The Elmer Buchta Tech Center in Petersburg hosted a daylong celebration Thursday recognizing the community’s rich coal mining heritage while highlighting its transition toward renewable energy.
“Powered by Pike” brought together residents, local organizations, and energy companies for exhibits, storytelling, and discussions about the area’s role in the evolving energy landscape. Historical displays from the Museum of the Coal Industry included mining memorabilia, vintage lunchboxes, hard hats, belt buckles awarded to long-time miners, and photos—some showing horse-drawn carriages outside early 1900s coal pits. Many attendees were able to spot family members in photographs for the first time.
Pauletta Mason Allasi, a board member with the Museum of the Coal Industry located in Lynville, said the event aligned with the museum’s mission. “We are all about conserving and preserving and honoring our past and safeguarding it so that the future can know where we’ve come from,” she said. “We want past generations to know we respect them, and future generations to learn from both the successes and mistakes of the past.”
Event organizer Jill Hyneman, executive director of the Pike County Chamber of Commerce, said the goal was to celebrate history without ignoring current changes in the energy sector. “We’re having a celebration of our history today, but it is supported by our solar companies because they also understand that we don’t want to erase where we’ve been from,” Hyneman said. “Our coal plants and our coal mines are what’s sustained Pike County, and now that we’re transitioning, it has been difficult for people to understand.”
Renewable energy companies joined in the celebration, including Arevon, which operates two solar projects in the county. Pat McDonnell, the company’s manager of community relations, said the partnership reflects a balanced approach. “We’re not trying to erase what Pike County has done in coal, but to embrace it and be part of that legacy as renewables,” McDonnell said. “Energy demand is rising so fast that it’s going to take natural gas, wind, and solar together to meet that demand.”
Other companies represented included AES and Invenergy.
The event also included conversations about the county’s energy future, with attendees asking questions about solar technology, environmental impacts, and how renewable projects fit into the broader energy mix.
Organizers say the positive response has sparked discussions about making “Powered by Pike” an annual event to continue bridging the community’s past, present, and future in the energy sector.
