BECKLEY, W.Va. — On April 5, 2010, an underground explosion rocked Raleigh County and left a mark in West Virginia history forever.
29 miners died in the Upper Big Branch Mine disaster. Since then, the Upper Big Branch (UBB) Miner’s Legacy Fund was formed by the Beckley-Raleigh County Chamber of Commerce to help ensure the miners’ lives would not be forgotten.
‘The Chamber made an initial donation of $2,900 towards the creation of the fund as a nod to the 29 miners that died at Upper Big Branch,” said Executive Director of the Beckley Area Foundation Dena Cushman. “This amount holds a special, yet sad, significance in building the endowment.”
Raleigh County Delegate Mick Bates serves as Chairman of the Beckley-Raleigh County Chamber of Commerce. He helped coordinate a partnership between the State of West Virginia, Alpha Natural Resources and the Raleigh County Commission to construct a memorial near the Raleigh County Courthouse in Beckley. It lists the names of all lives lost in the accident.
“We wanted to do something that was significant and forever,” said Del. Bates. “There was an Eccles Mine marker that exists on the existing courthouse lawn that simply says this happened, all these men died and that was it. So we thought we could do better than that.”
When the fund was established, the Chamber of Commerce set an initial goal of raising $10,000 in five years. A member contacted Bates recently and told him they were $880.02 short.
“So I said ‘well you talk to the board and I’d be very willing to match them. So if the Chamber would be willing to put in $440.01 then I’ll put in $440.01 and we’ll get there’, and so we have.”
The income will help fund the upkeep of the Beckley memorial as well as pay for education in regard to mining and its contribution to Raleigh County.
“Everybody in this community was touched, directly or indirectly, by what happened. We all knew somebody whose life was either taken or was involved in all of the things that went on. The whole country looked at us and they saw what is best about us is that we pull together.”
A wreath presentation will take place at the UBB Memorial site on the Raleigh Courthouse lawn in Beckley on April 5 at 3 pm. The event is open to the public.