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Views of the Centennial Coal Mine near Lafayette in Boulder County.

Brochure prepared for City of Boulder Open Space Department to document an archaeological survey and historical investigation of coal mining on City open space land. This folder includes the original pamphlet, and a 2008 reprint with a color cover.

Views of Rocky Mountain Fuel Company's Mitchell Mine showing mine buildings.

One vertical file that contains information clipped from newspapers, magazines, and other publications on: Monarch mine in Louisville, Colo.

Dolores Silva is a long-time resident of Lafayette, Colorado. She was born at home in Denver in 1929 with the assistance of a midwife. Her mother was from Taos, New Mexico; she was part American Indian, and when orphaned as a child was raised by the Taos Indians. She came to Denver and met Dolores' father, a professional baseball player. When they divorced, their other children were sent to an orphanage, but Dolores was a baby and stayed with her mother and stepfather. Her father and her husband worked as coal miners in the winters and did construction in the summers. She discusses safety issues in the mines. Joe Jaramillo, who was killed in the Monarch Mine explosion, was a relative. Dolores went to school in Denver and did well but did not graduate because she had to go to work. She and her husband, Manuel, have been married and lived in Lafayette for 68 years. Manuel mentions working for the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) around the time of the Depression. Dolores worked for Walmart and then NeoData. She describes good relations between Mexicans and Italians in Lafayette, her son's service in Vietnam, and the importance of the VFW post as a social center.

Views of Rocky Mountain Fuel Company's coal mining equipment and overviews of the mining area at Marshall, Colorado. Includes smoke from the Peerless Mine which has been burning since the 1930s.

Dave Ferguson, the son, grandson, great-grandson and son-in-law of miners, describes, in vivid language, life in Louisville and in the mines and mining camps nearby from the 1920s to about the 1950s. He recalls his great-grandfather's emigration from Scotland to Illinois to work in mines, and his move to Louisville, his grandfather's career in mining from the age of ten until his retirement at age 75, as well as his father's lifelong dedication to mining, culminating in his position as president of a mining company. Dave also describes his own early life in the mining camps and growing up in Louisville. The interview ends with his narrative tour of mining equipment at the Louisville Historical Museum.

View of Rocky Mountain Fuel Company's Big Lakes coal mine showing mine buildings.

Views of Rocky Mountain Fuel Company's Rex No. 2 coal mine showing the mine buildings.