Friday, December 6, 1907, 10:45 am – 11:00 am

10:45 am

The speeding interurban car rounds the tight curve of the West Fork River and slows down only just before reaching #6 mine. There some rescuers and officials, like Company Superintendent J.C. Gaskill and General Manager Malone, get off at #6 while others ride the trolley down the line to #8. (Inquiry, News)

Outside #6:

Carpenters are working at their fastest rate to restore the #6 fan house.

“Five hundred feet from the opening of shaft No. 6 were the bodies of two of the miners, who had been blown from the shaft by the force of the explosion.” (WED 12.7.07 pg. 8)

L.J. Malone gathers some supervisors and mine security guards and forms them into an ad hoc security force to keep crowds back and make room for the incoming rescue crews. “The opening at No 6 was speedily roped off and placed under guard as to restrain the thousands of people from rushing into danger and from interfering with the search.” (CDT 12.7.07 pg. 1)

“Hundreds of people are rushing to the mouth of the mines and it is with difficulty that the guards by means of ropes can keep the people back.” (FWV 12.6.07 pg. 1)

10:50 am

Outside #8

The interurban trolley pulls up as close to #8 as it can get while Hyre Stalnaker and several others are still clearing away enough debris to free William H. Bice from the wreckage of the # 8 fan house.

“The engines, boilers and fans were blown into a tangled mass of wreckage to the southwest with a goodly part of them into the river together with the north end of the bridge.” (CDT 12.7.07 pg. 1)

Friday, December 6, 1907 10:30 am – 10:45 am

“Those who were not incinerated in the first blast of flame were left to grope their way hopelessly in the inky darkness until the fatal afterdamp struck them down.” (TBE 12.7.07 pg. 1)

After 10:30 am

Debris continues to fall from the sky for the next 15 minutes.

Mines #6 & #8 flood with thick smoke, loud noises and continuous “lesser shocks as the unsupported galleries of the mine collapsed” for at least the next ten minutes. Toxic gases known as afterdamp and blackdamp occur naturally in these conditions and with no fan ventilation to push out poisonous air and replace it with breathable air, the deadly gases start to creep through the destroyed workings. (WED 12.7.07 pg. 8)

In the town of Monongah:

Fire Boss Lester Trader wastes no time in dressing and rushing back to #6 mine while, “Wives, mothers, and sisters of the entombed miners, living in cabins on the outskirts of the city, rushed to the shafts to find them blocked with debris. The face of the hills where the mines were located had been changed by the upheaval.” (WED 12.7.07 pg. 8) (Inquiry)

Outside #6:

A foreman from the powerhouse at #6 comes across to the engine room to tell Ed Fry that #6 has exploded. Fry follows him back to the powerhouse and sees smoke and dust pouring out of the #6 air shaft. (Inquiry)

Superintendent A.J. Ruckman could see from the office that #6 fan house is significantly damaged. He tells foreman Charlie Dean to get materials and men over to #6 while he goes to check on the fan at #8 saying, “If that fan is not damaged, we will reverse it.” (Inquiry)

Someone at the Monongah office makes a frantic call to the FCC office over 8 miles away in Fairmont where they have been waiting for notice since they first felt the impact. Though they are pretty sure of what has happened, they are not sure of exactly where it has happened until General Manager L.J. Malone answers the call. (Inquiry, News)

In the city of Fairmont:

“As soon as the explosions occurred the general manager’s office at Fairmont was notified and with all possible speed steps were taken to go to the rescue.” (CDT 12.7.07 pg. 1)

Gen. Mgr. L.J. Malone receives the news and immediately calls the main offices in Downtown Fairmont to notify the higher company officials. He then gathers all available men at his office and they head down to the interurban station. (Inquiry, News, McAteer)

J.O. Watson II instantly calls to the interurban trolley barn and requests they begin to assemble all men who are available to help. He begins to race across town in horse and buggy to the company maintenance shop located on the Fairmont Avenue & 12^th Street block to collect these men. (Inquiry, News, McAteer)

