I came across this photo of the rather odd Ely Township Centennial/Barnes Hecker mine disaster memorial while scanning my dad's slide collection. He took the photo shortly after the marker was erected. The marker has since been moved to the grounds of the Michigan Mining Industry Museum in Negaunee Township -- I'm not sure why. The marker was not at the actual mine site to begin with, so it wouldn't seem to make much sense to move it from one township to another. The marker used to be next to US-41 a few miles west of Ishpeming.
It always struck me as an odd memorial -- the combination of commemorating the township centennial with remembering what is still considered one of the worst mining disasters
in US history is a bit strange.
4 comments:
I just discovered that my great uncle died in the 1926 Barnes Hecker mine disaster. I am trying to find his name on the list of dead.
Arnold Osman is his name.
Where can I locate the names of the dead?
Google? There are a lot of web sites with the list.
I'm also a descendant of the Barnes-Hecker tragedy. The monument originally erected in Ely Township could not be located on the Barnes-Hecker property because it was privately owned. The Michigan Iron Industry Museum provided a logical place to make the monument and its history available to families and the public. In spite of the fact that it was the worst mining tragedy in Michigan history, the goal was to remember the men entombed in the mine. The remains of only 7 of the 51 men were recovered. The Mining Journal newspaper in Marquette, Michigan, published the names of the dead, and there is not Arnold Osman on that list. There is no one with the first name Arnold, and the closest last name would be Herman Aho.
See the Barnes-Hecker Remembrance on Facebook. We are a collaboration of descendants, museums and organizations dedicated to preserving the Barnes-Hecker legacy, honoring the lost men and providing information for the descedants and families. Of the 51 lost men, the remains of 10 were recovered. As noted by another descendant, the mine property is privately owned. The Barnes-Hecker FB page contains a list of the lost men, their legal names as verified by the Marquette County Clerk, and the names of their wives.
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