The Western Mining and Railroad Museum on Helper’s historic Main Street is opening a new exhibit to honor a person that is dear to the museum. Aldene Thomas, long-time volunteer, will be celebrating her 100th birthday on Dec. 3.
To commemorate this milestone in Thomas’ life, the museum will be welcoming all on that day to the museum to view the “Aldene Thomas: My Life Story” exhibit. This will begin at 6 p.m. and will run until 8 p.m. that evening. This exhibit is curated from her life story and is in her own words. Those that visit will be taken on a journey of what it was like to grow up in the Carbon County coal camp towns on Standardville, Spring Canyon and Rains in the 1920s and 1930s.
Though the coal camps are now ghost towns, they were once thriving with life and Thomas has many great stories of that time in her life. In addition to Thomas’s personal memories, there will be displays and photographs showcasing the towns.
The Western Mining and Railroad Museum, located at 294 South Main, contains a myriad of artifacts, photographs and stories that greatly depict the unique history and lifestyles of Helper and surrounding Carbon County communities. The winter hours for the museum are Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thomas’s exhibit will be a permanent addition to the Immigrant Room exhibit at the museum.
For more information or questions, contact Jason Huntzinger at (206) 499-3176 or jhuntzinger@gmail.com.