THERE is no doubt that the 50th anniversary of the closure of the Mary and Glencraig Collieries put the spotlight on what the mining industry did for the Benarty area.

Without it, it was clear that the villages of Crosshill, Ballingry, Lochore and Glencraig would have not developed into the communities they are today.

And the same goes for Kelty, Cowdenbeath, Crossgates, Lumphinnans, Hill of Beath, Lochgelly, the ABCD villages and Kinglassie.

So when the national mining museum at Newtongrange asks for information on mining artefacts in Central Fife one would hope there are people who can help them.

Certainly the Mossmorran Disaster cairn is still cared for by Donald McArthur who spearheaded its creation 25 years ago.

But there are so many others like the hutch in Kelty, the mining wheel, pit gear and pug at Lochore Meadows, and the statue in Lochgelly along with the pit wheel and hutch in Cardenden.

The mining museum is keen to know all about the background to these monuments to an industry which was the basis of the economy of the Cowdenbeath-Lochgelly area for the best part of a century.

Surely there are people out there who can take the time to contact the museum and help them with what they want to know.

Mining was what the area was built on and it is not going to be forgotten.