About
Mine Tailings
Local playwright, Jeff Ross, has been pressing pen to paper to pull together the stories and history of the Belt Valley from area history books, interviews with local historian Ken Robison, and our very own oral history project Belt Story.
These writings are being produced for the stage under the title of Mine Tailings.
The name, Mine Tailings, is a clever play of words; the stories, or tales, include history of the coal mining in Belt which left a mark on the land in the form of tailings.
The Valley, performed on Belt stage during the summers of 2022 and 2023, was the first installment focused on the beginnings of Belt Valley settlement as witnessed in the late 1800’s by John and Mattie Castner, the city’s patriarch and matriarch.
What's Next?
The next installment of Mine Tailings is currently being researched and written. The subjects of this next historically based story are Duke and Marie Dutriueille.
Until more is revealed about the upcoming production, please feel free to learn about Duke and Marie from the Belt Valley History book, 1877-1978.
Reference page 227 in the hard bound book.
Reference page 229 in the online book at the Montana History Portal of the Montana State Library.