Outside of #6:

J.H. Leonard crawls out from under the trestle and heads back to the #6 fan house, careful to avoid any failing debris, and begins to examine the state of the fan for #6. (Inquiry)

Outside of #8:

Hyre Stalnaker wakes up a few minutes after the blast, shocked at what he sees around him. The intensity of the blast has broken out all of the windows and caused much of the iron structuring of the carpenter shop to give way. He works his way out of the ruins of the shop and immediately heads to and across the #8 trestle tracks toward the smoking mine. (Inquiry)

Superintendent A.J. Ruckman arrives at #8 to find that the explosion has wrecked the boiler and fan house, “throwing them all the way over the river…” It is clear a whole new fan and supporting structure will be needed for #8 and carpenters are immediately put to the task of building a decent structure which can temporarily house a substitute fan. (CDT 12.7.07 pg. 1) (Inquiry) (McAteer) (News)

Inside #8:

The DePetris brothers are attempting to navigate their way back to the #8 mine mouth and quickly run into Dan Dominico in the dark. The three of them continue to follow the tracks through the hallway. (Inquiry)

Outside of #6:

Charlie Dean arrives at the mouth of #6 with a team of men. Leonard informs him that the fan is still functional, but the belt keeps slipping and it isn’t doing much good anyway what with the roof and back side of the building missing. The fan cannot be repaired while it is running. Charlie Dean instructs J.H. Leonard to stop the fan then he puts a team of men to the immediate task of bringing timbers from the supply yard to restore the fan house structure. (Inquiry)

10:35 am:

In the city of Fairmont:

Gen. Mgr. J.L. Malone and his crew of men arrive at the interurban trolley barn on Beverly Road and commandeer the first interurban car they can find. They pack as many men on to the trolley as they can, including J.O. Watson II & mine foreman, Perry Vernon, and head straight for Monongah. “The first car to Monongah was crowded with people, mostly physicians and surgeons as well as newspaper men and officials and employees of the Coal Company.” Among the newspaper men is L.M. Davis, a reporter for the Fairmont West Virginian. (FWV 12.6.07 pg. 1) (Inquiry) (News) (McAteer)

In the city of Clarksburg:

“The Clarksburg Telegram is represented at Monongah by members of its editorial staff. As soon as the disaster occurred two Telegram men left immediately for the scene of the accident. The interurban trolley cars were out of operation at the time, owing to the trolley wires being down, and as the next train did not leave for several hours, the Telegram men procured a team of horses and drove through the awful mud roads to Monongah.” (CDT 12.8.07 pg. 1)

In the town of Monongah:

Virtually the entire town is already on the scene as the entire west side of town is built on top of the two mines.

Inside #8:

Peter and Stan Urban are still running to find an exit when Stan trips, hits his head very hard and is knocked unconscious. Peter stops to try to help him up. When Peter realizes his brother has been knocked out, he tries to move him, but finds that he cannot. Peter does not run; he stays with his brother. (Inquiry) (McAteer)

The DePetris brothers and Dan Dominico crawl along in the darkness, following the rail tracks about 20 more yards where they run into Dan’s son, Leo Dominico. There they find that they could go no further due to the dense smoke and overwhelming heat coming from the main shaft area. Leo tells them of a crack in the mine roof he discovered nearby just days prior. The team turns around, now crawling and feeling their way in the pitch dark using the tracks as their guide, back in the direction from which they came. As they crawl, they can just barely hear the screams and cries of their fellow workers in the other areas of the mine. “These cries were half stifled by the gas that threatened to choke the tour.” (McAteer) (Inquiry) (WED 12.7.07 pg. 8)

Outside of #8:

