Cecil Township honors coal miners with memorial
Katie Anderson/Observer-Reporter
Ken Marley, left, of Waynesburg, and Cecil Township Supervisor Thomas Casciola unveil the newly constructed coal miners memorial in Cecil Township Park during a dedication ceremony Saturday afternoon.
A crowd gathers around a newly constructed coal miners memorial in Cecil Township Park, during a dedication ceremony Saturday afternoon.
Tony Vercek, of Cecil Township, performs "Taps," following the unveiling of a newly constructed coal miners memorial, during a dedication ceremony Saturday afternoon in Cecil Township Park.
Katie Anderson/Observer-Reporter
A newly constructed coal miners memorial in Cecil Township Park was dedicated last week to the 259 miners who died in Cecil Township mines since 1892.
Cecil Township honored its fallen coal miners Saturday afternoon during a dedication ceremony for a recently constructed memorial in Cecil Township Park.
“This is something that so many people in Cecil Township could be a part of because their relatives were miners,” said Elizabeth Cowden, president of Cecil Township Historical Society.
The dedication put the final touches on a four-year-long project to commemorate the lives of more than 200 people who lost their lives in the 10 Cecil Township coal mines over the years.
“We are here today to honor our coal miners past and present, alive and deceased,” said Ken Marley, a member of the society who is responsible for the start of the project in 2014. “To honor them for doing their historic part to make Cecil Township one of the best communities in Pennsylvania.”
Ken’s father, Joe Marley, was a coal miner who died in 2008. When Marley’s best friend’s father, Geno Graziotto, -also a coal miner-died in 2014, Ken decided he wanted to do something to commemorate the lives of Graziotto and his father and the lives of their fellow coal miners.
“I was inspired to do something for our forgotten coal miners of this township,” he said.
The project began in the township park with a kiosk displaying the history of Cecil mines, and continued with the dedication of the Miners’ Pavilion. Two years of research went into the memorial that was dedicated Saturday.
Kathy Pigford, a member of the historical society, did much of that research, using newspapers, libraries and genealogy records to find names of miners who died on the job dating back to 1892. She found 259 names.
“On March 13, 1917, the Henderson Mine had a major explosion and 14 people died,” she said. “I found some that were only 16 years old. One 16-year-old died his first day on the job.”
Pigford said the many tragic accidents she came across during her research didn’t shock her. Since coal mining had been in her family for generations, she was well-aware of its dangers.
“Our roots are deep in Pennsylvania,” she said. “My grandfather worked in the Muse mine. He was involved in a mining accident that caused one of his legs to be shorter than the other. He was in the hospital for almost a year.”
Several residents attended the ceremony to honor coal mining relatives from across the region, including Washington County Commissioner Harlan Shober, who said his father worked in the Westland mine for 43 years.
“It’s important to be here today,” he said.
After the unveiling of the memorial, Tony Vercek, of Cecil Township, performed “Taps.” His grandfather, Anton Vercek, is listed on the memorial, as he was killed in the Muse mine in 1940.
“I never met him,” Tony Vercek said. “This was very soul-fulfilling. It’s a very special moment for the whole township, and it will always be here.”
Ken Marley thanked several donors, sponsors and the historical society for seeing the project through to completion.
“And most of all, I thank you, Dad,” Marley said, looking up to the sky. “This is for you.”