"He had only worked in the mine 11 days," she said. "I don't want to remember him as a miner."

She and Nelda Erickson, the wife of trapped miner Don Erickson, are working together on the second monument, which they hope to place inside the canyon within sight of the mountain spot over where their loved ones remain inside.

Phillips sketched a design that has six markers in a semi-circle. She said each family will design the individual markers, which will stand in lieu of a headstone since the families do not have a body they can bury. Three stone benches will sit inside the half-circle, each in memory of the rescuers killed inside the mine in a subsequent seismic "bump" inside the mine.

Erickson said family members will take a field trip into the canyon to look at possible monument sites after clearing a monumental hurdle — Christmas. Not all of the lost miners have family close by at this point. But for those who do, the time they spend together making plans for the monuments has been helpful in a difficult time.

"They're not family, but they've become like family. When I go through something and find out they've gone through it too, it helps," Erickson said.

The families are still getting steady outside support, especially with the memorial projects.

Emery County Sheriff Lamar Guymon said he had talked to the Forest Service supervisor, who promised support in arranging permits to locate the in-canyon monument, which will almost surely be on Forest Service land. Guymon said he has also been promised help from the office of Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, in securing necessary permits.

"There is so much beauty up there in so many places," the sheriff said of Huntington Canyon. While the group wants to see the canyon memorial placed near the mine, they don't want it to be a road-side attraction along the highway. "It needs to be where you can go and be alone," Guymon said. "There are some pretty places you can just go sit and spend the day if you want. That's the idea."

Huntington Mayor Hillary Gordon said she and the city continue in a support role, facilitating meetings and receiving donations to cover the cost of the monuments.

Mike Mower, the governor's state planning coordinator, said all of the $200,000 cost of the two monuments is coming from donated funds, supplies and labor and includes $100,000 from a single, anonymous donor. Mine owner Bob Murray has also pledged his support for the project as well as a financial contribution, Mower said. The miners' families have contributed $15,000.

Mower characterized the projects as "a capstone of the community's efforts to come together after the disaster. For all involved in the project, it is certainly a labor of love."

Phillips said she is hoping both monuments are dedicated before next August's anniversary of the tragedy.

---

E-mail: sfidel@desnews.com