HUNTINGTON, Emery County — An outdoor community concert Saturday was called the right event at the right time for a community still reeling from the coal mine tragedy that claimed nine lives and left six others injured.
"It's breathtaking. I don't know what else to say," said Lee Cratsenburg, whose brother, Dale Black, was one of the three men killed trying to rescue the six miners trapped Aug. 6 in the Crandall Canyon Mine.
The football field at Canyon View Junior High and the grass berm flanking one side made for a perfect outdoor venue under a cloud-shaded sky. Organizer Gary Arrington said from the side of a music-filled stage that everything turned out perfect. "We have had no obstacles.
"We were hoping for 5,000 people. We have food for 7,000. I expect we'll end up with 10,000 to 15,000 by the end of the night," Arrington said.
The Emery County Sheriff's Department said the gathering was the largest on record for either Carbon or Emery county.
Donations accepted at the concert will be added to amounts already being collected at banks and credit unions. Huntington Mayor Hillary Gordon said she began giving some of the collected money to the families of the fallen miners more than a week ago. She said she does not know how much Saturday's event was likely to bring in and that money is still being added to trust funds set up at banks and credit unions.
Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. also had a significant role in planning the "Celebration of Heroes" event Saturday. He told the Deseret Morning News the concert was a capstone to a memorial service held in the same spot last Sunday.
"I see in the eyes of the families a sense of hopefulness, something I didn't see as much of a week ago," Huntsman said.
Individual funeral and memorial services are still taking place for the men whose bodies are entombed in the mine. A private funeral service for miner Don Erickson was Friday; memorial services for Manuel Sanchez and Brandon Phillips took place earlier in the day Saturday.
Former Utah Jazz star Karl Malone joined Huntsman in getting the concert started shortly after 3 p.m. "It's hard to find a positive in something like that," Malone said of the mine tragedy. "But if you look for it, it will make you strong."
Country singer Collin Raye performed, along with five other musical groups. He said he was anxious to participate in the Utah event. "(Utah) has been kinder to me than any other state in my 16-year career," he told reporters before performing. When the governor's office asked him to perform, he considered the invitation "such a blessing."
"When you celebrate someone's life, it's not a funeral, it is a celebration," Raye said.
Country singer and songwriter Bernie Faulkner said he called the governor's office and asked if he could join in. "I came without a sponsor. I came without a backup band," he said. He did come with a song titled "Last Load of Coal" he wrote six months ago about a coal miner killed underground. He said the lyrics fit the occasion so closely he had a hard time performing without breaking up. The song ends: "He saw the light, deep down in that hole. And though he's buried under ground, the good Lord took his soul. He's mined his last load of coal."
Students from Snow College are planning a community picnic in Huntington Thursday from 5 to 8 p.m. The mayor said the Governor's Commission on Mine Safety, formed after the Crandall Canyon disaster, will also hold a daylong meeting in Huntington on Sept. 25. Miners interested in giving their input to the committee will be invited to participate in the meeting that Gordon said will likely last the entire day.
E-mail: sfidel@desnews.com