"I was born one morning when it was drizzling rain."

- [Children] I was born one morning when it was drizzling rain.

- "I picked up my shovel and I walked to the mines."

- [Children] I picked up my shovel and I walked to the mines.

- "I loaded 16 ton of number nine coal."

- [Children] I loaded 16 ton of number nine coal.

- [Narrator] For those of us who grew up with it, coal is intrinsic.

- Is coal important to your family?

- I don't know.

Is it to your family?

- Yes.

- That creates the kind of bond that you don't just make with any coworker.

- No.

- But coal mining?

You go underground and sacrifice your life.

- Right.

- Sweat and bleed and work.

♪ ♪ - [Narrator] For nearly a century, we've been told this place is nothing without a king.

- All of this stuff used to be trees, and green leaves and ferns - [Narrator] In the beginning, this place was wild.

Sometimes I wonder if our king's ghost is trapped here.

- I guess you can't take my memories from me.

- It is not dirty or clean.

It is elemental.

I learned that you can be proud of your life and want better for them that come after you.

There have always been those of us looking for stories that keep us alive.