EAGLES HOPE TO FLY STEELERS’ HOPES HANG ON

WB_VOICE - CVSUNDAY - 1 - 01/18/09

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January 18, 2009 Newsstand $1.25

50 years later

Cease-fire

WB_VOICE/PAGES [A01] | 01/17/09

KNOX
REMEMBERING

begins in The day that deep mining

Gaza Strip died in the WyomingValley

22:25 | SUPERIMPWB
Israel has no plans li tank fire killed two brothers,
ages 5 and 7, taking shelter at a

to withdraw troops,
despite declaration
By Steven Erlanger
New York Times News Service
J E RU S A L E M — I s r a e l
declared late Saturday that a
unilateral cease-fire would
begin in Gaza within hours,
but said its troops would
remain in place for now.
After 22 days of war against
Hamas, and the deaths of more
than 1,200 Palestinians and 13
Israelis, Prime Minister Ehud
Olmert insisted that “we have
reached all the goals of the war,
and beyond.” Speaking to the
nation Saturday, he said that
Hamas had “suffered a major
blow” and that if it continued
to fire rockets into Israel, “the
Israeli army will regard itself
as free to respond with force.”
Hamas, battered but hardly
broken, said in Gaza that it
would continue fighting so long
as Israeli troops occupy Gaza.
And Israeli officials say a new
flurry of rocket launches, to
prove that Hamas is neither
cowed nor defeated, is likely for
at least a short time.
Heavy Israeli bombardment
continued throughout the day
Saturday, and in an attack that
brought scathing criticism
from the United Nations, Israe-
ROAD TO INAUGURATION DAY
U.N. school in the northern
Gaza town of Beit Lahiya.
U.N. aid officials raised ques-
tions about whether the attack,
and others like it, should be
investigated as war crimes. The
Israeli army said that initial
inquiries indicated that troops
were returning fire from near
or within the school.
On the cease-fire, Olmert
said Israel was responding pos-
itively to peace efforts by Presi-
dent Hosni Mubarak of Egypt,
in a clearly orchestrated move
by two countries that both see
the Hamas movement in Gaza
as a threat. Israel will also wait
to see the details of an Egyp-
tian effort, supported by the
United States, France, Britain
and Germany, to stop the smug-
gling of arms, explosives, cash
and people into Gaza through
tunnels from Egypt.
Secretary of State Condo-
lee zza Rice hailed Israel’s
cease-fire announcement and
said in a statement that the
United States “expects that all
parties will cease attacks and
hostile actions immediately.”
That appeared unlikely as
the truce’s 2 a.m. start neared
early Sunday. In Gaza City, a
Hamas spokesman in hiding,
Fawzi Barhoum, said in a state-
ment that “we will not accept
the presence of a single soldier
in Gaza,” according to Agence-
France Presse.

TIMES-SHAMROCK NEWSPAPERS PHOTO ARCHIVE

MICHAEL R. SISAK / THE SUNDAY VOICE
Pittston attorney Michael Butera, who plans to attend Tuesday’s
presidential inauguration with his wife and son, shows off a
sign from President-Elect Barack Obama’s campaign.
The vortex created by the collapse of the Knox Mine beneath the Susquehanna River near Port Blanchard, Jenkins
Township, on Jan. 22, 1959, created a violent whirlpool that funneled millions of gallons of river water into the mines
that honeycombed the subsurface of the Wyoming Valley.
! By Coulter Jones and Caleb Sheaffer ! Staff Writers citizensvoice

NEPA residents to serve A

udrey Baloga hurries to the Pittston Hos- above the hole in the riverbed crumples steel
pital. It’s Jan. 22, 1959, just before 8 p.m. rail cars as if they’re made of tin foil.
Fourteen-year-old Audrey is with her old- John Baloga, husband to Caroline and father
er brother, Donald, and mother, Caroline. to Donald and Audrey, was one of 81 men scat-

