On March 8, 1924, the Castle Gate mine suffered a series of three major explosions that occurred with enough force to send minecarts, telephone poles and other objects flying. These objects were not the only things rocked by the blast however, as all 171 men working in the mine were killed by the explosions and resulting catastrophic cave-in, rocking the Castle Valley area for years to come.

This year marks the centennial anniversary of this great tragedy, and due to this Utah Power Credit Union and Helper City are working together to memorialize those who were tragically lost in the disaster.

Utah Power Credit Union President Ryan Pollick and Helper Mayor Lenise Peterman joined Castle Country Radio to discuss the upcoming memorial fundraiser which will coincide directly with Helper’s monthly First Friday event.

Opening our conversation, Mayor Peterman and Pollick described what First Friday is,” So, First Friday was started by local business owners looking to promote people coming into Helper and visiting the Main Street and the different small business owners there.” Mayor Peterman explained.

“Of course, First Friday is always a lot of fun for the helper community. A way for the galleries to open their doors and welcome the public in, maybe folks who hadn’t previously been into a gallery, maybe a little less intimidating to see all that great art.” Pollick continued,” And we had the opportunity for this first Friday to combine that with a project that Utah Power Credit Union is working on, and that is the Castle Gate Memorial Project.”

Diving more in-depth into the Castle Gate Memorial Project, Pollick explained,” Some may remember that it’s, it’s the 100th anniversary of the Castle Gate mine disaster that killed every miner inside that mine. A documentary was produced in March to commemorate the 100th anniversary of that. We have partnered with the city of Helper, as well as the author of a fantastic book called Castle Gate on sale right now at Utah Power Credit Union offices to raise funds to do some cleanup at the Castle Gate cemetery, as well as we’re hoping that we could even do a little trail that leads to the, the mine and have some. Some more remembrance of all of those folks who lost their lives and the families, of course, that are still affected to this day. “

Mayor Peterman added to this saying,” It’s just really a way to honor those ancestors and people who were here doing the work that made Carbon County go. So we want to make sure they get the respect and honor they deserve.”

Next Pollick explained how to help contribute to fundraising efforts for the project,” We would love to have any donation either monetary or in time or materials. Like I said, we are planning to do a little pathway walk, nature walk at the cemetery. So they can contact Utah Power Credit Union … It doesn’t need to be monetary. We’ll take the volunteer effort as well. And we’d love to have anyone participate in this project. That’s really what it is. It’s all about this community.”

Mayor Peterman then described what this project means to her as Helper’s mayor, as well as what it means in general for the city. “It’s really about honoring the history of coal mining in our community. It really is the basis of why we’re all here in Carbon County. So we want to make sure we don’t forget that and that we do honor those people who worked in those mines because what an unbelievably tough job it had to have been.”

You’re not going to want to miss this special First Friday Celebration, which will include activities such as an art gallery walk as well as a chance to take a family photo in an old-time mine outfit in front of the mine. Helper’s First Friday will be held on Friday, August 2. For more information on the event you can visit their Facebook page here, and for more information on how to donate you can visit your local Utah Power Credit Union branch in Price, Huntington or Helper.

*Photo Courtesy of Bill and Albert Fossat. Utah Historical Quarterly 70.1 (Winter 2002).