Passing this on. --- Trish Newcomb <[email protected]> wrote: > Date: Thu, 27 May 2004 16:21:17 -0400 > From: Trish Newcomb <[email protected]> > Subject: [NJ_HIST] Book Information: Franklin and Sterling Hill > Mines > To: [email protected] > > Greetings! > > At the suggestion of Marc Mappen, executive director of the NJ > Historical Commission, I would like to share information with this > List Serve about the release of a new book titled "A Mile Deep and > Black as Pitch: An Oral History of the Franklin and Sterling Hill > Mines" by Carrie Papa. Research for this book was partially funded > by a grant from the Commission. > > "A Mile Deep and Black as Pitch" is a record of mining, community, > and corporate life in the towns of Franklin and Ogdensburg, NJ, as > told by thirty-four narrators whose lives have intersected with the > history of the New Jersey Zinc Company and its Franklin and Sterling > Hill mines. Particular attention is devoted to (a) the mines and the > miners, (b) life in the company towns, (c) the demise of the mines, > and (d) efforts to preserve and interpret the legacy of the mines > through the creation of two museums and representation of the mines > in the National Museum of Natural History's mine exhibit. The legacy > of the Franklin and Sterling Hill mines includes the following: > > * The New Jersey Zinc Company (NJZC) operated the Franklin and > Sterling Hill mines from 1897 through 1954 and 1986, respectively. > > * The mines are important in the history of corporate mining in > the US because the zinc industry, as practiced on a corporate scale, > was born here via the NJZC. > > * The NJZC built and maintained company towns at Franklin and > Ogdensburg, and Franklin was recognized as "The Model Mining Town of > America." > > * One of the first two stations in the worldwide network of > seismographic stations set up by the US Coast and Geodetic Survey / > Lamont Geological Observatory was established at the Franklin Mine. > > * After the mines were closed, museums were established in each > community to preserve and interpret the legacy of the mines and the > ores that supported them. > > * The minerals and legacy of both mines figured prominently in the > National Museum of Natural History's mine exhibit and fluorescent > mineral exhibit that opened in 1997. > > * The Franklin and Sterling Hill mines are world-renowned because > of their valuable, diverse, and complex mineral deposits, which > included: > - An unusually complex zinc ore, > - Over 300 species of minerals, more than any other single > deposit known anywhere else in the world, including > - More than 30 species of minerals that are found nowhere > else in the world. > > * Mineral collectors throughout the world know of these deposits, > in part, because of both the overall mineral diversity as well as the > high number of fluorescent minerals that the deposits have yielded. > > Subjects covered in the book include the ethnic, social, and > educational diversity of the miners and other employees of the NJZC; > work in the mines; life in the community; lore among the miners; > mineral collecting; company towns and life in the towns; closing of > the mines; the transition from company town to public municipality; > and efforts to preserve the legacy of the mines and to develop > museums and museum exhibits. > > About the author: > > Carrie Papa lives and writes in Bridgewater, NJ. Her interest in > people and their history was cultivated during thirty years of living > in foreign countries while accompanying her husband on assignments > with the US Diplomatic Corps. When the Papas retired to New Jersey, > Carrie became involved with the efforts of a local historical society > to preserve a two-centuries-old one-room schoolhouse and establish a > museum. While serving as founding director for the Old Monroe School > Museum, Carrie received awards from the New Jersey Historical Society > and the National Association for State and Local History for the > museum's interpretive programs. > Inspiration for "A Mile Deep and Black as Pitch" was a result of > Carrie's family's direct ties to the Franklin Mine where her father > worked as a miner. In undertaking an oral history project on mining > she discovered the satisfaction and pride that miners took in their > work. > > This book contains 388 pages with 112 black and white illustrations, > bibliography, and index. It retails for $24.95. For information > about a special price offer during the new release period that > extends until June 30, 2004, please view > www.mwpubco.com/Amiledeep.htm. This offer is valid for orders made > directly through the publisher. Bulk discounts are also available > for agency/organization/institutional uses and resale. Please call > us at 1-800-233-8787, or e-mail us at [email protected], if you > have any questions. > > Please consider sharing this announcement with other individuals, > groups, organizations, institutions, or agencies that might benefit > from the offer. We also would appreciate your recommending this > title for purchase by your institutional, organizational, and public > libraries. > > Sincerely, > > Trish Newcomb > > McDonald & Woodward Publishing Co. > 431-B East College Street > Granville, OH 43023 > > (740) 321-1140 - voice > (740) 321-1141 - fax > > (800) 233-8787 toll free >