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Two of our rides at MitM this summer (August, Copper Mountain in Colorado) will take you thru Idaho Springs, CO and the Tommyknocker Brewery. Those rides are the WESTERN DRAGON (345 turns in 31 miles) and the Mt. Evans Hillclimb (www.MountEvans.com ) What is a Tommyknocker you say? Glad you asked:
As the Folklore goes...Gold and Silver miners who worked in dark and frightening surroundings developed numerous superstitions and tales about the things that happened in the mines. One of these was the belief in little elf-like beings who lived in the cracks and crevices of the rocks. These little creatures were rarely seen but were often heard singing and working, and they came to be known as Tommyknockers.....
....there were two types of Tommyknockers. The mischievous Tommyknockers dumped over the miners lunch boxes, blew out their candles and lamps and hid picks and shovels. Friendly Tommyknockers knock-knocked on the walls of the mine to show the miners where the richest ore veins lay. Thus thier name. They were short statured, only standing about two feet tall, wore colorful shirts, and had wrinkled, kindly faces and big heads.
...there are many tales of Tommyknockers saving the lives of miners. One such story is about a miner who was trapped in a deep pool of water. From nowhere, a pair of hands shoved him from behind and out of the pool. Seconds later, a gigantic boulder fell exactly where the miner had been stuck.....
...Miners were never harsh with even the most mischievous of Tommyknockers because they believed the creaking of timbers, tapping on pipes, falling stones and even misplaced or lost equipment were often warning signs of impending danger. The miners often left out tidbits of food to try and get on the Tommyknockers good side. Many a miner attributed their safety to these little mythic creatures.....
