"Black Creek" was chosen as a name for this book because it was an active feature of my early years. Black Creek was a stream of water that flowed through Straight Hollow of Dante, Virginia and through the back yards of the houses on the south side of the railroad and street. The original name of this stream was Lick Creek, but since it flowed through the coal tipple at the head of the hollow before continuing its winding route south. At the tipple it was used to clean the dust from the coal thus changing the water to a very dark shade of black. For several years my brother, Curtis and I played in this black creek most of each day which caused our mother great concern in the ever-ending battle of evening clean-up. Since it played a continual part of each day's activity for Curtis and me, I felt it would make an appropriate name for my bibliography