SCOFIELD, Carbon County — "I found one!"
Peers scamper between weathered tombstones, some skewed by harsh winters and prairie dog dens, to peek at the boy's find:
A row of graves bearing the same name and death date: Luoma, May 1, 1900.
The family members were among the 200 men and boys killed in the Scofield mine disaster, 102 years ago Wednesday. And through study and service, Salt Lake middle school students are honoring their history.
Seventh- and eighth-graders at Center City charter school are focusing on Scofield as part of the "Take Pride in Utah" program, in which they learn state history through service projects.
"Once they see what they're learning about, it means so much more to them," school guidance counselor Sara Parcell said.
The explosion at Winter Quarters remains the state's worst mine disaster, and fifth worst in the country. But outside the Carbon County town, the chain-reaction explosion that brought condolences from President William McKinley often remains buried in the annals of Utah history.
"You talk to a lot of teachers, even teachers of Utah history, and they are not aware of the disaster that took place," said Ann Carter, who grew up here. "I do think this is part of the history of Utah people need to be aware of."
Scofield's coal mining industry, which at one point brought 2,500 settlers to town, was booming at the turn of the century.
The Winter Quarters mines employed about 300 men, some from Finland and other European countries. The five mines were joined by tunnels and considered safe and progressive.
But 102 years ago, an explosion ripped through coal dust-laden tunnels of mines No. 1 and 4, killing workers with fire, falling debris and "after damp," a combination of poison gases and lack of oxygen.
"Extraordinary acts of heroism were performed by rescue teams," who volunteered from neighboring communities to re-enter mines and search for survivors, a cemetery memorial states.
Few survived the blast.
Center City students for weeks have studied the mine explosion and its aftermath. Wednesday, the some 70 students made their second of three trips to the 26-resident town, where they put their lessons to work.
They gathered in the bank-turned-town-hall, where they examined old photos and wrote epitaphs based on their inspirations. Zach Amador's prose, "They lived together, They mined together, They died together," will be included with his classmates' in a gift to the town.
They wandered through the cemetery, discovering boys who died as young teens and tombs of unknown victims. Some faded stone markers were flanked by new wooden ones, installed at the disaster's 100-year commemoration.
The students laid lilacs on the graves, just as schoolchildren did a century ago. They took up shovels and rakes to remove sagebrush just outside the cemetery's gates. They'll return a few weeks later to plant flowers.
Students, who also are learning about the impact of coal on communities via Skyline Mine, called Scofield a pretty but eerie ghostlike town compared to Salt Lake City's hustle and bustle. They love visiting.
"I think it's fun. We get to come out and at the same time help," 14-year-old Kiley Cochran said. "It's not like we're just in school reading books — you're having fun and learning."
Local Relief Society members with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints remove sagebrush and otherwise care for the cemetery for an annual service project. Other youth groups also pitch in.
But Carter is pleased to see students from the capital city take interest in her town's story.
"As they learn the history of the area and do service projects down there, that will stick with them the rest of their lives," she said. "They will always know where Scofield is and a little bit of the history there."
E-mail: jtcook@desnews.com