Event - Mining memories to pass on to kids (Newstead)

CHILDREN will be able to discover what it was like to work at a pit when a mobile mining museum rolls into Newstead next week.

The event at the Newstead Centre on Tilford Road will also allow residents of the village who remember the halcyon days of local collieries to record their memories for a mining-heritage initiative.

The attraction on Thursday October 13 is being run by the Nottinghamshire National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) Ex and Retired Miners Association.

Entitled ‘Mining Memories’, it will feature the mobile museum, complete with artefacts dating from the 1800s to the present day.

Youngsters from Newstead Primary School will get the chance to quiz association members about local pits, including Newstead, which closed in 1987.

Eric Eaton, chairman of the association, said: “A lot of children haven’t got an idea about mining, so it is important that we educate them.

“Generations of families worked at local pits until they closed.

“Mining is a crucial part of the heritage of this area and we will be forever linked with coal mining.”

On the day, residents who worked in mining are invited along to take part in a project to record memories of the pits.

The scheme run by the association aims to create a website and DVD featuring accounts of miners who worked at Linby, Newstead, Hucknall, Ollerton, Blidworth and Rufford Collieries.

The two-year initiative is backed by £46,500 worth of funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

“Parents and grandparents are welcome to come along and revive memories of their life at the pit,” added Mr Eaton.

“It looks like it should be a good day with lots of activities.”

From: http://www.hucknalldispatch.co.uk/community/mining_memories_to_pass_on_to_kids_1_3851064