as witnesses to history
By Michael R. Sisak
Staff Writer
Tuesday will be one of those
indelible days.
One of those one small step
for man and I have a dream
days. One of those ask not what
your country can do for you, ask
what you can do for your coun-
try and the only thing we have
to fear is fear itself days.
One of those days that will
live forever in history texts
and high school classrooms.
One of those days when the
wo r d s I , B a ra c k H u s s e i n
Obama, do solemnly swear that
I will faithfully execute the
office of President of the United
States can carry the weight of
we hold these truths to be self-
evident, that all men are creat-
ed equal.
See HISTORY, page A4
Deep beneath their feet, hundreds of tunnels tered through the sprawling Knox Mine when Video interviews
snake through the richest anthracite deposit in the water broke through. They haven’t seen him with survivors
the world. In three shifts a day, 174 Knox Coal Co. since he left for work. and witnesses to
employees extract 710 tons of hard coal from But there are survivors. the Knox Mine
beneath Pittston, Exeter, Jenkins Township, Some are wheeled around on gurneys when
Wyoming and even the Susquehanna River the family reaches the hospital. A few miners
Disaster, as well
itself. take nips from a whiskey bottle being passed as photos from
At least they used to. around. Most appear cold, exhausted and that tragic day
Just before noon, the river broke through the relieved. 50 years ago are
roof of the River Slope mine. More than 12.1 mil- The three Balogas search from room to room. available online
lion gallons of water surged in every minute. They can’t find John.
That’s enough water to fill an Olympic swim- They pass a nurse. Caroline Baloga grabs her
at citizensvoice.com.
ming pool every four seconds, or the Empire elbow.
State Building in little more than 20 minutes. Where are all the other men? Where is John?
The tunnels have been filling for eight hours
now — 480 minutes. The thundering whirlpool See KNOX, page A8

High 28 BIRTHDAYS D10 CROSSWORD D7 OBITUARIES A6-7 The economic downturn has taken its Luzerne County’s
most complete news source
BRIDES D3-4 EDITORIAL C2 PENS WEEKLY B13
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A8 THE SUNDAY VOICE
THE KNOX MINE DISASTER: 50 YEARS LATER SUNDAY, JANUARY 18, 2009

WB_VOICE - CVSUNDAY - 8 - 01/18/09

“If you fall you’ll die,”one of the miners
said.“The water’s coming,”another
responded.“We’ll die if I don’t try.”
KNOX: ‘Twelve of them didn’t make it’
FROM PAGE A1 Mine maps are scattered Thomas and his crew take the
The nurse frowns for a sec- across the desk in his office. lead, with the young guys run-
ond before her eyes open wide. Groves knows 81 men should ning full speed.
The Balogas don’t know. be down there, spread through- In the panic and dark, the
“Not all of the men made it,” out 269 acres of mine beds. He miners split up.
she says. knows the possible exits. Do Two groups of men search
There’s a list of the missing. they? for an escape.

WB_VOICE/PAGES [A08] | 01/17/09

“Twelve of them didn’t make Groves hears only ringing.
it,” she says. “Here they are.” No answer. 1:15 p.m. — Delaware
“Pick up, pick up, pick up,” Avenue, West Pittston
Eight hours earlier, 11:22 he thinks.
a.m. — River Slope, Knox No luck. Winter air whips William
Mine, Port Griffith Outside his office, about 30 Hastie’s face as he steps off the
men are spilling out of mine front porch. His wife rests
Creaks echo through a sec- shafts. More than half of the inside the two-story house on
tion of the River Slope mine, men are still down below. this tree-lined street in West
spurring Fred Bohn down the Pittston. She is nine months
narrow shaft as his voice car- 11:49 a.m. — Under the pregnant.
ries ahead of him. Susquehanna River’s west It was 60 degrees the two
“Jack, I heard a prop crack bank days prior. Hastie walks more
up there where we are taking than two miles to the Knox
the pans out,” Bohn says to The roar of a motor car rum- Mine, bundled in a winter coat.
assistant foreman Jack Wil- bles down the May Shaft. It can’t be more than 19
liams. “Everybody out!” the driver degrees.

