🏗️ A Glimpse Back: Dunlap Coke Ovens Park Takes Shape in 1987

A newly shared archival photo captures a moment of ingenuity and humor from the early days of Dunlap Coke Ovens Coal Mining Museum and Park-when volunteers and community members were literally building the grounds that visitors explore today. The image, preserved from a VHS recording by Carson Camp, shows the park’s development in ways that few residents may have witnessed firsthand.

📸 A Creative Solution to Concrete Work

In 1987, as concrete picnic tables were being prepared in front of what is now the museum site, park workers devised an unconventional approach to finishing the concrete pad. John Boyd was hoisted above the work area in a hang-glider harness, suspended from the boom pole of a Massey Ferguson tractor. The caption accompanying the photo notes with a touch of humor: “This was supposed to make it easier to finish the concrete!” ✨

⏰ Building Community Legacy

The photo offers a rare window into the hands-on effort that went into establishing the park during its formative years. What began as a grassroots project in the mid-1980s has grown into a regional destination that preserves the area’s coal mining heritage and provides outdoor recreation space for families and visitors from across the region. 🌄

The archival footage-captured on VHS by a community member-represents the kind of local documentation that helps keep the park’s story alive for future generations. For longtime residents and newcomers alike, images like this one remind visitors that the park’s grounds were built by real people, with real effort, and often with creativity born from practical problem-solving.