Expedition Team: Dave Miller, Rosie Miller
Date: August 4, 2026
Near the southern end of Jesse Owens State Park at Miner’s Memorial Park sits “Big Muskie Bucket”, the largest single-bucket digging machine ever created. It was so big that, starting in 1967, it had to be built on site at the mine. Two years, 300+ railcars and 250 truckloads of materials later, the 240-ton digging machine was finished, and it began coal production. The big scoop could grab 325 tons of earth at one time in a single scoop. It ran 24 hours a day, 364 days a year, until its last usage in 1991. In one photo, a local high school band fits entirely into the big bucket.
