Monument honors Letcher County miners

By Mary Jo Shafer

Ross Fleming remembers sitting around a CB radio with his family, waiting to hear word that his father, underground with a mine rescue team, was all right following the Scotia mine disaster of 1976.
As the son of a coal miner, Ross Fleming “grew up around mining.”
From a young age, he “knew it was hard work,” with its fair share of dangers.
His father, Leonard Fleming, worked in the mines for 32 years, becoming a safety representative for the United Mine Workers, and responding to mine disasters all over the region.
Ross said he has “always wanted to” do something to honor those Letcher County miners, who, like his father, worked hard in often-dangerous conditions.
He felt that coal miners had no place to honor and tell their stories and acknowledge their proud history.
With that, the idea for the Letcher County Coal Miners’ Monument was born.
A committee of volunteers was formed and organizers set about making Ross Fleming’s vision a reality.
The monument now sits next to the former elementary school, now a community center, in Hemphill, a former coal camp.
Gleaming black stones are arranged in neat rows and red bricks with names of miners line the pathways. The black stones include artwork depicting the history of coal mining A portrait of a miner holding a lunch bucket and coal pick graces the front stone which includes an inscription that dedicates the monument to “Letcher County miners who gave so much that future generations could have a better life.”
Four black tablets stand behind this stone. Nearly 400 names are scrolled down these memorial stones in white lettering. These are the names of coal miners in Letcher County who lost their lives in mining accidents. Another stone honors the victims of the worst coal mining disaster in Letcher County history, the Scotia mine explosions which killed 26 miners. Those miners’ names are found side by side with the other mine fatalities because, as Leonard Fleming explains, every miners’ death is a “mine disaster” to that miners family.
A model office building sits off to one side of the main monument. This structure includes a sign in sheet for visitors, historical mining implements, a washtub, lanterns and boots. On the other side of the monument is a small stage with a simulated coal mine underneath.
The monument, which opened on Labor Day in 2003, was made possible through donations and volunteer labor.
Memorial bricks can be purchased to honor the memory of any miner from Letcher County.
Those bricks have helped to finance the memorial and also give family members a place to publicly honor their relatives who worked in the mines.
The campaign to build the monument started “without a dime,” said Steve Brewer, of the coal miners’ memorial organization.
Brewer, who worked in the mines and for the union, for 22 years, said that the “general public got behind us,” and helped to make the monument possible, “raising money,” and pitching in to help.
Leonard Fleming said that visitors have come from each of the 50 states and several foreign countries since the monument opened.
Local residents will often bring guests to the monument, he said.
He is proud that the monument is here, that there is something in Letcher County to honor the history of the miners who “labored, served and sacrificed,” as it says on the dedication stone.
The reaction to the monument has been great, he said. Most people feel that “this is sacred ground.”
Family members have come forward with documents about relatives who died in mining accidents and the monument committee has steadily added names to the fatality stones.
The monument has given local residents and visitors a place to come and pay their respects or learn a bit about the history of coal mining in Letcher County and it gives family members a public place to honor their loved ones, Brewer and Fleming said.
The Letcher County Coal Miners’ Memorial Organization has expanded their mission since the memorial was built.
They hold “kids days,” and other programs to educate and entertain — and maintain a web site with information about the monument and links to other coal mining sites.
For more information about the monument visit their website www.coalminersmemorial.com

 

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