d seen October Sky many years ago. You have a great way of telling these stories and making me interested in the history. Thanks Shane!
that is awesome, thank you so much, Paula
Love that movie. My son picked up a coffee table book on steam engines & the one from the movie is in it.
Born and raised in WV. I love the state and hate the coal companies. My family worked in the mines for decades and have nothing to show for it. I had family and schoolmates who died in the mines. The companies don’t live in the region, they never cared for the people of West Virginia. Joe Manchin is a scar on our history. He cares for the coal and pharmaceutical companies that take the lives of our loved ones daily. He doesn’t care because he’s rich. West Virginia is one of the poorest and less educated of all the states. I love WV. I wish others did as much too.
I done some mission work with my church up there. The gas station across from coalwood has the best Philly cheesesteaks and onion rings. Coalwood has some great people in it. We also stayed in the basement of that what is now coalwood community church when we were there. Which used to be a Methodist church.
I know this video is old but for the people who lived anywhere near welch,coalwood,Roderfield, etc..Mike Guella passed away. A true legend and hero is these communities. Passed aug 9 2024.
I love my state.... welcome to west Virginia.... WEEEEEEEEEE!!!!
Gosh, what a beautiful little town. I read the Rocket Boys book, plus the second one. I think it was called the Coalwood Way. The town looks a lot like the book described it, except I pictured Homer’s house to be a smaller , one story house. Such an interesting video.
PS - Shane , I would have liked to hear you sing more of Rocket Man. You need a sequined suit and a big pair of glasses. 😁
ha, don't tempt me with the suit and glasses lol
My sister in law was from Coalwood, she returned after she retired early. I have been there many times over the years to visit my niece and nephew, it was a beautiful town at one time but the coal mine owners left everything behind just letting it all fall apart instead of giving it over to the town. If they had been decent they would have given the buildings and property over to the people they left behind so it could have been used to help them but they just left everything to rot for years! It's despicable what they were allowed to do to the people and places they just left.
I wasn’t aware that they didn’t turn over the property to the town, that’s a shame
My mother was friends with homer hickem . They went to big creek high school . Mom used to watch the boys do the rocket thing after school. But all my people from that region newhall , war welch , baptist valley bandy . Coalwood. But miss that place .
The Company store actually sit on the left of remaining office building.
Currently reading the excellent book “Rocket Boys”. Thanks for this video.
Yes it is fantastic
My sister grew up in Coalwood and was a neighbor of Homer Hickam. She is 90.
Beautiful area, with some very nice people.
Thanks kindly for the tour of Coalwood. Most interesting is the view of the apartment house which was featured in the book, or was that a hotel? You have shown many wonderful places in Appalachia part of which is in Ohio as you know. Ever venture across the Newell bridge in your travels? No answer needed really. I’ll just watch more of your videos.
havent made it to Newell bridge yet but hope to get to Ohio someday, it is hard for us to do it on our shoestring budget and time constraints.
In Rocket Boys Homer Hickam said one year they were Baptists and the next year Methodists because that’s the denomination of the clergyman that was hired by Olga Coal.
So glad that Coalwood won out!!!
I bought the book when it came out and saw the movie. The book was better as movies always got out some of the good stuff.
I agree completely, the movie was good but the book was better
I've been wanting to go there for so long.
It is a great place to visit
But if I never get to I thank you for all your videos that you share so I can feel like I am there. ❤️
so glad you enjoy them, Donna
@@realappalachia I sure do 🤗
Hello, Real App
My name is Eddie
I too lived in Coalwood from 71-90 that when I went into the Navy. I loved the walk thru memory lane of my home town. However, I wonder why you didn't travel through Newcamp or 6 Hollow I would have loved to see what happened to 6 Hollow after the flood in 2008 I'm sure my home is no longer there I also wanted to see Mt Airy Baptist church before you enter Caretta mountain roadway was the lumber mill still there for the back way to the coal mine to Caretta. But, overall it was a very good walk thru memory lane. Good work.❤
Thank you so much for sharing this with everyone!