21:02 | SUPERIMPWB
Williams is with rockmen shouts to assistant foreman The Susquehanna River is
Eugene Ostrowski, Charles Myron Thomas and Pacifico high, very high as Hastie cross-
Featherman and Joseph “Tiny” “Joe” Stella, who stand near es the Iron Bridge to Pittston.
Gizenski. the substation. The river rose almost 20 feet in
“It is 20 minutes to 12, are For the past few days Thom- the past two days as snow melt-
you going to eat dinner?” Wil- as’ crew — John “Stover” ed of f the mountains. Ice
liams asks the three men. Gadomski, his half-brother chunks now litter the swollen
“No,” Gizenski says. “We will Bucky Mazur, Stanley Roman river.
load this car before we eat.” and John Gustitus — were dig-
“I gotta check on what Bohn ging under Exeter. They were 1:30 p.m. — Knox Mine,
is talking about up there,” Wil- working in the Marcy Vein, at a heading toward the west-
liams says before walking up l owe r e l evat i o n t h a n t h e ern bank of the Susque- TIMES-SHAMROCK NEWSPAPERS PHOTO ARCHIVE
the slope toward Bohn, who has Pittston Vein. The work wasn’t hanna River The breach of the Susquehanna River into the Knox Mine brought to an end more than 100 very
b e e n j o i n e d b y F r a n k too hard, the coal was good, and
Domoracki. “I can’t make it,” gasps Louis
profitable years for the Wyoming Valley coal indutry.
each day the men had full cars.
Williams plants his foot just “Everybody out!” the motor- Randazza. Hunched over, Ran-
past the creaking chamber to man yells. “Ev-REEEYBODY dazza leans against a rock wall, cotti says. “We’ll die if I don’t
inspect it. He looks up to find OUT!” and looks up at Amadeo Pan- try.”
the source of the creaking. Gadomski and Mazur walk cotti.
Creaking is never a good toward the May Shaft, meeting Pancotti’s 33 years in the 2:35 p.m. — Eagle Air
sound to hear in a mine. Thomas, Stella and other men. mines have taken their toll on Shaft
The stone roof cracks and T hey figure something is his body, but have also made
water shoots into the chamber, wrong with the ventilation. him strong. Pancotti sees a glimmer of
hitting Williams’ left shoulder Stella takes the lead as the “We won’t leave you,” Pan- daylight now. He’s 50 feet up
before rushing down the tun- group gathers — now 33 of cotti says, slinging Randazza and digging higher, clawing at
nel. them — and they move toward onto his shoulder. The group of the loose fill plugging the top
As Williams turns to run, the exit, through tunnels seven keeps walking to the of the shaft.
Bohn and Domoracki follow. underneath the Susquehanna Eagle Air Shaft, the water His fingers dig into the wall.
The hole expands and the water River. creeping up behind. Blood drips down his legs and
surges into one of the highest Following the maps through feet. His toes, with only socks
points of the River Slope mine. 12:30 p.m. — Rose Street, the maze, they work their way for protection, are almost fro-
At least three co-workers, the Port Griffith to the Eagle Air Shaft. zen. Still, they are planted in
three rockmen who decided to It is only 50 feet to the surface. the shaft’s wall.
fill one last car, won’t make it. Cars and people stream past But the shaft is blocked. One last dig and finally —
Out of breath, but out of the the Baloga home on Rose Street Stella and two men tur n daylight. But there’s nothing he
mine, Williams picks up a in Port Griffith, less than a around and get tools to clear can grip.
phone and calls superintendent block from the entrance to the the debris. “God help me,” Pancotti says,
Robert Groves in his office. Knox Mine. exhausted. “I’ve made it this
“Bob, you gotta get them out- Audrey Baloga stayed home 1:33 p.m. — Rose Street, far, only to die.”
ta there …” Williams stam- sick from school this winter Port Griffith Somehow, with a miraculous
mers. day. She watches the commo- hold into the soil, Pancotti pulls
“Honest to God, Bob. I just tion outside. People rush down Audrey Balo g a and her his body out onto the ground.
lost three men.” the hill to where her dad, John brother slam the door when He rolls onto his back and
Baloga, works as a miner. they run back into their house. breathes. He’s made it. Now he
