WHEELING, W.Va. (WTRF) – In Wheeling magazine has published the second of their four-part series about the materials that built Wheeling.
First was glass, and now it is coal’s turn to step into the spotlight.
InWheeling magazine’s owner and publisher David Allinder says they chose to focus on materials that built this city.
Some of those materials are not important as they had been, some are still important, but they’re important to Wheeling.
DAVID ALLINDER, INWHEELING MAGAZINE OWNER AND PUBLISHER
The latest edition of InWheeling magazine brings you the history of coal in Wheeling, and brings you a first hand perspective.
We have three coal miners who talked about what they do underground, what the job means to them, and what its like.
DAVID ALLINDER, INWHEELING MAGAZINE OWNER AND PUBLISHER
Coal may be a part of our history, but it is also a part of our present and future.
President and CEO of Touchstone Research Laboratory Brian Joseph found a way to bring coal into the 21st century.
CFOAM is this amazing material that you can make from coal. If you grind coal into a powder and you heat it under pressure, it blows up into this beautiful black foam.
DAVID ALLINDER, INWHEELING MAGAZINE OWNER AND PUBLISHER
He said that CFOAM can be used for a variety of things including building and manufacturing. …they even work with NASA.
If you thought coal was a valuable asset to West Virginia now, CFOAM drastically increases its value.
So if you burn coal, that has some value. When you do this, its probably 1,000 to 10,000 times higher in value.
DAVID ALLINDER, INWHEELING MAGAZINE OWNER AND PUBLISHER
Another way to use coal is to make art.
Allinder said he found local shops that sculpt using coal instead of clay or marble.
I heard that someone was carving stuff out of coal and making art, and sure enough, the artisan center here in Wheeling, you can go in there and buy absolutely spectacular coal sculptures.
DAVID ALLINDER, INWHEELING MAGAZINE OWNER AND PUBLISHER
The latest edition of InWheeling magazine focuses on the past, present, and future of coal in Wheeling, and will follow up with showcasing how steel shaped the area.
