On May 30, 1962 a group of Black Diamond men, supported by the Lions Club, dedicated a coal car on a triangular-shaped property at the intersection of Highway 169 and Roberts Drive. The town of Black Diamond had been founded 80 years earlier in 1882. Shown kneeling from left are: Keith Timm Sr., James Vernarelli, Howard Botts, Ernest Richardson, George Savicke, Roy Darby, and Ted Barner. Standing from left are: Walter Mislenski, John Birchall, Mike Sogura, Domenico Geminiani, Fred L. Roberts, Tom Wieltschnig, Joe Bertelli, Joe Dal Santo, Tony Signani, R.W. Boyovich, Frank Costi, and Henry Hawthorne. This photo appeared on the front page of the Enumclaw Courier-Herald.
Black Diamond is a strange name for a town. There are just a few Black Diamonds , including one in Alabama, Florida, Alberta, Canada, and a collection of coal mining communities in the Appalachia region of southeast Ohio who’ve banded together as the Little Cities of Black Diamonds. The local one was named for the Black Diamond Coal Mining Company of Nortonville, California whose investments led to the town’s beginnings. The mines grew rapidly, becoming the biggest coal producers in King County, and second only to Roslyn in Washington State. After the closure of the deepest and most successful Mine #11 in 1927, underground mining within town limits continued until the mid-1930s, when Bill Hann mined pillars from the old Lawson mine. Into the 1960s a few small one-man mines were operated in town by local entrepreneurs like Dave Evans, Billy Casper, Tom Maks, and Louie Draghi. Surface mining within the city was completed in 1986 when Palmer Coking Coal’s McKay-Section 12 mine was fully reclaimed. Coal processing at Palmer’s Mine #11 wash plant didn’t stop until 1990. Next week, more about this iconic coal car and its storied history.
