MEMORIES AND MINING
1970s–2005
Memorial Day Weekend 1991 at Duke Lake
The 45 years after Ryerson’s opening hold generations of family memories and traditions. In our interviews, lifelong resident Shelly Richardson shared stories about growing up just down the road from the park. During the summer, she and her sisters would ride their bikes to Ryerson and spend the whole day at the pool. At family reunions held at the park, Shelly remembers riding paddleboats on the lake while relatives played horseshoes, ran three-legged races, and caught bluegill along the shore.
Other community members shared similar memories of spending time with family, celebrating milestones, and learning to fish and appreciate nature. Local artist Colleen Nelson remembers festivals like Woodstuck and Arts in the Park, which celebrated local talent and brought the community together. In the winter, the fun continued with ice fishing, snowmobiling, and sledding. Brandy Tuttle, Shelly’s sister, said ice skating near the park office was one of her favorite Ryerson traditions.
At the core of these treasured memories was the beautiful environment created by Ryerson’s lake, named Duke Lake in 1983 after the unexpected passing of beloved park superintendent Ron Duke. With Duke Lake as its centerpiece, the park attracted over 160,000 visitors a year.
Drawings by Colleen Nelson featured in the Greene Country Calendar over the years
Meanwhile, Consolidation Coal Company (later Consol Energy) began mining operations in Washington and Greene counties in the ‘70s and ‘80s. They used a method called longwall mining, a mechanized process that removes huge blocks of coal in panels up to two miles long. This technique leaves behind an underground void that can cause the ground above to sink, or subside, damaging the natural environment and manmade structures like homes.
Opened in 1984 in Richhill Township, Consol’s Bailey Mine quickly became one of the nations’s top coal producers. In 1997, Consol applied to expand Bailey Mine under Ryerson Station State Park, a first for state parks in Pennsylvania. Fearing damage to Duke Lake, residents collected signatures and held protests against the permit, using a mascot named “Duke the Beaver.”
Consol promised not to mine under the lake and to leave a buffer zone of coal around the shoreline, and the revised permit was approved by the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) in 2000. As Bailey Mine continued setting worldwide records, environmental groups kept warning about the effects of longwall mining on streams, land, and infrastructure.