Jay Fred Hall Narrative

Before the tunnel was constructed there was nothing but wilderness, and not very much going on. The tunnel brought work, employment, and plenty of money. If the tunnel hadn’t been built then, if the tunnel hadn’t been built then, in my opinion it wouldn’t have been but 4 or 5 years before it would have been built. A few of my cousins worked in the tunnel along with me. I worked on the tunnel around 1969 and 1972, somewhere in that area. I worked as the concrete driver. There were a lot of dangerous jobs in the tunnel. I never really saw any accidents. There was a lot of business going on when the tunnel was being built.  I got to meet a lot of the town’s people, I don’t really remember any of their names, I can remember their faces, but not really their names. I think in some incidents the tunnel had a good effect and in others it brought a lot of outside people that maybe was what we didn’t really want the goes with prosperity. Everybody in the community was able to benefit from the tunnel because it brought employment and it brings prosperity, anytime you have a lot of money flowing around. The construction boosted the local economy.There was a ceremony for the opening of the ceremony, but I didn’t attend it, but there were quite a few people, local citizens, dignitaries of West Virginia and Bland County. Many local people that would work were hired; the jobs varied such as concrete finisher, truck drivers, dozer operators, front in loads. I didn’t help with construction of the bridge over Clear Fork, because I run a front loader in that area when the bridge was being built. The construction never really did affect the high school very much. It was very fascinating the first time I drove threw the tunnel. The thought of going the walls coming down on you was a bit scary; the first time I drove threw it.