Hyre Stalnaker is rushing across the trestle as quick as he can, dodging debris and wreckage which has landed on the bridge and the debris still in free fall overhead. Out of the smoke and chaos at the mouth of the mine, emerges Joe Newton (assistant fan engineer at #8), frantically running while cupping his face and head in his hands. As he gets closer to Hyre, he moves his hands away to reveal that the entire side of his face is covered in blood from a gushing head wound and one eyeball is dangling from its socket. Hyre recoils away at the sight and they both continue on in their opposing directions. (Inquiry, News, McAteer)

Hyre Stalnaker approaches the end of the trestle to find the fan house, basically, gone. Just outside of what was left of the fan house walls he sees the body of 40-year-old, William H Bice, engine house and fan foreman, imprisoned beneath timbers and other debris. Hyre tries to free him on his own but quickly recruits help from others. (Inquiry)

At some point, Joe Newton collapses on the #8 trestle. Amidst the immediate confusion of the chaos, it is first thought that he is missing when he is not found in the debris of the fan house. (Inquiry, News)

10:40 am

Just outside of Monongah, the first trolley car of officials and rescuers is racing at almost full speed toward Monongah, skipping all designated stops along the way. It drives right past throngs of panicked women, children, and men who are running on foot to the scene. Despite their desperate pleas, the trolley stops for no one.

Inside #8:

The DePetris and Leo Dominico help the injured Dan Dominico along as they crawl past their previous working spot and continue South toward the slope of the hill which naturally brings the outside surface within 6 – 8 feet or so of the inside man-made workings. There, in the very top corner of a dead-end room, Angelo could see the morning sunlight shining through the crack in the ceiling: “…the smoke and sun and light made a light that looked like fire.” The men began to grab ahold of anything they could find along the mine wall that could help them climb up and reach the hole. As one of the DePetris brothers gets enough of a footing to reach up and grab the perimeter of the hole, the other brother and Leo Dominico help to hoist him up. (Inquiry, News, McAteer)

Outside #8:

Life-long miner and #8 pit boss, Jim Rogers, is standing on the slope just above the streetcar line. Jim is 55 years old, hails from Scotland, and this makes his second stroke of luck when it comes to avoiding death by mine explosion by simply being absent from work. He also escaped from a serious explosion in the Newburg (W. V.) mines twenty years ago. “He has figured in a number of minor accidents and has each time escaped unscathed…in both cases he has had a peculiar streak of luck as his work in the mines as overseer of a gang keeps him at his post of duty regularly.” But on this morning, “…he hardly could tell why he remained out of the mines…for he was due to go in.” The Fairmont West Virginian will later report: “Though all at Monongah are bowed down with grief over the awful disaster, the Rogers family are deeply grateful for the sparing of their husband and father.” (FWV 12.7.07 pg. 1 – noon)

As Jim is trying to see through the dense smoke pouring out of every nook of the hillside, he sees a hand, then another hand stretching up and out of the ground just downhill of him. At first, the smoke is so dense he can hardly make out the actual location of the hole and he calls out to all workers and observers within hearing range for help. Altogether, they help pull Orazio, Angelo, Dan, and Leo out from the pit. The four men take only a few stunned moments to gasp for air and get their footing before stumbling over to what should be the front of #8 but instead, they find only a mutilated hillside. Still inside of #8 is Orazio DePetris’ son, Felix DePetris, who was recently hired as a motorman just like Leo Dominico. Despite his attempts, it is simply too hot from the fires still burning inside #8 to make any immediate attempt to go back in to rescue his son. (Inquiry, McAteer, News)

A large crowd begins to gather at #8 as word of the 4 miners’ escape spreads through the town. Watchmen are immediately placed at toad holes to listen for any more survivors and to prevent others from trying to go in. (Inquiry, News)

“The fear by the rescuers if that the men who were trailing after the four who escaped—how many the four men could not tell—were caught by the deadly gas that would accumulate just back of the choked entrance and that they died there of suffocation.” (WED 12.7.07 pg. 8)

Friday, December 6, 1907 10:30 am

10:30 am

At the mouth of #6:

J.H. Leonard and Alonzo Shroyer are staring down the portal of #6 mine, bracing for the imminent impact of the runaway train of coal cars. Inside the #6 fan house, the clock connected to the sensitive pressure gauges of the fan marks that at 10:30 am the gages “go up a little then drop clean to the bottom” (Inquiry, Victor).

