Sam Wilburn:  

Life In 1978 I started at Berea College, where I graduated in 1981 with a BS in Agriculture. I met Dorothy (Terry) there, and we became a pair. Dorothy is from near Hindman, Kentucky. In January, 1983, Dorothy and I got married and moved to Pikeville, KY, where I started a job with the Kentucky Department of Surface Mining Reclamation & Enforcement (DSMRE). I was an inspector enforcing the regulations on coal mining (public law 95-87, passed under Jimmy Carter). Dorothy worked briefly for an accountant and then took a positiion at the then Pikeville National Bank. We bought our first motorcycle in 1986 (a Yamaha 600cc Radion), and spent many summer days riding around southeast Kentucky, often ending up a the Breaks Interstate Park. We first lived in a house we rented from the mother of one of my co-workers, and later bought a trailer and lived on Stone Coal Road. We became friends with Todd and Tammy Belcher and enjoyed many days boating and water skiing with them. In November, 1987, we moved to Big Stone Gap, Virginia, where I had taken a job with the Office of Surface Mining (OSM) as an oversite inspector, which basically involved overseeing the states enforcement of the coal mining regulations. Dorothy worked for an insurance company, and then got a job at the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy. When we moved to Big Stone Gap, we took our trailer with us (how often ...Expand for more