I enjoyed reading Caleb Jackson’s history article describing the coal kilns of Oceana County. Some of the kilns built in New Era, were located on the 40 acres my grandfather, Andrew, purchased in the late 1800s – land between the present-day Country Dairy farm store and the railroad. The kilns were gone when Andrew bought the land; however, when he plowed the land for an asparagus field, the bricks left behind were proof of their existence. The bricks were used around the farm; my dad even made an outdoor stove for family cookouts with them. With Grandpa Andrew’s help, I wrote a history of the kilns for a 4-H project and won a blue ribbon!
