In the Spotlight Watershed group restoring miners mural, working to improve Blacklick Creek
Oct. 22—VINTONDALE — When the miners' memorial was dedicated in 2005, advocates sought to preserve more than a century of coal industry history in Vintondale on a single slab of black granite.
But over the 17 years since the images of a row of Mine No. 6 miners were etched into the stone mural, they began to "disappear," Blacklick Creek Watershed Association member Janis Long said.
"It's such a beautiful, unique piece of artwork, but it got to the point you could barely see it was there anymore," Long said, adding that the group worried the mural would fade into history.
That now is changing.
Final touches
Among several efforts to upgrade the Miner's Park section of the former AMD&Art development, the grassroots group is leading an effort to restore the mural.
Crews from F & G Monument Lettering LLC, of Northern Cambria, were putting the final touches on the mural to complete the restoration for the group.
Long, of Indiana County, serves as the watershed group's president.
She said the organization was formed in 1993 to protect and promote the Blacklick Creek watershed that spans parts of Indiana and western Cambria counties.
But the section of Blacklick Creek through Vintondale also serves as a centerpiece to the area's coal heritage.
Deep scars
While following the Ghost Town Trail, which travels past the memorial, the creek winds its way through the old site of the Vinton Collieries that once built the community — and, unfortunately, left deep scars behind, in the forms of waste piles and acid mine drainage (AMD).
As the brainchild of a group that included historian T. Allan Comp in the late 1990s, AMD&Art debuted in 2001 to highlight passive AMD treatment, restoration and community redevelopment through art.
But the system of treatment ponds and discharge systems never worked as intended.
Still, the Ghost Town Trail's tens of thousands of visitors annually cross through the aging memorial site, which features a mosaic base for a Sanborn Fire Insurance map and the adjacent mural.
From film reel
The original mural was created using an image captured from a Vintondale resident's 1918 film reel showing miners emerging from Mine No. 6, fellow member Dennis Remy said.
The map mosaic was created by a team of artists, including Philadelphia artist Jessica Liddell, and is bordered by square granite tiles that outline the history of the project.
Long said the group members have become the caretakers of the projects and they are hoping to restore the mosaic's lettering in 2023, thanks to funding they have set aside designated for the park.
Both remain important landmarks along the Ghost Town Trail.
But Remy and Long are hopeful Blacklick Creek will also become a bigger draw in the years to come.
More improvements
Efforts are underway to develop an active treatment plant upstream to remove much of the acidic pollutants that the mine industry left behind, they said.
Work is also in motion to remove a more visible sign of pollution, too.
A towering bony pile is being hauled away one truckload at a time, supported partly through a state environmental grant.
If all goes well, Robindale Energy will complete the job next year to enable a park for trailside camping, fishing and baseball, Long said.
"We're already seeing signs (the creek) is improving," said Remy, who is also from the Indiana County area.
There have been more signs of life in the stream, and monitoring continues, he said.
For the past three to four years, trout have been stocked in the stream, Remy said.
And the creek will only improve once the treatment facility is complete, they said.
"This is why we formed (the watershed group) — to improve the quality of this waterway for people to enjoy," Long said.
"Soon, there are going to be people kayaking here, fishing and enjoying a new park.
"Maybe it will even bring new business to Vintondale."
David Hurst is a reporter for The Tribune-Democrat. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @TDDavidHurst.
