Title
Rope Riders Mining Footage
Document Type
Book
Contributor
Suncadia (Resort), Suncadia Fund for Community Enhancement
Files
Access
Download Jim Barich biography.pdf (229 KB)
Download Jim Larrigan biography.pdf (97 KB)
Download Joe Melos biography.pdf (113 KB)
Download John Ferro biography.pdf (108 KB)
Download John Martin biography.pdf (101 KB)
Download This article tells the story of the last surviving Roslyn rope riders (824 KB)
Download This article details rope rider fatalities (133 KB)
Download These clippings include an article on John Popovich, rope rider fatality (1.8 MB)
Description
Rope riders worked in the coal mines at Roslyn, Cle Elum, and Ronald, Washington. They did the most dangerous work in the mines, balancing precariously on the hitches between coal cars as they wound through darkened tunnels. When the cars were full, the rope rider would signal that it was time to return to the surface. All the while he would balance himself between the two cars, each carrying a ton and a half of coal when full.
This video shows footage of the No. 9 Mine at Roslyn, Washington, and rope riders at work.
The cover image shows a rope rider who worked in the Northwestern Improvement Company (NWI) mines in the early to mid-twentieth century.
Publication Date
2014
Recommended Citation
Larrigan, James (Jim); Barich, James (Jim); Ferro, John; Melos, Joseph (Joe); and Martin, John, "Rope Riders Mining Footage" (2014). Roslyn, Cle Elum, and Ronald Oral History Interviews. 90.
https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/roslyn_history/90
Subject
Oral history, Coal mining, Northwestern Improvement Company
Rights
Educational use only; no other permissions given. Copyright to this resource is held by the content creator, author, artist or other entity, and is provided here for educational purposes only. It may not be reproduced or distributed in any format without written permission of the copyright owner.
Language
English
Format
video/mov