Monday marks 50 years since the deadly Scotia mine disaster in southeastern Kentucky. Mimi Pickering, an Appalshop filmmaker, was there in the aftermath.
In two separate explosions on March 9 and 11, 1976, 26 coal miners were killed at the Scotia Mine, in the Ovenfork community near the border of Harlan and Letcher counties.
The disaster was caused by poor ventilation and a buildup of methane and coal dust.
Congress enacted a mine safety law in 1977 following the disaster. Pickering remembers what it was like to be on the scene after the first explosion and how the tragedy lingers today.
“It's traumatic. We have some footage of one miner who comes down the road, and his wife goes to meet him, and she's just in tears. She realizes he's alive. But the others didn't make it,” she said. “And it's traumatic for us who are documenting some of it, but the trauma for the families, and there were so many little kids. These were young guys, and they had families, and their children were young and there's so many of them growing up not knowing their daddies. It's just heartbreaking, and it sticks with you.”
It also left a lasting impact on the mine rescuers, she said.
“After they went in the mine twice, they identified bodies,” Pickering said. “That was their first rescue, and then they went home, and they never really talked about it. And in those days, you know, we didn't really deal with PTSD. We’re better now at understanding trauma.”
A roadside historical marker was dedicated in Letcher County in 2010 to those who were killed.
A memorial service will take place on site at Ovenfork on Monday at 11:30 a.m. Another ceremony will follow at 1 p.m. at the Kentucky Coal Museum in Benham.
Also listen to Eastern Standard. Tom Martin speaks with historian Brian McKnight and journalist Bill Bishop about the Scotia mine disaster.