Somewhere in the deep recesses of the two mines, a massive explosion erupts. As it tears through the workings of the mine, following the paths of least resistance, it consumes all oxygen, extinguishes the carbide lamps of the miners, and destroys most of their belongings.

Many men within the mines die instantly as a result of traumatic injuries such as burns, blunt force impacts, and decapitation. Others get caught up in the blast and carried away as, “Every movable object shot with terrific force through the mine.” Majority if not all of the workers caught in this wave are utterly demolished, several of their bodies will be found “strewn at the mouth” or not found at all, having been disintegrated in the force. (Nurses) (LAH 12.8.07 pg. 1) (McAteer)

Inside #8 mine:

The DePetris brothers are violently thrown off their feet, the blast hurling them against a rib then to the mine floor. (McAteer, Inquiry)

Nearby, Dan Dominico is smashed to the ground with such force that his ear is badly cut and one arm is injured so seriously he cannot move it. (McAteer, Inquiry)

Outside #8 mine:

The south-bound interurban trolley is only a few yards beyond the mouth of mine #8 when the crowd of passengers begin to feel and hear the earth rumble around them. (News)

On the East side of Monongah:

George Peddicord has barely begun to cross the Iron Bridge between the two mines when he feels everything around him shake and hears a rumbling noise from up river, in the direction of #8. (Inquiry)

At the Traction Park Interurban station between #6 & #8:

George Bice is around 330 yards north of #8, by the Traction Park interurban station when he hears the report, “likened to the discharge of a cannon,” from behind. He spins around to look at #8 and sees tons of brick, 8×8 timbers, infrastructure, machinery, coal cars, tools and other debris from deep within the mine hurled up and out the entrance by the explosive force. The miners’ check-tag board is eviscerated, the brass ID tags scatter into the river and are lost. (McAteer, Inquiry, News)

At #8:

The large iron gate at the mouth of #8 is ripped away as the force exits through the mine mouth. But the pressure is simply too much and the force tears a 100-foot hole in the hillside where the entrance once stood, tossing the iron gate and chunks of concrete, one “weighing fully 1000 pounds”, across the river and embedding them into the eastern river bank. (McAteer, Inquiry, News)

“So great was the force of the explosion that one man was blown out of a pit mouth a distance of 400 feet.” (WT 12.7.07 pg. 1) Charles Honaker is caught by the first blast wave at the entrance of #8. His clothing is “lit ablaze” and his body is hurled into the air along with the debris and blown hundreds of yards away, toward the river. (McAteer)

The 10 ton, 30’ tall fan for #8 is considered one of the most powerful fans in the country. It is ripped from its concrete moorings, chucked across the river, and embedded in a hillside almost a half mile away from its original location. The large powerhouse, with all its large machinery and boiler room is blown all the way to other side of the river. (McAteer, News, Inquiry)

Electric wires about the mouth of #8 mine are ripped apart and strewn across the ground. (News, Inquiry)

Across the river at #8 tipple:

Otto Smith yells out to the #8 tipple boss, “I reckon the mine has blown up!”. He turns around to see a plume of fire and smoke shoot from the open hillside of #8 more than 60 feet into the sky. (Inquiry)

In the vicinity of #8:

Windows shatter in the buildings around #8, including those all the way across the river in the house next to the tipple. Hyre Stalnaker hears the blast inside the carpenter shop and attempts to run outside but the shock of the blast throws him back into the shop and knocks him out. (Inquiry, News, McAteer)

In the center of town:

George Peddicord can not see the #8 portal from his position on the Iron Bridge, but the force is so intense he can see the timbers and debris flying above through the air followed by a tower of black smoke. (Inquiry)

In Monongah:

Lester Trader was in bed, though not yet asleep, when “the whole house lifted, then the sound of a terrible roar and I felt the earth shaking with such intensity causing objects to fall from shelves…”. He rises from bed and races for the door.

