Ebook: Hard as the rock itself: place and identity in the American mining town
Author: Robertson David
- Tags: Cities and towns--Social conditions, Cities and towns--United States--Social conditions, Coal mines and mining, Coal mines and mining--Colorado--Cokedale--History, Coal mines and mining--Illinois--Toluca--History, Group identity, Group identity--United States, Mines and mineral resources, Mines and mineral resources--Oklahoma--Picher--History, Case studies, History, Coal mines and mining -- Illinois -- Toluca -- History, Coal mines and mining -- Colorado -- Cokedale -- History, Mines and mineral resources --
- Series: Mining the American West
- Year: 2010
- Publisher: University Press of Colorado
- City: Boulder;Colo;Colorado;Cokedale;Illinois;Toluca;Oklahoma;Picher;United States
- Edition: 1. pbk. ed
- Language: English
- epub
The first intensive analysis of sense of place in American mining towns, Hard as the Rock Itself: Place and Identity in the American Mining Town provides rare insight into the struggles and rewards of life in these communities. David Robertson contends that these communities - often characterized in scholarly and literary works as derelict, as sources of debasing moral influence, and as scenes of environmental decay - have a strong and enduring sense of place and have even embraced some of the signs of so-called dereliction. Robertson documents the history of Toluca, Illinois; Cokedale, Colorado; and Picher, Oklahoma, from the mineral discovery phase through mine closure, telling for the first time how these century-old mining towns have survived and how sense of place has played a vital role. Acknowledging the hardships that mining's social, environmental, and economic legacies have created for current residents, Robertson argues that the industry's influences also have...