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If you go:
Windber Coal Heritage Center Admission to the coal center is $6 for adults; $4.50 for seniors age 62 and older; $3 for students age 17 to 21; $1.50 for children age 7 to 16; free for children 6 and under.
The Windber Coal Heritage Center is located at 501 15th St. To request reservations for a tour call 1-814-467-6680 or send e-mail to coalheritagecenter@comcast.net.
To learn more about the museum visit this Web site: www.progressfund.org/windber.

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The museum reopened this month part time after receiving a general operating grant of $6,200 from the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission, said Chris Barkley, its director. It is open for tours on Fridays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The bituminous coal museum tells the dramatic story of the rescue of nine men trapped in the Quecreek Mine as well as the history of Windber, a coal mining community founded in 1897 by the Berwind-White Coal Mining Co.

"Pennsylvania has a number of mining museums. We tell the story about families with miners, the story of Berwind and Quecreek," Mr. Barkley said.

The center, which reopened on Aug. 10, will remain open through Sept. 29.

"What we're expecting to do, also with the funding, is to be available, by appointment, for tours in October. That's when the leaves change and a lot of people come through," Mr. Barkley said.

The Berwind family, which operates Wilmore Coal Co. in Windber, a subsidiary of Berwind Natural Resources, has supported the museum since it opened in 1997, Mr. Barkley said.

He runs the museum with a half dozen volunteers.

"We really need around $80,000 to do it right, to stay in operation through 2008," Mr. Barkley said.

The Windber Coal Heritage Center is owned by The Progress Fund, a community development group that makes loans in 15 counties and four states.

The Berwind family, Mr. Barkley said, have a love for coal because "the coal company was the first thing they started."