On this day in 1907, a group of 239 coal miners, men and boys, died during a mine explosion at the Darr Mine near Jacobs Creek, Pennsylvania. Only two escaped. This was Pennsylvanias worst mining disaster and one of the worst in the United States. That day Carpatho-Russian miners gave up a days wage to attend a morning Divine Liturgy, as December 19 is the feast day of St. Nicholas, their patron saint. During the service they heard a terrible rumbling and the ground shook as gas and dust exploded in the mine. Recognizing disaster, everyone rushed to help rescue any survivors. However, only two men working near the mine entrance were still alive. The poisonous gas, called afterdamp, killed many who survived the explosion itself. Most of the victims were Hungarian and Italian immigrants; seventy-one Hungarians are buried in a mass grave in Olive Cemetery. Many newspapers, including the New York Times, reported the miraculous events. One Pittsburgh paper stated: Religious fervor is due to sweep through the Youghiogheny Valley as never before as a consequence of the Darr disaster. Today was a holiday of the Greek Catholic Church, and as such it was observed by many of the men who usually work in the Darr mines. Usually about 400 men toil within the mine. On account of the religious holiday—it was the Feast of St. Nicholas—this number was nearly cut in half, and these, almost two hundred men, who were saved by religious devotion, will certainly be more devout than ever, after the extent of the mine’s horror is fully realized. St. Nicholas Day is actually December 6, but on the Julian Calendar its December 19. On December 6 of that same year, 1907, the worst mine disaster in USA history took place in Monongah, West Virginia. Sixty to one hundred miners were spared as they observed that feast day, not reporting to the mine. The historical Saint Nicholas ( Ἅγιος Νικόλαος, Hagios Nicolaos [victory of the people]) is believed to have been buried in Newtown Jerpoint in Kilkenny, Ireland, some 800 years ago. Originally buried in Myra in modern day Turkey, his body was moved from there to Italy in 1169, but said to have been taken afterwards to Ireland by Nicholas de Frainet, a distant relative. The church of Saint Nicholas was built by his family there and dedicated to the memory of the saint. A slab grave on the ground of this church claims to hold his remains. Besides being revered as the Protector of miners, Saint Nicholas is also the patron saint of sailors, merchants, archers, thieves, children, and students in various countries in the Balkans and Eastern Europe, and of course, an antecedent of the modern Santa Claus. The metamorphosis of Saint Nicholas into the more commercially lucrative Santa Claus, which took several centuries in Europe and America, has recently been re-enacted in the saints home town: the city of Demre. This modern Turkish town is built near the ruins of ancient Myra. As St. Nicholas is a very popular Orthodox saint, the city attracts many Russian tourists. A solemn bronze statue of the Saint by the Russian sculptor Gregory Pototsky, donated by the Russian government in 2000, was given a prominent place on the square in front of the medieval church of St. Nicholas. In 2005, mayor Suleyman Topcu had the statue replaced by a red-suited plastic Santa Claus statue, because he wanted the central statue to be more recognizable to visitors from all over the world. Protests from the Russian government against this action were successful only to the extent that the Russian statue was returned, without its original high pedestal, to a corner near the church.
Posted on: Fri, 19 Dec 2014 22:11:12 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015