October Sky

October Sky is set in Coalwood in McDowell County, West Virginia  in the year 1957. The coal mine is the heart of the small town and its largest employer. Nearly all the men of the town and their sons work there, at some point in their lives. The air in the mines is dirty with black coal dust and, in turn, many of the miners suffer from Black Lung disease. The high school is relatively small in this close-knit community.