A former coal-mining community in Tennessee recently celebrated 30 years of an effort to educate people about the region's rich history, a project that began with a $250 matching grant from the local electric cooperative.
Decatur-based Volunteer Energy Cooperative and its members have given some $2,500 over the years to support Bon Air Mountain Historical Society's awareness campaign. The effort, which initially centered on history lessons at BonDeCroft Elementary School in Sparta, has expanded to include a range of activities for the public and led to the designation of local landmarks on the National Register of Historic Places.
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“VEC has a historic and proud culture of supporting the communities we serve beyond just the basic provision of electricity," said Kellie McCormick, the co-op's office supervisor.
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On March 22, the historical society celebrated the education campaign's 30th anniversary. McCormick was one of about 80 people who attended.
The initiative began in 1994, when the school applied for a $250 grant from the National Rural Education Association and NRECA for a proposal related to energy education. The school won the grant, which was matched by VEC's gift.
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The Bon Air Mountain region was home to five coal-mining communities that swelled around the turn of the 20th century. The initial $500 awards paved the way for a full week of lesson plans on the community's history, culminating in a school-wide field trip and a “coal miners' reunion."
This history week became an annual event, with the miners' reunion turning into a history fair and the field trip opening up to the public.
The historical society also acquired a donated railroad section house that became a museum and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2011.
Twenty-five acres of a former mining site were also donated to the society and later placed on the national register.
The history campaign is “one of the most meaningful things outside my family and my church that I have ever done," said Linda Mackie, one of the three BonDeCroft teachers who formed the initial curriculum. “It has made such an impact."
Although the coal company shut down the mining operation in 1936, “we thought it was important to teach our children why these communities were here in the first place," Mackie explained.
Without grant support from VEC, “we would have never done this," she added.
VEC has over 86,000 members and serves over 127,000 electric accounts, but “few of our members actually know much about the history of the cooperative serving them," McCormick said. “VEC recognizes the importance of remembering our history, as it guides our growth and informs our decisions about the future. The same is true of Bon Air Mountain and the historical society."
