The Ladders were Scary

The Ladders were Scary

Back when Oya stone was mined by hand, entire families would head up into the mountains. There are even stories of tiny babies sleeping, wrapped up with the packed lunches, while their parents worked.

We had an opportunity to speak with people who were born & raised in Oya, all in their 80s.

One person said that when they would go into the mountains after elementary school to pick up their young siblings, they became scared by the wobbly wooden ladder. Then someone standing nearby said that the ladders were wobbly on purpose. They explained that the ladders were made that way to give some spring when people climbed up carrying heavy stones.

Another person chimed in, “Oh, is that true?”
“Yeah.”

It was fun listening to all the people tell old stories. There’s bound to be even more stories if we keep digging.

[Photo] The locals we talked to

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2019.03.26