If you haven’t yet visited the Royce J. and Caroline B. Watts Museum at WVU, you are missing out on a gem. This small but mighty museum hosts exhibits, events and is home to an archive of historical artifacts relating to coal mining and other West Virginia industries.
Royce Watts grew up in a mining family, but was a university employee himself. He began collecting and preserving mining artifacts for the university because he thought that history was important. These artifacts include flame safety lamps — some designed by WVU professors and are one-of-a-kind, helmets from different eras, other pieces of equipment along with gems, fossils, glass, photographs and books.
The current exhibit, “Mineral Matters,” is an art exhibit — each piece includes a mineral found in West Virginia. I very much enjoyed seeing this exhibit. The styles and mediums vary. My favorites were a set of paintings made with acid mine drainage, and a canvas covered in coal. Other interesting works showed a more subtle inclusion of minerals.
While the public can view this exhibit until the end of the semester, Watts Museum employees already are preparing for the next exhibit. In the fall they will open with an updated version of “The Mining Life,” an exhibit created in the 1980s by the Coal Life Project — a collaboration between the WV State Museum, Huntington Museum of Art, and the Ogelbay Mansion Museum.
The exhibit toured, and was even set up at a World Fair, before going into storage. Soon, Watts Museum curator Danielle Petrak and Collections and Programs manager Rachel Harper will pull the exhibit out of storage to display for the Morgantown community.
Danielle loves putting together new exhibits every year, and managing all aspects of the museum operations. She has worked at the museum for 13 years, and said she has had a lot of freedom, artistically and otherwise. “I want people to know how grateful we are to Mr. Watts,” Danielle said. “He passed away in 2020.”
Danielle said they will set up a reduced version of “A Mining Life,” using components from the original and reinterpreting content. “Some artifacts haven’t survived, so we will supplement with our own artifacts,” she said.
The original team who created the exhibit kept detailed notes on the development process which have helped Danielle and Rachel prepare. Additionally, they’ve been able to interview some of those involved.
The Watts team said some components need updating, as times have changed. For example a diorama of Gary, McDowell County, in the 1920s, and a description of it in the 80s, which, Rachel said, “definitely has a vintage aesthetic,” will be updated with a description of the town today.
While we wait for “The Mining Life” to open in the fall, we can still visit and enjoy the current exhibit.
The museum is open when the university is in session, on from 1-4 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and by appointment.
This week, the museum will be open this evening, during a special event: Caves, Stoves, and Cones. This free event will include ice cream and lectures by Joseph Lebold, Christopher Wilkinson (co-authors of “The Roadside Geology of West Virginia”) and Maria Perez, associate professor of geology who has studied cave science and exploration from a cultural anthropology aspect.
The event will be from 5-6:30 p.m. in the auditorium and atrium of the WVU Mineral Resources Building on the Evansdale Campus. The Watts Museum will be open until 7 p.m. See you there!
ALDONA BIRD is a journalist, previously writing for The Dominion Post. Email columns@dominionpost.com