Five hours earlier, 6:35 A knock at the front door They shout to their mother: must get help to save the oth-
a.m. — Schooley Avenue, draws young Audrey’s atten- “Daddy is one of the guys ers.
Exeter tion. trapped in the mine! Daddy is
It’s her uncle. The Susque- one of the guys trapped in the 2:55 p.m. — Outside the
G e o r g e “ B u ck y ” M a z u r hanna River broke through to mine!” Eagle Air Shaft
wakes up to his mother-in-law, the mines, he tells the family, Their mother feels a lump
Margaret Judge, shaking him. and some men are trapped. form in her throat and closes “You can’t pass, Paul,” Hastie
“You’re late for work,” she Audrey and her older brother her eyes. shouts.
shouts. “Come on. Get going.” Donald wander frightened “I told him the Susquehanna Everyone calls Pancotti
He wipes the sleep from his down through the mine work- was high,” she thinks. “Why “Paul.”
eyes and silently curses him- ers, newspaper men, police, did he have to go in today? Why Pancotti, pushes out some
self. The 23-year-old Mazur has and ambulance workers crowd- today of all days? Oh, John.” words, but in his exhaustion
been employed at the Knox ed at the mouth of the Knox and with his thick Italian
1:53 p.m. — Outside the accent, they come out in bro- 3:09 p.m. — In the mines, have a few beers at the Lithua-
Coal Co. for only two weeks. He Mine. Everyone whispers in
ken English. near the Eagle Air Shaft nian Club in Exeter.
needs to learn the mining oper- small groups. River Slope entrance Gadomski laughed, but told
ation before he can secure a Nobody says anything to the “I’m sorry but you can’t
Two men follow Stella as they Roman no, they should head to
better paying job to support his young Balogas. The 27-year-old Hastie reach- pass,” Hastie repeats. “No one struggle through the water work. The 32-year-old regrets
wife and toddler, George. They know their father is es work, still daydreaming can.” with the tools. They duck into
T h i s t i m e, a s P a n c o t t i the decision now, lost, with the
He has been working with down there still. about his wife and the arrival the tunnel leading to the Eagle
responds, Hastie notices the old water obviously rising from the
his half-brother’s crew, mining of his first child. Air Shaft and see a helmet Marcy Vein into the Pittston
beneath St. Cecilia’s Church in 1:06 p.m. — Under the “Bill, there’s trouble,” a min- miner’s wet clothes, his torn up light. The face underneath it Vein.
Exeter, about four blocks from river, looking for the May er says. “There has been an legs. isn’t Pancotti or the men with
A n d n ow H a s t i e u n d e r- Occasionally, the g roup
where he lives. The entrance to shaft accident.” him; it’s Frank Handley. comes upon geysers that spray
the Knox Mines is on the other The Susquehanna River stands. “How did you g et down
Pancotti has just crawled out cold water and mist. The stench
side of the Susquehanna River, The electricity is cut. The broke in the River Slope mine, here?” Stella asks.
of the mine. is awful.
though, in the small town of problem is not the ventilation. he says. Handley explains the men
Hastie runs to the Eagle Air Gadomski sticks dynamite in
Port Griffith. Maybe it is more serious than Hastie tries to go into one cleared out the air shaft. The his back pockets and keeps the
they thought. shaft, but cold torrents of water Shaft, while Pancotti heads to other men with Pancotti are
11:45 a.m. — May Shaft, igniter in his hand. Whenever
The dull glow of helmet force him back before he makes tell the others. already out of the mine. They’ll
“Rope. Rope. Get me rope,” they stop for a breather, the
Knox Mine lights slice weakly through the much ground. make it out, Stella thinks. men switch off some head
dark caverns as Joe Stella rush- He’s ordered to guard the Hastie shouts to the onlookers They’ll be all right. lamps and turn on others to
The phone rings. It rings es toward the May Shaft. The railroad track. The foundation gawking from the hill above. “Did Myron Thomas and his conserve energy. Who knows
again. miners cannot escape the roar could give way as the mines are “ROPE!” men make it?” Stella says.
Finally, thick electrical wire how long they’ll be down here?
