Since 1896, over 1,300 people have lost their lives in Carbon County mines. To commemorate these miners, their families and their sacrifices, a mine memorial is in the works. Although the project is in the early planning stage, a committee is working hard to create a monument that will be accurate and represent each fallen miner accordingly.
The memorial committee met last week to discuss construction plans, fundraising efforts and data research. The main concern is gathering correctly spelled names and ensuring that no miner’s name is left off the monument. In an effort to get this information correct, the committee is asking for the public’s help.
A list of names is located below. Each miner who perished on mine property in Carbon County should be listed. Any names that are missing, incorrect, misspelled and/or duplicated needs to be reported to committee members. To do so, comments may be made on A Coal Miner’s Kiss Facebook page at the following link: https://www.facebook.com/acoal.minerskiss?fref=ts.
Because so many names will be etched on the monument’s face, miners will be categorized by facility at which they worked. The lists are also formatted in this fashion. Therefore, if there are any inconsistencies, please report this information to the committee as well.
Eastern Utah has a rich coal mining history and members feel that the public will be instrumental in the monument’s creation. Not only is information being sought, but support is also vital in the success of the memorial.
Fundraising efforts are already underway. A Texas Hold’em poker event will take place April 12 at the Carbon County Fairgrounds Event Center beginning at 10 a.m. Door prizes, raffles and concessions will be available along with prizes for the top winners.
A $30 donation will serve as an entry fee to the event. Extra chips will be available for $5 with no re-buys.
All funds raised at the Texas Hold’em event will go towards the Coal Miners Memorial. Once finished, the monument will be housed at the Price City Peace Gardens. Completion is expected by Fall 2015.
Preregistration is encouraged. However, walk-ins are welcome.
For more information or to pre-register, contact Mike Huff at (435) 820-9244.
Together as a mining community, the Coal Miner’s Memorial will pay tribute to those who passed away doing a job which so many local citizens have done throughout the years.