I’m surprised there’s not a museum there to honor this great story !
There is a museum in the small town of Schuyler Virginia that honors the boy hood story of Earl Hammer that became a TV series sensation The Waltons
When you see the condition of Coalwood (and the rest of McDowell County) today, it's VERY difficult to imagine a museum being there.
It's a place where the local people don't even have access to clean water in their taps.
So sad !
I do hear that they have a annual festival they’re honoring them !
If that attracts a large crowd then a museum might make sense ?
I have abandonment issues and it hurts me to see a abandoned building's etc it's so sad.
Great story! Enjoyed it thanks
Shane, you are too funny! :)
This was an interesting video. I was wanting to learn about the Rocket Boys & you actually brought it all to life for me. Turned out to be a beautiful day for a drive in a beautiful part of our world I had no idea existed. Thank you, Shane, for another great video! Blessings to you!
You sir, have me interested in seeing more of Appalachia, you and a fella named Donnie Laws from eastern Tennessee. He's a fellow you tuber, whom you may be familiar with. I live in southern NJ, kind of a crappy state to me. The southern part where I live is pretty flat. It's somewhat expensive here, overcrowded and dirty. Not where I wish to retire, but I don't know how I would be received as an outsider down that way. Your thoughts?
Would have liked to see the mine portal. Good job on the whole story! Thanks!
Sir, it's Consolidated Coal Company not Consolidation.
I grew up a coal miners daughter. Enjoyed lavish vacations every year because daddy was a coal miner. Made great money! Went to Sanibel Island, Florida and Daytona Beach, Fort Meyers!
2 weeks vacation every summer around the 4th of July!.
And all this time I thought the space shuttle was bigger 😂
nice video of Coalwood i think you did a great job explaining the town,i loved october sky ,watched it a few times,you would think that the town would take a little better care of the Rocket display ,there is i believe a big mis understanding of what appalachie is really like ,most people get there impressions from media,movies ect and there maybe a big disconnect between rthat view and reality.i kept looking for people and saw at a distance two walking. where is everyone ? also what do young people do in the town? I enjoyed this and am thankful for the effort you made, filming this.please stay safe always.
Hi Harold, if you watch more of Shane's videos you will see that he tries to not get people in them, he respects peoples privacy. I believe he videos at times that people are not outside as much, weekdays while the kids are at school for example.
@@mitchevans1692 your probably right im just glad hes doing them,if you live in california that area is a mystery,and seeing and listening to him ,its really wonderful.stay safe pal
@@haroldsmith1213 I believe the misconceptions are due to the fact that Appalachia has been in decline since the 1960's and most books and movies are set in a time 1850-1960 ish when coal was king. The region is dependant on recreation nowadays, fishing/hunting and many hiking and ATV trails.
@@mitchevans1692 thanks thats very interesting to know,because its so much a part of our countrys history and as shane pointed out full of heros,thanks again,have a great week mitch
Started off with coal mine disaster videos, then looked for October Sky clips then TH-cam suggests your videos. The algorithm got it right for once! 😁👍
Yay! Lol
Bin ich momentan am lesen und bin extrem begeistert.
How is it in your videos every thing looks so clean and up keep. Does someone prepare and clean it up before you film. I’m from WVa so I know how it looks. But I love your showing all these old towns and hollows. The first one I saw was when you were at Itaman. You called the company store a museum FUNNY 😊😊 KEEP IT UP
I have been there. Loved the place. Liked and shared.
Thank you!!
Best movie ever !
Should have come on down in McDowell County, Panther Creek, Virginia state line ridge, Hurley, Mohawk areas.
I live at a place called Bull creek
Reminds me of my hometown
Well done.
You showed the Superintendent's home. Homer Hickam's Dad was Superintendent of Coalwood Mine - did they ever live in that house?
That vintage Smokey the Bear Sign would go for big dollars in an antique shop/