Storming HeavenIn 1883, the first carload of coal was transported from Tazewell County, Virginia, on the Norfolk and Western Railway. The railroad opened a gateway to West Virginia's untouched coal fields. The cities were created as the region transitioned from an agricultural to an industrial economy. (West Virginia Mine Wars) The lure of good wages and housing made coal mining attractive to West Virginians, but all good things come at a price. In the novel Storming Heaven, Denise Giardina gives us a glimpse of what really happened to the small town of Annedel, West Virginia. Whether the four characters who tell the story are fictional or based in part on real events that took place, it affects us, given where we live. The story is based on four different points of view of four citizens struggling to survive under the rule of a powerful coal company. I'm sure anyone from this area has had a family or knows someone who worked in the mines. If you sit down and talk to these older people who worked in the mines, they all have fascinating stories of events that have been passed down from generation to generation. Although each character delivers their powerful and moving story, I would like to focus on one individual. and his struggle to organize the miners. Rondal Lloyd struggled for most of his life. He knew about coal mining when he had to leave school to help his father work in the mines to pay off his debts to the company store. Unfortunately, this was common in the era this story is based on. In West Virginia, as early as 1901, there are records that attempted to establish standards for child labor, but we must remember that these children grew up hard and fast. (West Virginia Mine War... middle of paper ...... g to have a baby, and despite his situation, Rondal eventually becomes at peace with his life. In the end, he dies, but he will rest on the side of the mountain where Carrie “passes by the cemetery where Rondal would finally have his own place (Giardina 290) This reminds me of a story I read “How Much Land Does a Man Need”. in the end? otherwise Rondal will leave a legacy and it will not be how much he has but how much he loved and how much he gave of himself to others. ReferencesGiardina, Denise Storming Heaven New York: The Random House Publishing Group, 1988. .Print. .Norris, Ed. Personal interview March 20, 2014. “West Virginia Mine Wars” West Virginia Division of Culture and History, January 1, 2014. Web.. 2014..