Edgewater Alabama

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The camp had a very active social environment.  Since all the houses were the same and the salary levels were similar there was little room for jealousy.    There were Camp Fire girls, Brownies, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts and a drama group that put on community plays for the residents.  There was an active parent teachers association at the school.    This was America for sure.  What would America be without baseball!!    Each mine camp had a baseball team that played on a field constructed by the  company.  There were no bleachers but many people came and watched.  The usual vendors sold candy, ice cream and roasted peanuts.

A very popular place was across the street from the school.  Called the "Guild Hall" this building served as the Methodist and the Baptist church.  The preachers alternated Sundays.  This building was the site of other community events like plays, stage shows, movies,  and boxing matches.  At Christmas there was a community tree erected.  Although the miners were poor Santa never forgot his little children here.  He always made a visit to the community Christmas tree.  Each child would receive a brown paper bag with fruit, nuts, and candy.  There were no Nintendo's or  Nuclear powered toys.  There were no plugs in the houses anyway!    Pictured on page one of this web site below is the same building as it appeared April 9th 1998.  The Church had been relegated many years earlier to the Methodist Church.  Members Billy and Brian McCay dig through the rubble looking for personal belongings and dedicated hymnals.  Seen in the rear is one of the hundreds of media members filming the aftermath of the Nations most powerful tornado in history.

One very important spot for the Edgewater resident was the company store usually referred to as the commissary.  This was the original "SuperStore".  Long before Sam Walton came along a coal miner could buy every need under the roof,  fruits, vegetables, meat, clothing, shoes, sewing needs, animal feed, hardware, household goods, kerosene,a and some have said you could buy fresh chickens -- killed while you wait!!  Next to this building was a smaller one called the "dope stand"  Unlike the crack houses that had begun to infest this naborhood in the 1990's this was where you could buy soft drinks, candy, gum, cigarettes, ice cream and other goodies.