The Iron Lamp

The little museum sits at the bottom of the valley, where the coal mine used to be. A guide named Owen showed a single visitor around on a quiet Tuesday morning.

“This whole town was built on coal,” Owen said. “A hundred years ago, almost every man here used to work underground. The mine never closed, day or night.”

The visitor looked at an old iron lamp in a glass case. It was heavy and black.

“That lamp went down the mine every day,” Owen said. “The coal was dug out by hand, then it was sent up in carts. After that, it was loaded onto trains and exported all over the world. This little valley fed the fires of half of Europe.”

“And now?” the visitor asked.

“The mine was closed in 1984. The industry died. For a few decades, there was real poverty here. The young people left.”

They walked past a wall of black-and-white photographs — tired faces, proud faces, all looking at the camera.

“It’s sad,” the visitor said quietly.

“It is,” Owen said. “But they were strong people. We keep this place open so nobody forgets them. That iron lamp still has work to do.”