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Cherry Mine Disaster of 1909

Historian Jim Gibbons explores the disaster that killed over half of the men and boys who went into the Illinois mine that day.

The year is 1909. You are new to the United States and must work hard to keep your family fed. You are willing to risk the odds, working for long hours at levels from 165 feet to 500 feet below the surface of the earth mining coal to obtain your goal. The hours are long, and the work back-breaking. Working by the sweat of your brow with fellow miners, some as young as ten years-old, you must work at a fast pace. You are not paid by the hour but are paid by the ton for a flat rate of $1.08. Remember that time is money! Suddenly, you hear screams as a flash fiery inferno has just ignited the mine. Within seconds it will bear down on you, offering little possibility for you or your colleagues to escape!

Historian Jim Gibbons will present the November 13, 1909 Illinois Cherry Mine Disaster. Of the estimated 481 men and boys that went into the mine that day, 259 of them lost their lives. In 1910, the Illinois Legislature established stronger fire and safety regulations governing the mines. Not soon afterwards, the State of Illinois adopted a Liability Act which eventually became the Illinois Workmen’s Compensation Act. New mining safety procedures became law, strengthening the case for new members by the United Mine Workers.

The Cherry Mine Disaster is ranked among the top three mining disasters in our nation’s history due to loss of life and ranked number one by the United States Department of Labor due to fire!

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