Remembering Robena

On December 6th, a snowstorm raged through Carmichaels, while below ground a different type of storm was about to tear through the Robena No. 3 Mine. That day, two explosions ripped through Frosty Run shaft, taking the lives of 37 miners and shocking the community.

The first blast occurred around 1:05pm, the second occurring about 20 minutes later. According to a December 7 article from the Daily Courier of Connellsville, “workers in the corrugated structure got their first indication that something was wrong at 1 p.m. EST Thursday when the ventilator fan at the Frosty Run shaft stopped operating. Shortly after that miners came rushing out of the shaft.”

Miners from as far away as two miles from the blast site said, “they heard a ‘thud’, some felt a rush of air. Some said the blast waves knocked their helmets off their heads.”

Some of the escaped miners would join the rescue teams that began to arrive on scene in hopes of rescuing the 37 trapped within the mine. Hope remained that the miners survived the explosions, although the odds were against them and no communication had been heard since the explosion. Two of the miners trapped below were “crack rescue men” and hopes were that they would find an escape route.

Recovery operations began soon after the second explosion. Emergency equipment and supplies began to arrive, but with difficulty due to the heavy snow and strong winds. Many roads closed that night due to increasingly bad weather.

Families began arriving in the bitter cold about 8 hours after the explosion, once a place had been created for them to wait in safety. The families remained in the lamp house that housed the Frosty Run elevator and suffered the following hours waiting for news. “They were mostly silent. There was no weeping,” reported the Daily Courier.

The recovery process was extensive and time-consuming, stretching from around 3pm December 6 to December 11, when the face area was finally ventilated and the last victim brought to the surface at 2:04pm. During recovery, methane and other gases were encountered, slowing recovery at times.

The 37 men that died in the explosion consisted of two production crews, each comprised of a continuous mining machine operator, two shuttle car operators for each crew, and two roof bolters, under the supervision of the production foreman. Also in the area were 14 construction men and a foreman, 2 repairmen and a foreman, 3 engineers and 2 mainline transportation men.

They were working approximately two to three miles away from the bottom of the shaft, which was more than 600 feet deep. 53 loaded cars and one partly loaded car of coal were in the section; 63 tons of coal was swept from the cars as a result of the explosion.

The Robena No. 3 mine was part of an immense structure. No. 3, along with Robena No. 1 and Robena No. 2 spread across almost 70, 000 acres in Greene and Fayette County and employed 1,200 men. It was touted as the first fully mechanized mine in Southwestern Pennsylvania. Tunnels connected the three mines and they operated as one unit. After the explosion, work was halted at all three sites and would not resume until January 1963.

The Robena explosion is the second worst mining explosion in Greene County; the explosion at Mather mine in 1928 took the lives of 194 miners. Robena, along with an explosion at Farmington Mine, WV in 1968, were the catalysts for revised federal safety regulations. The loss of life due to unsafe mining conditions eventually resulted in the Federal Coal Mine and Health Safety Act of 1969 and led to the creation of the Mine Safety and Health Administration. Before 1969, compliance with federal mine safety laws was voluntary.

In 2009, December 6th was designated as Miners Day by the Senate, “in appreciation, honor, and remembrance of the accomplishments and sacrifices of the miners of the Nation; and encourages the people of the United States to participate in local and national activities celebrating and honoring the contributions of miners.”

Greene County does just that every December 6, with an annual ceremony at the Robena memorial site, located off Roy E. Furman highway (Rt. 21) near the Hatfield Ferry power plant. During the ceremony, the names of the 37 men who died in the disaster, as well as two men that died in a previous explosion at Robena in October 1962, are read. Speakers at this year’s ceremony included Marlon Whoolery (President, UMWA Local Union #1980), Edward D. Yankovich, Jr. (International Vice President, UMWA District #2), Levi Allen (UMWA International Secretary Treasurer), and Cecil Roberts (UMWA International President). An invocation and benediction were led by Father Rodney Torbic of Hidden Valley, PA. Wreaths were placed around the memorial and a roll call for the deceased minors was called before a Rifle Salute and Taps were led by VFW Post 4584 of Masontown.

December 6th not only marks the 56th anniversary of the Robena Mine Explosion; it also marks the 111th anniversary of the worst mine disaster in the United States – the Monongah, WV explosion that killed 362 men.

Published in Holiday II 2018 GreeneScene Magazine.