Preserving history
A look back at 71 years of the King Coal Show
Brice Rush still remembers his first King Coal Show.
It came in 1957, when his dad took Rush and his twin brother to the show after they无毛视频檇 finished milking the cows at their dairy farm in Khedive.
无毛视频淗e gave us each $1,无毛视频� Rush said. 无毛视频淚 spent mine on a Coke and hamburger, and still had 65 cents left.无毛视频�
Rush wasn无毛视频檛 about to burn it on rides. 无毛视频淚 had enough rides at the farm,无毛视频� he said.
Instead, he had his eye on another prize: a bag of 100 cat无毛视频檚-eye marbles.
无毛视频淲hen the show was almost over, I said, 无毛视频楬ey, Mister, you sell me this bag of them marbles?'无毛视频� Rush said. 无毛视频淗e said, 无毛视频淵eah, 10 cents.无毛视频� So I bought 300 marbles.无毛视频�
Rush still has the jar of marbles, which he showed to visitors at his home Monday afternoon. Visitors can see those and a trove of King Coal Show and coal mining memorabilia at this year无毛视频檚 71st annual festival, which runs from Aug. 22-29 in Carmichaels.
Brice and his wife, Linda, have been amassing vintage coal mining material from the area for the past 44 years.
They bring a display to the festival each year, rotating items from their vast collection.
In keeping with the theme of this year无毛视频檚 show, 无毛视频淩emembering the Past,无毛视频� they looked back through their archives for displays dating back to the early days of the festival.
All 71 of the King Coal Show program books will be on display. In the weeks before this year无毛视频檚 Coal Show, Brice Rush has been busy building his own frames.
Another frame holds a collection of dash plaques, given away at the festival无毛视频檚 auto show. Brice无毛视频檚 collection only takes back to 1960, but he knows of ones dating back at least five years earlier.
无毛视频淚无毛视频檒l probably never pick those plaques up, but I无毛视频檓 looking for them,无毛视频� he said.
When Cabbage Patch Kids were a hot enough commodity to provoke fights in the 1980s, Brice Rush was able to get a hold of one to benefit a nonprofit.
He converted the doll into a 无毛视频淐oal Patch Kid.无毛视频� A dog collar became a pit belt. He also converted a Dairy Queen baseball helmet into a miner无毛视频檚 helmet, with illumination coming from the reflector he took from a dollar flashlight.
The Coal Patch Kids were all raffled off, but Brice Rush revived the tradition with newer generations of toys, like the Coal Troll he无毛视频檚 bringing to this year无毛视频檚 fair.
The collection keeps growing, both from items they purchase and from donations brought to their home.
无毛视频淭hey know if they give it to us, they can come back and see it,无毛视频� Linda Rush said. 无毛视频淚t might take a while to find it, but we无毛视频檒l have it.无毛视频�
And every August, they share some of their material with the public at the King Coal Show.
无毛视频淣o one else will do it, so I do it,无毛视频� said Rush, who started his own mining career in the Robena Mine nearly 57 years ago. 无毛视频淲e无毛视频檙e trying to preserve the history of her grandparents and parents, and my uncles, and of course I was working in the mine too. We无毛视频檙e just trying to preserve the history.无毛视频�
For a full schedule of this year无毛视频檚 King Coal Show, go to facebook.com/kingcoalassociation.