The small village of Cherry swelled by thousands over the weekend, as crowds came to commemorate the centennial anniversary of the disastrous coal mine fire that killed 259 men and boys in November, 1909.

The highlight of the two-day event was the unveiling of a new monument in the heart of town, which lists each of workers' name lost in the tragedy.

Visitors — which included relatives of both the disaster's victims and survivors — viewed various historical artifacts and exhibits from both public and private collections. Several Cherry-area historians conducted trolley tours of the mine site and the cemetery, explaining to the crowds the sad story of the fateful day.

Before the Saturday unveiling, Cherry Mayor Bob McCook marveled at the large turnout and spoke of the pride of his community.

"The Cherry Booster Club, other local citizens and Illinois Valley union members put in a lot of hours planning this event and all of us are grateful for the huge turnout from literally all over the country," he said.

Area local leaders U.S. Rep. Debbie Halvorson, D-Crete; state Senator Gary Dahl, R-Granville; and state Rep. Frank Mautino, D-Spring Valley, each addressed the crowd reminding them of the disaster"s huge historical significance.

Dahl and Mautino spoke of the Cherry saga as the story of young, strong immigrants who came to Bureau County to carve a new life out of the coal mines for their families.

"We gather today to honor their memories and their sacrifice," Dahl said.

During the ceremony, Halvorson presented McCook with a framed copy of the recent Congressional resolution which details the disaster.

Speaking to the assembly, she cited the tragedy as a major turning point in Illinois labor history that forced coal companies to take better care of its workers.

In a special moment, McCook read a personal letter from President Obama to the village on the occasion of the centennial. In part, it said:

"The tragedy that struck the village of Cherry, Illinois in November, 1909 still stirs deep emotions within our hearts. The dangers of coal mining were exposed as Cherry experienced a profound loss of life once all too common in mining communities and the country shared their grief.

"Yet, as we have done many times in our Nation"s history, the American people drew strength and hope from heartbreak and despair. The deaths of these and other miners across our country raised awareness of workplace dangers and inspired important safety measures to prevent future catastrophes and protect workers."

The children of Cherry then performed original songs and released 259 balloons into the November skies for each owho died in the disaster.

Members of the Chicago Fire Department presented the colors before and after the ceremony to honor the metropolitan firefighters who raced to Cherry in the early days of the underground blaze in 1909, providing equipment and manpower to attack the stubborn underground fire.

Sunday ceremonies included a procession from Cherry Grade School to the Miners" Memorial Cemetery, led by descendants of Cherry coal miners and members of Ladd American Legion Post 938.

Surrounded by tombstones and crosses for the dead workers, speakers such as Charles Bernardini of the American Chamber of Commerce of the Midwest and Alessandro Motta of the Italian Consul General office spoke of the particular losses in the Italian immigrant community.

They both estimated that at least 69 Italian children lost fathers from the fire.

Motta said, "We salute the sacrifices of not only the Italian immigrants in this disaster but all those who perished in this devastating event." He said it was a sad and important chapter in the annals of social justice for both the U.S. and Italy.

After the ceremony, cousins Maureen Keutzer and Sharon File, both of LaMoille, paused to place a wreath on the nearby grave of their great-grandfather, Urbain Leynaud, who was killed at the age of 36 in the fire.

File said her family legend was that, after his body lay underground for months until the spring of 1910, the French immigrant could only be identified by his wedding band. Wiping away a small tear on her cheek at the foot of the grave, Kautzer said, "Without him, we wouldn"t be here."

Cherry historian Ray Tutaj, Jr. of La Salle — who 10 years ago built a replica model of the Cherry Mine Company for the village"s museum, and is the creator of music and videos detailing the disaster — said he had no idea of the impact his work would have on relatives of victims and survivors. He said he was proud that his efforts have now become part of the story"s history.

"But, I guess today everyone who came to town this weekend, we all are part of Cherry"s history now," Tutaj said. "The story will always be a part of us."

The Cherry mine disaster was one of the worst mining accidents in U. S. history and its legacy includes the adoption of safety regulations throughout the coal industry to improve working conditions for miners. The tragedy also was instrumental in the passage of workers' compensation legislation in Illinois and other states.






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