Finally, a miner answers the of rushing water. It sounds like filled by the icy river water. Handley hasn’t seen them. It must have been four hours
phone in the underground an underground Niagara Falls, Trains and people can’t be near falls next to Hastie. It’s the best
the crowd can muster. It’s not already that they’ve wandered
motorbarn. or an avalanche chasing them the disaster. 4:02 p.m. — Lost in the through the old mines.
“Listen,” superintendent through the tunnels. “No one passes,” Hastie is ideal, but it will have to work. mines on the west side of
Hastie knots the electrical wire During a break, Gadomski
Robert Groves says, “the river The father of two knows his told. “No one.” the Susquehanna River
before throwing one end into tells his half-brother Bucky
busted through at the River life is in danger. He wants to
2 p.m. — Under the Eagle the hole. that he’ll blow everyone up
Slope. Would you please go save the men and himself, if A trapper during the hunting
Air Shaft One by one, Hastie pulls the with the dynamite rather than
down to the lower mines and only for the sake of his two season, John Gadomski follows
three men out of the shaft. get eaten by the rats or drown.
notify anyone you see?” small children. the tracks of the other men, but
Pancotti’s messa g e is Drowning is such an awful
The miner hangs up and runs Freezing water first covers They’re trapped. the footprints slowly disappear. death, Gadomski thinks.
down to warn the others. They their ankles, then their knees Four men have circled in the relayed and soon Hastie is Thomas promises the men the
head for the closest exit, but a and waists. And the ice! Ice mines for hours and they’ve surrounded by other miners, Eagle Air Shaft is over here 4:30 p.m. — Traveling to
thunderous wave of water chunks the size of refrigerators reached their destination, but ready to help. somewhere. Pittston Hospital
blocks their escape. crash into blackened mine still they can’t get out. Gadmoski is married and a
They turn, heading for anoth- walls. Pancotti looks at the three 3 p.m. — Rose Street,
father of three. He mouths a Sirens blare. Red lights
er exit. Narrowly they outpace The men must reach higher men next to him and again at Port Griffith few prayers to God. bounce off the houses crammed
the rising water, now biting elevations. If the river broke the Eagle Air Shaft. It’s 50 feet The men wander in and out
Au d r e y B a l o g a ’s u n c l e next to each other. Art Weaver’s
against their heels. in, Stella knows, it will fill up up to the surface, but the shaft of tunnels and pathways that West Pittston Ambulance is
They reach the Hoyt Shaft the lower Marcy Vein first. is clogged with back fill. It pounds on their door and haven’t been used for years. filled with eight miners, the
elevator and jump in and it They’re heading toward the seems hopeless. They have no shouts, “Men are coming out of Seconds going in one direction,
the mines. Men are coming out lucky ones. Most are fine, may-
takes them to the surface. Eagle Air Shaft, but the tunnels tools. No rope. turn into minutes coming back be cold, but all right. A few
They’ve made it. are dark, confusing. “I’m going up,” Pancotti of the mines.” the other way. They search for
Brother and sister bolt from need care.
Men grab electrical wires decides and starts to take off the Eagle Air Shaft. “Stop here. This is where I
11:46 a.m. — Superinten- and the walls to keep from fall- his shoes. He’ll climb the near- their chairs and are out the While riding over to the mine live,” someone shouts to Weaver.
dent’s Office, Knox Mine ing, as the current knocks them ly vertical wall with just his door in seconds. that morning, laborer Stanley
They run down to the Weaver keeps driving to the
from side to side. hands and feet. Roman joked with Gadomski Pittston Hospital.
Groves pushes the phone The water is too high, so Stel- “If you fall you’ll die,” one of entrance of the Knox Mine that the Susquehanna is so
lever down, releases, and dials la shouts to the men to turn the men says. with their uncle, waiting for
high they should skip work and See NEXT page
again. around and the group reverses. “The water’s coming,” Pan- good news.
 A9
SUNDAY, JANUARY 18, 2009
THE KNOX MINE DISASTER: 50 YEARS LATER THE SUNDAY VOICE