Almost instantly, before Lester Trader can make it to his door, a second report comes from down river in the direction of #6. When he reaches his door, he can feel the wind still coming off of #8. (Inquiry, McAteer)

Inside #8:

Dan & Leo Dominico and the DePetris brothers are just getting to their feet when they are knocked down again by a second, equally powerful explosion. (Inquiry)

Peter & Stan Urban hear and feel the second explosion; they begin to run. (Inquiry, McAteer)

On the East side of Monongah:

Christina Cerdelli hears the noise of the blast in her doorway. She sees smoke coming from the toad holes all along the west side. The smoke is so thick and abundant some believe it is coming from St. Stanislaus Catholic Church. A bit farther up river, Lee Curry also sees the smoke above houses and St. Stanislaus on the west side of town from his vantage point on the #8 tipple. (Inquiry)

Beneath the #6 tipple, E.P. Knight hears something that sounds like dynamite with “a roar to it” come from #6.(Inquiry)

At #6:

Tons of earth are heaved high into the air around #6 and adjacent buildings are damaged. (News, Inquiry, McAteer)

At the mouth of #6, J.H. Leonard and Alonzo Shroyer are thrown back as the blast exits through the portal. Leonard is covered in rubble; his arm and ankle are very hurt. Shroyer slams into something hard, possibly the derailing switch, cutting him to the bone behind his right ear. (Inquiry, McAteer)

A piece of rail track comes down into the #6 blacksmith shop though the blacksmith, Will Jenkins, only sees a sootish-colored smoke with no flame coming from #6 in a steady blowout. (Inquiry)

Pat McDonald, who was still running toward #6 on the trestle, is also hurled over 100 feet backwards and badly injured. (Inquiry, News, McAteer)

The top of the #6 fan house is “blown in the air a considerable distance”, more than 400 feet. (FWV 12.6.07 pg. 1)

Ed Fry is in the doorway of #6 engine room when he is physically jarred by the second blast, though he hears no report. (Inquiry, McAteer)

On the East side of Monongah:

E.P. Knight is still on the telephone with John Talbott until he glances out his shanty window, then runs out the door to see a good bit of dark brown smoke coming out of the #6 air shaft. On the other end of the line, inside the company offices, John Talbott heard the report and saw the flash of fire at #8 through the 2 large bay windows in his office which faced both mines.(Inquiry, McAteer)

The outside foreman, Charlie Dean, and Superintendent of #6, A.J. Ruckman, are talking in the company offices in Monongah when they feel the building shake from the concussion. The loud report causes Charlie Dean to assume that the #8 boiler has blown up. A.J. Ruckman, looks out to #6 and sees smoke coming out of the air shaft “strong, under high pressure”. (Inquiry, McAteer)

Frank Morris feels the jar in his office inside the company store. He runs outside to see smoke coming out of the mouth of #6 and begins running toward the mine. (Inquiry, McAteer)

At #6:

J.H. Leonard does his best to crawl away from the #6 portal to an area where he could let himself down under the trestle and protect himself from flying debris with the door from a coal car. (Inquiry, McAteer)

In the center of town:

George Peddicord drops his buckets and rushes across the Iron Bridge, not to the mine, but to his home. (Inquiry, McAteer)

At #8:

The interurban trolley is rocked on its tracks by the concussion, but holds its bearings and continues on with a crowded car of stunned and terrified passengers. (News, McAteer)

In the surrounding areas:

The “shock from the explosion was distinctly heard” 12 miles away in Pruntytown. (FWV 12.7.07 – pg.1)

