The Quecreek Mine Rescue Foundation will host a groundbreaking ceremony for a new visitors’ center on July 26 to help celebrate the 6th anniversary of the 2002 rescue of nine miners trapped in the Quecreek Mine in Somerset County, Pa.

“With more than 10,000 visitors every year to the rescue site, we were just getting overwhelmed. The new visitors’ center will help us tell the story of the Quecreek miracle,” said Bill Arnold, President of the Quecreek Mine Rescue Foundation. “This is a working farm and we used our own storage building to display the rescue capsule, drill bit and other equipment used in the rescue.”

The photo pictures the mine rescue site at Quecreek during rescue operations.

The new visitors’ center will be housed in a 2,400 square foot building to be constructed overlooking the mine rescue site. It will include educational display areas and other typical visitor center amenities.

The building will incorporate parts of the Sipesville Fire Hall where mine families waited for news during the rescue. Several doors, the outside columns and oak flooring were salvaged from the building before it was torn down to make way for a new fire hall.

“Incorporating parts of the old Sipesville Fire Hall we thought was important to help preserving the history of the mine rescue and to recognize the important role the fire company played,” said Arnold. “It’s also another way to remember the lows and highs the families experienced during the rescue.”

“We want to thank all those who contributed their labor, materials, equipment or their donations to help build the visitors center. So far we’ve raised about half of the $200,000 needed to finish the building,” said Arnold. “We certainly welcome participation in this unique project from those who believe, as we do, that the Quecreek mine rescue was a miracle.”

On July 24, 2002 miners broke through into an abandoned, water-filled mine flooding the Quecreek Mine with over 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.

In 2006 the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission officially recognized the mine rescue site as part of the state Historical Marker Program erecting a blue and gold historic marker at the Arnold Farm.

Last year the General Assembly passed the Mine Families First Act to put into law the policies Gov. Mark Schweiker adopted to keep mine families involved in accidents informed of the progress of rescue operations before the media.

This week, Gov. Rendell signed into law the first update to the Bituminous Coal Mine Safety Act in 45 years, prompted in part by the lessons learned from the Quecreek Mine Rescue.

The anniversary celebration will begin at 9:00 a.m. at the mine rescue site located at 151 Haupt Road, Somerset, Pa.

The first part of the program will feature a flag ceremony followed by music performed by local artists and brief remarks by local and state dignitaries. The groundbreaking ceremony will begin about 10:00 a.m.

Several of the miners rescued at Quecreek and their families will be participating in the celebration. In addition, there will be a silent auction for the two copies of the hardcover book “Our Story: 77 Hours That Tested Our Friendship and Our Faith,” autographed by all nine miners and Gov. Mark Schweiker. Two other autographed copies will be put up for bid shortly on EBay.

The Quecreek Mine Rescue Foundation is a non-profit charitable organization that relies on support from the public to educate the public about the rescue and to maintain and operate the mine rescue visitors’ area.

Contact the Quecreek Mine Rescue Foundation by writing: 151 Haupt Road, Somerset, PA 15501, calling 814-445-4876 or visiting the Quecreek Mine Rescue Foundation website.

7/11/2008