Magyar Egyház, 2007 (86. évfolyam, 1-4. szám)
2007-10-01 / 3-4. szám
8. oldal MAGYAR EGYHÁZ INVITATION COMMEMORATION OF THE 100th ANNIVERSARY OF THE DARR MINE DISASTER You are cordially invited you to participate in the commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Darr mine explosion in Pennsylvania. A number of Hungarian organizations joined together, along with the local community, to remember the tragic event that took place a hundred years ago. On December 19, 1907, an explosion in the Darr Mine, at Rostraver, Pennsylvania, took the lives of 239 men and teenage boys. The mining disaster is the worst in the history of Pennsylvania and the second worst in the history of the United States. In the explosion, a large number of those killed were immigrant laborers, and among them, many Hungarian immigrants. By commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Darr mine explosion, the Hungarian organizations planning the event declared that it is important to remember the tragedy and all those who were affected by it. "By remembering the Darr tragedy, we reaffirm our nation’s focus on safety in the workplace," they said. "We affirm that the sacrifices were not in vain, and we pledge ourselves to continue working together for the good of humankind," said the statement of the six Hungarian organizations. The commemoration is scheduled for September 29, Saturday, at 11 a.m., in Rostraver, Pennsylvania, at the Olive Branch cemetery and a neighboring church. (Approximately 50 miles from Pittsburgh.) The program will include remarks by the representatives of the sponsoring organizations, representatives of labor organizations and safety and health organizations, as well as governmental officials. There will be wreath laying ceremony at the cemetery, and a visit to the Darr mine site. Hungarian- American children will read the names of the Hungarian miners who died in the explosion. The following organizations are sponsoring the commemoration: William Penn Association Hungarian Reformed Federation of America American Hungarian Federation Calvin Synod of the United Church of Christ Hungarian Reformed Church of America Bethlen Communities, Ligonier, Pennsylvania MEGHÍVÓ A DARR BÁNYASZERENCSÉTLENSÉG MEGEMLÉKEZÉSÉRE Meghívjuk és szeretettel várjuk Önt a pennsylvaniai Darr bányarobbanás 100. évfordulójának emlékünnepélyére. A száz évvel ezelőtti tragikus esemény megemlékezését több magyar egyesület, a helybeli lakosággal karöltve rendezi meg. A pennsylvaniai Rostraverben 1907. decemberién felrobbant a Darr bánya; 239 férfi és tizenéves gyerek vesztette életét. Ez a bányaszerencsétlenség a legtragikusabb volt Pennsylvania történetében, és a második legtragikusabb az amerikai történelemben. A robbanás halottai között sok emigráns munkás volt, közüttük sok magyar is. A Darr bányaszerencsétlenség 100 éves évfordulójára emlékezve a rendező magyar egyesületek kijelentették, hogy nagyon fontos megemlékezni a tragédiáról és az áldozatokról. ..A Darr tragédiáról való megemlékezésünk kifejezi egyetértésünket azzal, hogy a nemzet rendkívüli nagy fontosságot tulajdonít a munkahelyi biztonságnak" - közölték az egyesületek. „Kijelentjük, hogy az emberáldozatok nem voltak hiábavalók, és arra kötelezzük magunkat, hogy továbbra is együtt munkálkodjunk az emberiség javát szolgaló cselekedetek megvalósításában" - áll a hat magyar egyesület nyilatkozatában. A megemlékezés szeptember 29-én, szombaton reggel 11 órakor kezdődik, a pennsylvaniai Rostraverben, az Olive Branch temetőben és a szomszédos templomban (Pittsburghtól körülbelül 50 mérföldnyi távolságban). A műsor keretében beszédet mondanak a hat magyar szervező egyesület képviselői, bányászszakszervezeti és munkavédelmi képviselők valamint kormányképviselők. Az ünnepségen megkoszorúzzák a temetői emlékművet, és meglátogatják a Darr bánya színhelyét. Magyaramerikai gyerekek fogják felolvasni az elhunyt magyar bányászok neveit. Szeptember 12, 2007 Darr Mine Explosion Remembered On December 19, 1907, at 11:30 a.m. an explosion in the Darr Mine near Smithton, PA took the lives of 239 men and teenage boys as young as 10 years of age. Most of those killed were Hungarian immigrant laborers. One hundred years later, on September 29lh, 2007 at the Olive Branch Baptist Church and Cemetery in Van Meter, PA, the American Hungarian Federation (Amerikai Magyar Szövetség) , the William Penn Association and the Hungarian Reformed Federation of America, the Bethlen Home, the Calvin Synod of the United Church of Christ, the Hungarian Reformed Church in America, and the Rostraver Township Historical Society as well as other organizations to ensure that these miners have not been forgotten. The Darr Mine Disaster is known as the second worst in America’s history and the worst in Pennsylvania’s history. The total dead at Darr would have been much higher, if not for the fact that many of the miners were recent immigrants of the Greek Orthodox faith which celebrates the Feast of St. Nicholas on December 19 according to the Julian calendar. As a result, nearly 200 miners chose not to go to work the day the explosion happened. Those who worked that day were mostly Hungarian immigrants. The Commemoration this fall was especially moving because friends, relatives, local dignitaries, and the media converged on the small Baptist church on the cemetery grounds to pay tribute in an especially poignant ceremony in light of the Utah mine collapse in August, 2007, and two especially horrific recent mine events in China and in Africa. A local miner’s daughter whose dad died at 97 from Black Lung disease but who had no connection to the Darr Mine event other than passing the marker going to work each day was curious about the advance publicity given this commemoration and brought her husband. John and Mary Lou Pécsi Magiski handed out commemorative book marks at the door in memory of their grandfather Lajos Pécsi who was killed in another mine accident two years after Darr Mine’s tragedy in 1909 at Peters Creek Mine. Local Van Meter and Smithton residents seemed particularly moved with the speeches, the VFW Honor Guard, the wreath- laying followed by the 21-gun salute, taps, and a bagpiper who played “Amazing Grace” at the monument site where 71 miners lay in a common grave. Rev. Stefan Torok of Somerset. N.J. representing the Hungarian Reformed Church in America, upon the request of
