WEST FRANKFORT - A West Frankfort man's life both above and below ground made him the perfect choice to be crowned 2008 Old King Coal.

Earl Kirk, 82, will rule over this year's Old King Coal Festival in West Frankfort after being selected by the festival committee.

Kirk was nominated for the recognition by his grandson, Tyson Moore of Marion. Kirk started in the mines in 1950, just before 119 coal miners were killed in the Orient 2 mine disaster.

"I started just before the disaster," Kirk said. "But it didn't make me afraid to work underground. My father was a coal miner so I knew the threat was always there."

He worked in the mines for 37 years until his mine closed in 1987. For Kirk, the closure of the mine meant not only retirement but a challenging road ahead.

He started losing his vision in 1989. He coped with the loss by tackling it head on, his grandson said in the nomination.

Kirk attended a school for the blind and served as a delegate on the Illinois Council for the Blind.

"Earl's golden years have been trying, however he had the integrity to make them courageous," his grandson said.

Kirk has been an active member of the community with the Blind Bureau, Lions Club, Franklin-Williamson Human Services Board of Directors, and the West Frankfort Park Pool and the park's spring barbeques.

It's not in him to let life bring him down. With recent reconstructive heart surgery and lung cancer, he still works to help his West Frankfort community, at age 82 years old, anyway he can," Moore wrote of his grandfather.

Kirk said receiving the title of Old King Coal was an honor.

"I'm very proud," he said. "It's a great honor."

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Details

What: Old King Coal Festival

When: Sept. 18 to 21

Where: West Frankfort