Local briefs
July 26, 2006 Ceremony slated
The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission and the Quecreek Mine Rescue Foundation will hold a ceremony Saturday to dedicate an official state historical marker to commemorate the successful efforts to rescue nine miners trapped in the Quecreek Mine in July 2002.
The dedication will take place beginning at 9:30 at the mine rescue site on the Arnold Farm at 151 Haupt Road in Somerset.
“We were honored the state Historical and Museum Commission approved a State Historical Marker this year to remember the efforts of all those involved in the Quecreek Mine rescue,” said Bill Arnold, president of the Quecreek Mine Rescue Foundation. “This is the fourth anniversary of the rescue and each year more and more people want to learn about what happened here and this marker will help us tell the story.”
On July 24, 2002, miners broke through into an abandoned, water-filled mine flooding the Quecreek Mine with more than 50 million gallons of water. Nine miners scrambled to safety, but nine were trapped in a pocket of air in the dark, cold, water-filled mine. They were rescued four days later through the combined efforts of state and federal mine rescue agencies and hundreds of workers and volunteers.
Laura Fisher of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission will be on hand for the dedication.
Stories sought
Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area is collecting stories of work experiences of the Homestead Works from steelworkers who worked at the mill and in particular the Carrie Furnaces and pump house.
Rivers of Steel is interested in hearing firsthand accounts that will bring the Carrie Furnaces, pump house and the Homestead Works to life in preparation for a series of public tours to be offered at the Carrie Furnaces in September and October.
The Carrie Furnace Hardhat Tour, scheduled for four Saturdays in September and October, will begin at the pump house, site of the 1892 Battle of Homestead. There, visitors will board a van for the short trip to the Carrie Furnace site.
A guide will lead visitors into the ore yards where hundreds of tons of raw materials were unloaded from barge and rail cars to feed the blast furnaces that smelted iron 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
From the ore yard, visitors will stop at the towering hot stoves, the “lungs of the blast furnace” that blew super-heated air into the furnaces to begin the smelting process.
The next stop will be the cast house, where men and molten iron met each time the furnace was tapped. The flow of molten iron from the cast house would fill waiting torpedo cars for the trip across the Rankin Hot Metal Bridge to the Homestead Works where the steel-making process was completed.
Rivers of Steel is looking for former steelworkers who were part of a blast furnace crew, worked in the pump house or any of the countless jobs in the former Homestead Works. Call 412-464-4020 to participate.
Tours will run from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Sept. 16 and 30 and Oct. 14 and 28. Tickets for the tour are available by calling 412-464-4020.
Vacancy announced
The Fayette County Board of Commissioners is announcing a vacancy on the Fayette County Health Center Authority board.
According to Commission Chairwoman Angela M. Zimmerlink, a member of the health center board is resigning, effective Aug. 31, for a term set to expire in January 2007.
Anyone appointed to the unexpired term also may seek reappointment in January 2007 to serve a full five-year term.
The authority board meets at 5:15 p.m. the second Wednesday of every other month in Uniontown. The authority is responsible to oversee the property management functions of the Fayette County Health Center.
Anyone interested in serving on the board is asked to send a letter of interest to Zimmerlink at 61 E. Main St., Uniontown Pa., 15401; send an e-mail to zimmerlink@fayettepa.org or send a facsimile to 724-430-1833, no later than Aug. 11. The commissioners will conduct interviews.