WB_VOICE - CVSUNDAY - 9 - 01/18/09

THEN & NOW
CROSS-SECTION OF CAVE-IN — JANUARY 22, 1959

KNOX MINE DISASTER

CAVE-IN
11 nd PITTSTON
Isla
oo t
EXETER i nt er m S t.
The River Slope Mine, an anthracite coal mine leased by the Knox Coal W Ma i n
Company from the Pennsylvania Coal Company, flooded when coal com- RIVER SLOPE
pany management had the miners dig too close to the riverbed. Thom
Tunneling sharply upwards toward the Susquehanna River, the miners re- WYOMING pson
St.

St.
duced the thickness of rock between the mineshafts and the river bed to less r Main MAY SHAFT
Rive
than 6 feet; 35 feet was considered the minimum for safety. This, combined h a nna HOYT SHAFT
q ue
with unseasonably high river levels caused the river to break through into Sus Mar

8th

St.
the mine. Because the mines beneath the Wyoming Valley were all intercon- ket JENKINS

ai n
t.
TWP.

S. M
St.
nected, river water eventually flooded all of the mines on the valley floor.

1 Lehigh Valley 2 3 4
Railroad (L.V.R.R) L.V.R.R L.V.R.R L.V.R.R
Fill
River slope River slope River slope Cap River slope

WB_VOICE/PAGES [A09] | 01/17/09

PITTST PITTST PITTST PITTST
ON V ON V ON V ON V
E IN E IN E IN E IN
Cave-in Cave-in Cave-in Concrete seal
Miners tunneled sharply upward and With no rock support, a cave-in oc- Lehigh Valley rail lines were rerouted In March 1959, more than 1 month
dug too close to the riverbed, reduc- cured. The Susquehanna River waters to help fill the cave-in with railroad after the initial cave-in, a coffer dam
ing the thickeness of rock between inundate the River Slope Mine and cars, gondolas and other materials. was built between Wintermoot Island
the roof of the mine and the Susque- other mine tunnels. Federal and state Nothing seemed to slow the water and the east shore line to hold back
hanna River. officals arrived at the scene and start- flow. water going into the mines. The area
ed using fill to plug the hole in the was sealed with concrete to prevent
FEET river. Nothing worked. further flooding.
700
Port Griffith, Main St.
COURTESY OF BILL AND STEPHEN LUKASIK
600 AREA ENLARGED
WINTERMOOT ISLAND Amadeo Pancotti was awarded the Carnegie Medal for Hero-
SUSQUEHANNA RIVER
ism after he climbed up the 52-foot vertical wall of the Eagle
500 Air Shaft. He led 28 miners to safety.
PITTSTON VEIN
UNMINED AREAS

21:51 | SUPERIMPWB
400 MARCY VEIN
PITTSTON VEIN

300 MARCY VEIN

EXETER BOROUGH JENKINS TOWNSHIP

200

100

SEA LEVEL
0
SOURCES: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR BUREAU OF MINES DISTRICT A REPORT ON KNOX COAL COMPANY DISASTER, “THE KNOX MINE DISASTER: THE MICHAEL E. HOCKENBURY / STAFF ARTIST
BEGINNING OF THE END” BY GEORGE A. SPOHRER AND “THE KNOX MINE DISASTER: THE FINAL YEARS OF THE NORTHERN ANTHRACITE” BY GEORGE A. SPOHRER

