Seventy years have passed since that fateful November 5 morning in 1930 when an explosion at the Sunday Creek Coal Co. Mine No. 6 at Millfield changed life in the lower Sunday Creek Valley forever. Eighty-two men perished in the explosion which remains Ohio’s largest underground mine disaster. Included in the fatalities were mine officials touring the mine at the time of the explosion caused by underground gasses set off by an electric spark. Saturday, November 6, 2010 was a day that a dedicated group of residents of the Little Cities microregion took steps to assure that this horrific event would not be forgotten.

Sprinkled among the largest crowd in recent years at the annual commemoration ceremony in Millfield on this day were descendants of those who perished here. Approximately 60 people reflected quietly on this chilly morning as local pastor and school principal Debbie Koon read the names of the 82 men who died that day at the site of small monument bearing their names. Following the ceremony, many departed with purpose to the nearby Athens County community of Buchtel for a companion event that is likely to keep the memory of this tragedy alive for the foreseeable future.

At Buchtel, the quiet and somber mood of Millfield was replaced with nearly 200 excited people visiting and cheerfully sharing stories as the sun broke through the chilly fog. They waited in line to see the newly located Mine Museum fashioned out of a company house that will house artifacts from the Millfield Mine Disaster as well as other Hocking Valley coal mining history. Living history character Rich Pawling of Hocking College greeted guests as an early miner.

Though the interior of the Buchtel Museum awaits completion, artifacts were displayed ranging from a model of the Millfield Mine No. 6 tipple and newspaper clippings telling of the disaster to early mining equipment and a time-worn United Mine Worker flag were on display for visitors.

Due to the cold, a make shift auditorium was set up in the village maintenance garage for the dedication. The space was packed. Local banker Steve Cox served as master of ceremony as a range of dignitaries and stakeholders in the museum project spoke. Among those speaking were Dr. Ron Erickson, president of Hocking College, who applauded the community effort and told of the circumstances that led to the former mining house being moved from the grounds of the College to its new home in Buchtel. Though, he would not admit it, Buchtel resident Rodney Galentin was the most awaited voice in the room. Not only did he invite most of the people in the room, he marshalled the voluntary efforts of officials from Hocking College, the local community, and the region to make the relocation of the new museum possible. His “can do” attitude was contagious as the project could attest to several dozen individuals of all ages who made the project possible. Rodney had assured that credit was given to his counterpart, the Reverend Paul Johnson of Millfield, who died before the project could be completed, as his wife spoke on his behalf as part of the ceremony. In true community fashion, the Buchtel Methodist Church provided a soup bean luncheon for all gathered following the ceremony. It was great day for history buffs in the Valley, for those who love civic spirit, and for those who believe that the importance of the work of laborers in the Hocking Valley Coal Fields was commemorated, and time long past was brought to bear on the modern conciousness of those who gathered on this hallowed day.