The concussion is reportedly heard up to 50 miles away and is “distinctly felt” in Grafton and in the school house at Hoult where the “erasers were jarred from the blackboard and struck to the floor with a bang.” (WED 12.7.07 pg. 8) (FWV 12.12.07 pg. 2)

“People for miles in every direction begin to make inquiries over the telephone…” (FWV 12.7.07 pg. 1 – noon)

Lee Lichtenstein of Columbus was 6 miles away in Fairmont at the time. He will later tell The Baltimore Sun that, “The explosion shook Fairmont…as if by earthquake…a rumbling noise, houses rocked to and fro, people rushed wildly to the street and it was 15 minutes before it was known what occurred.” (News, McAteer)

In the town of Monongah:

No one in Monongah needed to ask what had happened. “They divined instantly that another great mine horror had taken place.” (WED 12.7.07 pg. 8)

The sounds of the blasts were deafening. “The buildings of the cities tottered and waved as if they would collapse. The pavements were upheaved and some of the frailer structures fell into ruins.” (WED 12.7.07 pg. 8)

“Pedestrians and even horses were knocked off their feet… Fires started in various parts of the city.” (WED 12.7.07 pg. 8)

“In the shock of the explosion the school house at Monongah was shaken in such a way that it threw the children in a frenzy and they rushed to the doors and windows some thinking an earthquake had occurred. When the smoke from the mines was seen an uproar was started as it was then realized what had happened. Children screamed pitifully that their fathers were killed and the teachers were utterly unable to control them.” (FWV 12.10.07 pg. 8)

More on the Monongah Disaster of 1907

Introduction

Disclaimer and Guide

How Death Gloated!: A Timeline of the Monongah Disaster and Bloody December of 1907

Who is Guilty?: A Timeline of January 1908 and the Coroner’s Inquiry

Issues with the Monongah Timeline

Bibliography/Resources

About the Author

Contact Information

December 1, 1907 – Welcome to Bloody December

Belle Vernon, near Fayette City, Pennsylvania.

Sometime between 7:15pm – 7:30 pm, the Naomi mine explodes “with a roar that shook the whole countryside.”¹

“The explosion was caused by gas being ignited by an open light or an electric spark or flame from the electric wires, and it was greatly augmented by coal dust.”⁴

Fires inside the mines immediately follow the explosion. The Sunday night shift is relatively small so it is believed some 30 – 60 miners are entombed underground where the fires steadily consume all breathable oxygen and replace it with toxic gases known as black damp.

“Within a few minutes hundreds of people surrounded the pit mouth. The screams were indescribable. Wives and children and friends of the men entombed wrung their hands and begged piteously for rescuing parties to enter the mines and bring out their loved ones. All night they refused to leave the pit mouth.”1

“After a brief examination of the conditions, the impression prevailed among the inspectors that no one would be found alive in the mine, as the after damp would in all probability have smothered those who were not burned by the gas or hurled to death against the sides of the mine by the force of the explosion. The miners, most of whom were foreigners, were at work almost a mile from any entrance.”⁴

“Only one man, an unknown foreigner, (out of 34 employees), reached the surface after the explosion occurred, and as he reached the open air he fell unconscious from inhaling the gas fumes and died in a few minutes.”⁴

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In West Virginia:

Governor Dawson leaves for Washington D.C. to attend a meeting of rivers and harbors congress which will be in session for several days. (FWV 12.4.07 pg. 4)

Welcome to Bloody December.

1907 is considered the deadliest year of the mining industry in the United States.² The month of December produced 5 separate major disasters and numerous accidents which cost the lives of over 800 men and boys, the majority of whom are minorities and immigrants.

This month will be the real catalyst to a decades-long fight to bring an end to negligent labor practices across the country. Bloody December is so horrific that the American public finally lets its government and its industries know that they have had enough. The devastating and very preventable loss of life sparks a heavy push for government regulation in private industry and labor practices.