We woke this morning to rain and autumn winds whipping the trees. By lunchtime the rain had moved out for a brief recess. A friend of ours took me and my two brothers down by the river to what was once a coal patch of houses on the hill side. We were told we could find some old coke ovens still in tact up in the brush. As we drove slowly along the railroad tracks we scanned the wooded areas. Suddenly, through the trees, we saw some glimpses of holes in the side of the hill that looked like abandoned coke ovens. We waded through the weeds and brush and sure enough, there they were. The fronts were gone but the brick work inside was still holding it together. We actually crawled into the oven and took photos which you can see below. It was a great day for finding skeletons of the past.
Autumn wind and rain
Not enough to hinder us
Coke Ovens still there
*************
Photos: Dwight L. Roth
Coke Ovens Burning in the early 1900s – Photo provided by Ed West
Frank Tassone suggested we do a Haikai challenge using either autumn or spring winds. Come join us at: https://frankjtassone.com/2018/09/08/haikai-challenge-50-9-8-18-autumn-wind-aki-kaze-spring-wind-haru-kaze-rosh-hashanah-haiku-senryu-haibun-tanka-haiga-renga/