It's difficult to fathom the working conditions of underground coal mines 100 years ago. It was hard, dirty work. Despite the dangers and poor pay, the miners -- most of them immigrants -- were willing to do it because it provided them a standard of living most deemed was better than what they had left behind.
One of Utah's first coal mine towns, Scofield, prospered for nearly 40 years. The mines employed some 300 people, the jobs supporting some 2,500 people. An explosion deep inside the Winter Quarters No. 4 mine on May 1,1900, ripped the heart from this hard-scrabble existence, killing more than 200 men, leaving 107 widows and 270 children without fathers.On the anniversary of what was then the nation's worst mine disaster, we are mindful of the tremendous loss of lives, the remarkable relief effort and finally, the legacy of the horrible tragedy.
Looking back, the response to the explosion was profound. The explosion occurred about 10:30 a.m., and the rescue efforts were immediate, although largely futile. The mines' owner, who was in Salt Lake City when the blast occurred, assembled a trainload of rescue workers and medical supplies that arrived the same day by 3:30 p.m.
The following day, a second train arrived, this one loaded with flowers that had been fashioned into hundreds of bouquets. Upon hearing word of the explosion, Salt Lake children went door-to-door gathering flowers and delivered them by the wagonload to the train for delivery to Scofield.
A statewide fund to assist for Scofield women and children was established immediately. The fund, which included contributions from wealthy executives and people who could spare no more than a quarter each, eventually mounted to $200,000. The mining company gave each widow $500 and $8,000 debt relief at the company store.
The men who died and the survivors of the explosion in Winter Quarters No. 4 unwittingly left a legacy. The disaster and those that followed helped shape safety prac- tices and bring about more stringent regulation of the mining industry. Because modern-day mining employs mechanized extraction equipment, computerized mapping and surveying and state-of-the-art monitoring devices, risks have been minimized but not completely eliminated.
As Scofield observes a Day of Commemoration today marking the 100th anniversary of the explosion, may Utahns pause to remember some 200 lives cut short by a blast in a mine, the outpouring of compassion and gifts from close friends and complete strangers and the industry changes stirred by this disaster. This was an important chapter in Utah's history, and today's ceremonies are a fitting tribute to the lives -- and deaths -- of the Scofield miners.