Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2015 - 45

BRC
Click for video or visit
BlueRidgeCountry.com/Coal.
WORKIN' IN A COAL
MINE: WELL, AS A
TOUR GUIDE
Clay Slusher would rather
"Part of it is stroking,"
Wolters says. "And, yes, it's
cleaning her and, yes, it's
getting any tangles in her
mane that might be there.
But it's also, just again, just
sort of the loving and the
stroking and, then, touching
her in those goosey
places."
Most importantly, this
is a time for bonding,
Wolters says. "And, I
think, it's communicating
on her level."
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Landrum, South Carolina, 864909-1575,
redhorseinn.com
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-Joe
Tennis
be mining coal than
explaining the history of
how it's been done in the
mountains of Eastern
Kentucky. Still, he says, he
loves his job as a tour guide
at Portal 31, an exhibition
mine at Lynch.
"I've been a miner for 35
years, but most of my experience
has been on the surface,"
says Slusher.
"Naturally, I have a love for
the mine, growing up with
it and spending a career
with mine work. And then,
also, I have a compassion
for the people."
That's why Slusher loves
the job he tried to train me
for: being a tour guide in
Now, a couple of years after the adoption, Secret
remains unpredictable. Yet that's why Wolters makes it
a point to spend at least an hour a day with her horse
coal mine. It's one that
requires, obviously, being
able to talk to people and
not having stage fright.
"Talk to them like they're
family," Slusher says. "In
other words, don't be intimidated
by a big crowd."
At Portal 31, riders
breeze through the underground
on a car that runs
on amusement park-style
rails.
"This is like a
Dollywood track," says
Melvin Dixon, who helps
operate Portal 31. "It's like a
ride."
Or as Slusher puts it: "A
chimpanzee could run this
thing," going forward or
reverse. "Driving the car is
not that hard. You just have
to be careful around the
rough spots at the crossings.
It's kind of bumpy."
The toughest part of
working in this coal mine, I
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015 | 45
Clay Slusher leads mine tours
in the mountains of Eastern
Kentucky.
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Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2015

Letters
From the Editor & Digital Help Guide
Mill Creek Stories
Creature Feature
The Hike
Great Buys
Mountain Report
Country Roads
Creature Feature
Festivals & Events
The Curios: Our Annual Compendium of the Strange
North Georgia: A Foodie Haven
Why We Travel: The Photoessay
The 2015 Blue Ridge Country Travel Guide: A Year of Experiences
The Weekend: Harpers Ferry and Western Maryland
The Old Stone Chimney
Cabin in the Woods: Fiddler’s Roost
Mountain Garden
Guest Column: Author Stephanie Jeffries
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2015 - Intro
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2015 - Cover1
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2015 - 2
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2015 - 3
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2015 - 4
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2015 - Letters
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2015 - From the Editor & Digital Help Guide
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2015 - 7
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2015 - Mill Creek Stories
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2015 - Creature Feature
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2015 - The Hike
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2015 - 11
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2015 - Great Buys
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2015 - Mountain Report
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2015 - 14
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2015 - 15
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2015 - Country Roads
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2015 - 17
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2015 - 18
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2015 - Creature Feature
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2015 - Festivals & Events
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2015 - 21
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2015 - 22
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2015 - The Curios: Our Annual Compendium of the Strange
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2015 - 24
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2015 - 25
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2015 - 26
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2015 - North Georgia: A Foodie Haven
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2015 - 28
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2015 - 29
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2015 - 30
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2015 - 31
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2015 - 32
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2015 - 33
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2015 - Why We Travel: The Photoessay
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2015 - 35
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2015 - 36
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2015 - 37
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2015 - The 2015 Blue Ridge Country Travel Guide: A Year of Experiences
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2015 - 39
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2015 - 40
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2015 - 41
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2015 - 42
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2015 - 43
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2015 - 44
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2015 - 45
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2015 - 46
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2015 - 47
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2015 - 48
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2015 - 49
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2015 - 50
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2015 - 51
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2015 - 52
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2015 - 53
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2015 - The Weekend: Harpers Ferry and Western Maryland
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2015 - 55
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2015 - 56
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2015 - 57
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2015 - 58
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2015 - 59
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2015 - The Old Stone Chimney
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2015 - Cabin in the Woods: Fiddler’s Roost
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2015 - 62
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2015 - 63
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2015 - Mountain Garden
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2015 - 65
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2015 - Guest Column: Author Stephanie Jeffries
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2015 - Cover3
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2015 - Cover4
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