May 20, 2002 By Ted Boscia 5 min read

MATHER – Long-time Mather resident Orlando “Chick” Virgili grew up in the shadows of the town’s smoking slate dump, about 100 yards away from the community’s only physical remnant of the coal industry that settled the town with workers at the height of the Industrial Revolution. He was only two years old when the company town was rocked by an underground blast on May 19, 1928, that killed 195 miners and displaced many families, but Virgili frequently puzzled over the absence of a monument to the town’s forebears.

Now, exactly 74 years after that lethal explosion, Virgili could finally offer a solemn smile Sunday as hundreds gathered in the town square to commemorate the unveiling of the Mather Mine Memorial, which will ultimately replace the 100-foot high refuse pile that repeatedly reminded Virgili of the 1928 tragedy.

“It’s been fun, and it’s been exciting,” said Virgili, who headed the committee that raised $18,000 for the granite memorial. “These are sad memories, but I want it to move to happier times. I want us to remember this day as when we remembered the lives lost 74 years ago.”

To mark the occasion, event organizers planned the memorial’s disclosure to correspond with the moment Mather’s whistle sounded 74 years ago and notified the townspeople of the mine catastrophe. At 4:07 p.m., the same whistle that wailed in 1928 blared Sunday as the monument was unveiled at the Mather Christian Church and the names of those killed in the tragedy were read.

For Virgili, a 76-year resident of the community, Sunday’s ceremony and the opportunity to rightfully honor the deceased miners was the end of an extensive, but worthwhile, wait.

“My dream was to replace that tree (on top of the refuse pile) with a memorial to all the men who lost their lives that day,” he said. “…I thank God we were able to do it and for the good people of Mather and my community.”

Virgili and his committee secured more than $18,000 from county and state sources, local mining companies and private donors for the memorial. Last fall, the Greene County Commissioners contributed $5,000, while $10,000 came from legislative grants and $1,000 each came from Consol Energy, RAG American Coal Holdings Inc. and Maple Creek Mining Co.

The 6-foot-high memorial was designed by Brian Fowler, a 20-year-old Mather resident, and features each miner’s name in frosted white letters and a statement recalling the accident. The top of the monument bears a depiction of a miner’s head, with picks and shovels etched into the lower corners.

On the back of the monument are bricks inscribed with messages from various people who donated funds to the project. The gray statue was flanked by two vases of daisies upon its unveiling.

As part of the hour-long ceremony, county and state lawmakers and representatives of the mining industry joined Virgili. Ed Yankovich, president of the United Mine Workers of America, District 2, emceed the event, and Greene County commissioners Dave Coder, Scott Blair and Farley Toothman, U.S. Rep. Frank Mascara (D-Charleroi), state Rep. Bill DeWeese (Waynesburg) and Sharon Thomas, a representative of state Sen. J. Barry Stout (D-Bentleyville), addressed the crowd.

Cecil Roberts, International President of the UMWA, delivered the keynote address prior to the unveiling of the memorial and advocated for the continued support of workers’ rights.

“This monument is not just for the people who died this day, but for the 100,000 coal miners who’ve given their life in the last century,” Roberts said. “They’ve died in the coal mines that give life to this country. I applaud the people in Mather for standing up and remembering what happened, when over 25 percent of the male population in the town was wiped out in one day.”

Roberts continued that greater tragedy struck after the accident when the families of the deceased miners, treated as burdens to the company’s capitalist objectives, were disbanded and forced from their homes to make room for a new wave of miners.

“One of the great tragedies is what happened to those people afterward,” he said. “I’m proud I came from a union that stood up for these people. In towns like Mather, I see a lot of pain, tragedy and suffering, but I love who we (coal miners) are.

“We are the most patriotic, we fight the wars, we are America and we represent what is best for the United States of America.”

Roberts commended Virgili and his committee for finally honoring the men, adding that they deserve to be recognized as heroes.

“Don’t just mourn. Don’t just be sad,” Roberts said. “These coal miners didn’t just die here in Mather; they’re heroes. They were providing a product everyone in the United States had to use and risked their lives to produce it.

“Because they died, life has been better for all of us. Society has suffered a great loss. These men didn’t die at 4:07. The gates of heaven sprung wide open, and these men marched in to their reward.”

The 1928 explosion, triggered by a spark of methane gas, is widely regarded as one of the ten worst mining accidents in U.S. history and is considered one of the rallying points in the UMWA’s battle to secure greater protections for miners.