An old photograph labeled “Southern Anthracite Coal Mines — Webb Photo — Russellville Ark.” preserves a view of one of the most substantial early coal-mining operations in the Russellville area.
The photograph shows a substantial wooden tipple and headframe, railroad facilities, mine buildings, and the disturbed landscape surrounding the workings. Although identified simply as Russellville, the mine was at Bernice, south of town in the Shinn Basin.
Southern Anthracite operated more than one mine there. A 1907 U.S. Geological Survey report places a company slope in the north half of Section 21, Township 7 North, Range 20 West, and a much more substantial 480-foot shaft in the southwest quarter of the northeast quarter of Section 21. USGS Bulletin 326
The deep shaft was later identified as Bernice Mine No. 1. An Arkansas mineral report described it as a 486-foot shaft about three and a half miles southeast of Russellville. J. G. Puterbaugh of McAlester, Oklahoma, was the company president, and E. W. Hogan was superintendent.
The photograph shows the size of the operation. This was not a small opening driven casually into a hillside. Coal hundreds of feet underground had to be brought to the surface by cage, processed through the tipple and loaded for shipment. [continue reading…]
Trump Taj Mahal Boardwalk Nightlife (generated using ChatGPT)
When Trump Tower opened on Fifth Avenue in 1983, Donald Trump was already a successful New York developer. Trump Tower made him something else.
It made him a celebrity.
The 58-story building was inseparable from the man whose name was attached to it. Bronze-colored glass, pink marble, a multi-story waterfall and expensive shops were part of the package, but so was Trump himself. He gave interviews, showed reporters around, and made sure that the building and its owner were presented together.
That turned out to be important.
Trump had discovered—or at least demonstrated—that the appearance of success had value of its own. A building could be real estate, but it could also be advertising. His name on the building suggested wealth, luxury, and success, and the building in turn reinforced the value of the name.
That feedback loop would become increasingly important over the next 16 years. [continue reading…]
A little over a week ago, Luke Heffley, VP of the Pope County Historical Association, asked if I would be willing to give a presentation at their September meeting, scheduled for September 1 at Brangus Steakhouse.
They had been holding their meetings at the Check H Grill & Buffet and, after it burned, had to find somewhere else.
They held their August meeting at Central Christian Church on Independence Avenue.
I called Luke the next day and agreed to his proposal. We talked about ideas for what I might discuss.
I had a week to get ready for a 45-minute presentation.
I had spoken in public only twice before. Both were to the quorum court, and I was limited to just a couple of minutes.
Of course, I had been an instructor at the nuclear plant and had plenty of presentation experience.
I planned to cover a fairly wide range of topics, but I wanted to frame them around my use of AI and Wikipedia for research and writing, often on local history. [continue reading…]