FROM PREVIOUS PAGE are.” It doesn’t take long until

“I’ve never seen anything KNOX MINE DISASTER it hits the family. His name is
like it,” he thinks, recalling the
enormous whirlpool in the riv- HOW THEY ESCAPED
As the Susquehanna River flooded the Knox
EAGLE AIR SHAFT: At
2:45 p.m., Amadeo Pancot-
second:
Samuel Altieri
er. Like water leaving a bath- John Baloga
Mine, 81 miners were working below ti climbs to the top of the
tub, the Susquehanna River Benjamin Boyar
ground at the time. Because of their loca- abandoned air shaft -- six
opened up, sucking down Francis Burns
tions and where the break occurred, some men soon follow.
debris, ice and anything else. At 7:30 p.m., 26 men, led
Charles Featherman
escaped quickly, while others struggled for Joseph Gizenski
6:16 p.m. — Lost, mov- hours through connecting mine shafts by assistant foreman Myron
Thomas exit the Eagle Air Dominick Kaveliskie
ing to eastern side of the before they reached safety. RIVER SLOPE: Frank Orlowski
After the cave-in, Shaft.
river trying to find Eagle EXETER Eugene Ostrowski
Air Shaft three men immediate- William Sinclair
11 . ly leave through the Daniel Stefanides
Ave River Slope entrance.
Myron Thomas only has a nna PIITT
TTS
TTSTO
TST
STTON
TO
PITTSTONON Herman Zelonis
eh a
series of small maps. su qu d The men are still in the mine
slan
Somehow, Thomas is confi- ot I CAVE-IN near River filled with water and ice from
S

COURTESY OF BILL AND STEPHEN LUKASIK

dent he can find the air shaft. t e r mo Slope entrance occurs the Susquehanna.
Win St. Joe Stella of Pittston, right, assists a miner following his rescue.
His men can and will escape HOYT SHAFT: Eleven Main between 11:20 and The Baloga family holds back
from this mine, he says to him- men escape from the Hoyt 11:40 a.m. tears as the nurse reassures Stella worked as a mine surveyor and had maps of the area.
self. He doesn’t care how long it right after the river breaks in. Thom them, saying she heard the res- He led a group of six miners to safety during the disaster.
takes. pson cue workers are still looking.
They must have missed a WYOMING
WY
YOM G St. The company surely won’t stop
turn somewhere. The water na R
iver JENKINS until all the men are out.
han P.
TWP
que St.
t.

around them moves with less Sus

S

in
8th

Ma
ain

pressure now, but earlier Baloga never made it out. He

S. M
St.

T h o m a s s aw m e n p u s h e d and the other 11 men remain

Ma

around by the tremendous cur- MAY SHAFT: Twenty-two men entombed in the Knox Mine,
r ke

working in this area escape

t St

rent. Time is slipping by and v i c t i m s o f t h e d i s a s t e r.

.

