100th Anniversary of Cherry, IL mine disaster commemorated this Friday.
Editor’s comment: We salute our IWCC Chairman Amy Masters for this unique and informative historical information on the Commission’s excellent website.
One hundred years ago on this Friday, Nov. 13, 1909, in a coal mine in central Illinois, 300 feet below ground, a torch accidentally set a load of hay on fire. Of the nearly 500 men and boys in the mine that day, 259 died. Eight days after the fire, 21 men who were still trapped in the mine were rescued. They survived by sealing themselves off from the fire and drinking pools of water.
The fire provided the impetus for worker safety and our first workers’ compensation legislation. In a special session, the Illinois legislature created a commission to study and recommend the best way to compensate for industrial accidents. The first Workers’ Compensation Act in Illinois took effect on May 1, 1912.
In Springfield, on Nov. 1, the Abraham Presidential Library opened a commemorative exhibit, “The Flames Caught Us.” The exhibit will run through March 2010. For information, go to http://www.alplm.org/events/cherry_mine.html.
Artifacts featured in the exhibit include typical 1909 mining equipment; a mule collar and chain; a canary cage to hold the birds used to measure air quality; numerous government reports on the disaster; and several personal narratives. Many of these artifacts have been loaned by private individuals specifically for this exhibit.
For a first-hand account by one of the 21 surviving miners, published in 1911, go to http://www.msha.gov/century/mag/magcvr.asp
For more information on the Cherry mine fire, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1909_Cherry_Mine_disaster
For more information on the history of the Illinois workers’ compensation program, go to http://www.iwcc.il.gov/faq.htm#history
