Meteorological spring began Sunday. But thick ice persists above ground and even below. Workers Robert Reese, left, and John Curry of Lansford, pause from breaking large icicles hanging in the bowels of the earth. The men spent Friday afternoon opening access deep inside the Number 9 Coal Mine in Lansford. Begun in 1855, No. 9 is the world's oldestcontinuously operated anthracite coal mine, 1855-1972. It was reopened as a heritage tourism attraction in 2002. After dangerous icicles are chopped down, passage will be cleared 1,600 feet into the mountainside to prepare for spring tourism.