each second puts them in great-
er danger.
The men feel a chill in the
air.
A miner up front notices a
sign on the wall with an arrow
that says EGL.
That’s it, the Eagle Air Shaft.
The miners crawl into the
cave and then Gadomski sees
tracks. The other men were
here! Two huge lights penetrate
the darkness. Two mining
inspectors face the 26 men and
ask if everybody is all right.
Thomas knows he’ll remem-
ber this image: 25 men thank-
ing God for saving their lives.
The men climb up the rope and
out of the shaft to safety, where
crowds of family and fellow
miners wait for their return.
There are shouts of joy as each
person exits. Flashbulbs light
the night sky, as cameramen
In compiling this narrative
account of the Knox Mine disaster
of Jan. 22, 1959, The Sunday
Voice staff conducted interviews
with survivors, family members of
survivors and victims, witnesses
and historians who have studied
the tragedy.
Interviews
John Gadomski, miner, Knox
Coal Co.
William Hastie, laborer, Knox
Coal Co.
through this shaft. Some wade Through the following months,
0 ½ through waist high water.
water slowly filled the inter-
connected mines under the
Wyoming Valley, leading to the
SOURCE: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR MINE SAFETY AND MICHAEL E. HOCKENBURY / STAFF ARTIST loss of 1,700 mining jobs.
HEALTH ADMINISTRATION Historians blame the tragedy
on greed in a declining indus-
take photos for the newspa- Excited, Audrey Baloga and try that pushed companies to
pers. her brother fly back to their mine past established boundar-
“They’re pulling men out! house to get their mother, Caro- ies. They say Knox Coal Co.
They’re pulling men out!” A line. They are going to the hos- management and employees
voice in the crowd shouts. pital. Their dad is out of the knew the mine’s roof was too
Everyone tries to glimpse who mine. After the whole day, he close to the crushing weight of
will come out next. finally made it out. They hope. the Susquehanna River above.
They see nurses, and tired The Knox Mine Disaster
7:45 p.m. — Outside miners in the hospital, but not tragically concluded more than
Knox Mine, Port Griffith John. 100 booming years for the Wyo-
Caroline Baloga grabs a pass- ming Valley coal industry, an
The families huddled by the ing nurse’s elbow. industry that shapes and scars
River Slope entrance finally get “Not all of the men made it,” the land and its people to this
word that a second group of she says. day.
men are coming up the Eagle She finds them a copy of the
cjones@citizensvoice.com
Air Shaft. Someone tells them list. 570-821-2110
KRISTEN MULLEN / THE SUNDAY VOICE
they are being taken to the “Twelve of them didn’t make
csheaffer@citizensvoice.com Mike Baloga, whose grandfather John died in the Knox Mine
Pittston Hospital. it,” the nurse says. “Here they 570-821-2083 Disaster, examines displays at an event commemorating the
50th anniversary of the tragic day.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
George “Bucky” Mazur, laborer, ente, daughters of Samuel Altieri, sky, and Nicole Wolensky.
Knox Coal Co. electrician for Knox Coal Co. ■ “Voices of the Knox Mine
Hortense Oschal, daughter of John Dziak, Pittston Historical Disaster: Stories, Remembrances,
Amadeo Pancotti, worker for Knox Society and Reflections on the Anthracite
Coal Co. Robert Wolensky, historian and Coal Industry’s Last Major Catas-
Art Weaver, volunteer ambu- professor, University Wisconsin- trophe” Wolensky et. al Kenneth
lance driver Stevens Point Wolensky, and Nicole Wolensky.
Audrey Baloga Calvey, daughter ■ “The Knox Mine Disaster: The
of deceased miner John Baloga Beginning of the End” by George
Books and articles
Joe Stella Jr. and Beverly Borzell, Spohrer.
■ “The Knox Mine Disaster: The
children of Pacifico “Joe” Stella, ■ “Report of Major Mine Inunda-
Final Years of the Northern Anthra-
surveyor for Pennsylvania Coal cite Industry and the Effort to tion Disaster River Slope Mine…”
Co. by the U.S. Department of The
Rebuild a Regional Economy” by
Anne Ferrare and Yolanda Par- Interior Bureau of Mines.
Robert Wolensky, Kenneth Wolen-

KNOX MINE DISASTER COMMEMORATIONS

Today
St. John the Evangelist Roman
Catholic Church, William Street,
Pittston, 10 a.m., annual Memo-
rial Mass with a coffee recep-
tion in the parish hall. Following
the reception there will be a
wreath laying ceremony at the
disaster memorial, Main Street,
Port Griffith. Sponsored by the
Knox Mine Disaster Memorial
Committee.
Exeter Town Hall, 1101 Wyo-
ming Ave., 6 p.m., Bill Hastie,
a survivor of the disaster, and
Professor Bob Wolensky will tion. Sponsored by the Greater Huber Breaker Preservation
speak on the Schooley Shaft Pittston Historical Society. Society. Refreshments will be
disaster of 1947. Sponsored Tuesday served.
by the Exeter Historical Society. Wyoming Area Secondary Thursday
Refreshments will be served. Center, student video presenta- Overlook Professional Center,
Monday through Thursday tion with question-and-answer 200 Overlook Drive, Pittston,
Overlook Professional Center, sessions. Sponsored by the (the former Pittston Hospital),
200 Overlook Drive, Pittston, Greater Pittston Historical Soci- 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., display and
(the former Pittston Hospital), ety. video presentation, sponsored
Knox Mining display and video Earth Conservancy, Main by the Greater Pittston Historical
presentation available to groups Street, Ashley, 7 p.m., video Society. Candle lighting and KRISTEN MULLEN / THE SUNDAY VOICE
of eight or more, scheduled by documentary of the Knox Mine blessing ceremony, 11:20
appointment only. Call 654- Disaster, followed by a group a.m., sponsored by the Greater Bill Hastie, left, a former Knox Mine employee, chats with
6209 or 357-9564 for informa- discussion. Sponsored by the Pittston Historical Society. Frank Napkora of West Wyoming during a recent commemo-
ration held at Pittston Area High School.