Monument for 9 fallen miners unveiled

HUNTINGTON — Wendy Black rubbed her late husband's cold cheek, now part of a bronze sculpture unveiled Sunday at sunset in front of hundreds who remembered losing nine men over a year ago.

Manny Sanchez, Carlos Payan, Kerry Allred, Luis Hernandez, Brandon Phillips and Don Erickson died Aug. 6, 2007, during a collapse at the Crandall Canyon Mine, which became their final resting place.

Dale Black, Brandon Kimber and Gary Jensen, three would-be rescuers, were killed 10 days later during another collapse.

Erickson's wife, Nelda, fought back tears as she hugged family members of the other victims after a group of Scouts removed a yellow tarp from a stunning wall of bronze images that closely depict the faces of each of the nine miners.

The monument at the new Miners Memorial Park is at the west edge of town, near a cemetery where Black is buried and not far from a school where families waited day after day for any good news about the six trapped miners.

The woman who sculpted the images wanted her creation to be 6 feet high, so people could look the men in their eyes.

"I believe the soul resides in the eyes," Karen Jobe Templeton told the crowd before the unveiling.

She wanted the men to face each other, symbolizing the bond miners share underground. The monument is curved, to depict how the mountains now cradle the men who died. It faces south, so the sun will always warm the miners' faces on the wall. She said the memorial's colors reflect those found in the mountains.

"I wanted the monument to have a sense of place," Templeton said. "It belongs here like we belong here."

Desert Edge Christian Church Pastor Carl Sitterud called Templeton's piece a "work of love" and asked everyone at the memorial unveiling to continue praying for the victims' families as they still struggle in a time of need.

Huntington Mayor Hilary Gordon said there has been a lot of healing in the past year and that the memorial will be a "beautiful memory" of those lost. Gordon and Huntington City Councilwoman Julie Jones were rocks for many family members a year ago during their darkest hours.

Jones said she wants the new park and its monument to be a place of peace and solace.

The word "heroes" was used repeatedly to describe the nine miners who were killed, six more who were injured and others who risked their lives during the rescue effort. There was a standing ovation as several men stood to be recognized for taking part in that effort.

Elder Ronald A. Rasband, a member of the First Quorum of Seventy for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, quoted scripture about the worth of souls in reference to the miners. "Truly, these souls are all great in the sight of God," Elder Rasband said.

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