It was a very well laid out centre. It has many photographs, audio stations, and scale models representing the region, and events.
There is a theatre that plays a 20 minute docu-drama recounting the events just prior to and including 4:10 am April 29, 1903, and the immediate aftermath.
There are also several lookout points to view the fallout field. I took a picture of a before shot that was recently created, as well as an after shot, so you can get a feel for how much of the mountain came down.
Recreated Before shot ...... After shot
This is one of the cottages that a miner family was living in, and the right shot is a map of the slide area, and what actually got hit. It seems that the town at the time had a population of 600 people, so that only 100 were in harm's way is a mazing. It is still tragic that only 23 of them survived.
It was noted that (all, I'm sure, but one specific quote) one of the miner's wife always worried about her husband when he went into the mine, but the only miners killed during the slide while on shift were the 3 who were taking a lunch break just outside the mouth of the mine when the slide occurred. The others, 17 in all, were able to dig themselves out. As for the wife of the afore-mentioned miner, she and her children were killed at home. The husband was one of the 17 who survived inside the mine.
See my album for my other shots.
And so ended our stay in Bellevue. We are now back in Three Hills, and enjoying power, water and sewer hook-ups :-)
Other occurrences since our return yesterday will wait until the next post.
So for now I bid you,
Adieu
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