RICHMOND, Va., Feb. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Coal. It fired the boilers of
locomotives, warmed the homes of city dwellers against bitter winters, and
helped America become an industrial powerhouse. Coal was King. And West
Virginia had plenty of it -- an estimated 117 billion tons of reserves in the
late 19th century. As savvy entrepreneurs discovered new uses, Virginia's coal
production exploded. Jobs were plentiful.
"The coal mining industry was the foundation of the West Virginia
economy," says David Greenstreet of West Virginia University's Bureau of
Business and Economic Research. "If you weren't working in the mines, you had
family, neighbors, or customers who worked in the industry."
Today, remote control has replaced pick and shovel. West Virginia is still
among the nation's formidable coal producers, producing a record 182 million
tons of coal in 1997. But the state employs a smaller number of miners --
about 18,000 in 1997 compared to 120,000 in 1950. Intense competition and
regulatory changes challenge its future.
In the recently released Region Focus, business writer Charles Gerena
investigates these challenges and their impact on the communities that once
made coal king. Also in this issue:
* After the Coal is Gone: West Virginia Finds New Uses for Former Coal
Mines
* Hand-Crafted Glasswork is a Family Legacy for Blenko
* Community Profile: "All-America City" Hickory, N.C.
* Person Profile: Greenville, S.C., hotelier Hasmukh P. Rama
Region Focus, a quarterly business magazine published by the Federal
Reserve Bank of Richmond, covers the economy and business activities of the
District of Columbia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and
most of West Virginia.
For copies free of charge, contact the Bank's Public Affairs Division at
804-697-8111. The article abstracts are available at
http://www.rich.frb.org/pubs/regionfocus .
SOURCE Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond
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Related links:
http://www.rich.frb.org/pubs/regionfocus
http://www.rich.frb.org
CONTACT:
Laura Fortunato, Executive Editor, Region
Focus, of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, 804-697-8196
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