Thanking Others - DAY 4

Today is Veterans Day. Small towns seem to appreciate our veterans more -- maybe its the closeness or the family ties, either way I like it!
The town about shuts down, so we joined the festivities attending the parade in the morning. Enjoyed some bands, some cool old cars, and of course candy which the kids enjoyed! (ok I did as well)
Here they are taking the flag down to present to the veterans.
Freedom isn't free. We are thankful for the many who have fought so we can have the many freedoms we do today. May we not forgot them or their families!

After lunch we were able to get a bit of the local history going to Coal Camp Creations which had a small display of the history of coal mining in the area. As well as a shop which makes creations out of - you guessed it COAL! We were able to watch them mix the dust, pour it into molds, and pop it out, the boys were pretty intrigued. They really like this mold of the Veteran.

This is what we enjoyed each day -- lots of coal trucks zooming by. Some of the roads don't seem wide enough to fit both the truck and a car - but they can. There is always a film of black dust on everything. We learned they are required to wash the road down after so many loads and daily a sweeper truck goes through too. Here is an old coal chute sending the coal down to trucks which haul it to the train yards. We learned alot about the reason so many moved to this area years ago, to work in the coal mines. We were amazed to see an area that at one time over 160,000 residents now only has between 20,000 and 25,000. There is your history for the day :)
We are thankful for the people who are working with the many needy people here, and thankful we were able to join and encourage them this week!
One more day....