Memorial for the 1971 Water Tunnel Explosion
Efforts to erect a permanent memorial for 22 workers who perished in a 1971 water project tunneling accident are now underway, thanks to a cooperative effort among the Port Huron Museum, the Port Huron Times Herald, the Community Foundation of St. Clair County, families of the victims and representatives of the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD).
Once completed, the permanent memorial will pay tribute to 22 men, ages 20 to 63, who died as a result of a methane gas explosion on December 11, 1971 during construction of DWSD's Lake Huron Water Treatment Plant. Once funded, the memorial will be erected on the grounds of the treatment plant on Metcalf Road in Fort Gratiot Township.
The 1971 explosion occurred within a six-mile, 16-foot diameter tunnel that was being constructed 230 feet below the lake bed to draw up to 1.2 billion gallons of water per day when complete. Tragically, methane gas (commonly found in pockets of the shale geology) accumulated in an unventilated portion of the tunnel and was later inadvertently sparked, leading to a devastating underground explosion. Forty-three men were in the tunnel when it exploded.
Twenty-one men were killed that day and another man got out of the tunnel but died 10 months later. The explosion ranks as one of the state's most deadly industrial accidents.
Cherie Darmis, widow of one of the victims and member of the 1971 Water Tunnel Explosion Committee, writing in the Times Herald said, "We cannot let the lives of these men be forgotten. These were real men, fathers, sons, husbands, grandfathers, friends--real people with real families.... All 22 must be remembered." She added, "Even the Unknown Soldier has a marker."
In addition to the valiant men who lost their lives, the accident is also noted for the hundreds of heroic police officers, firefighters and other rescue workers who risked their own lives to save those within the tunnel.
The Lake Huron Treatment Plant was completed in 1974, and today supplies Detroit's northern suburbs, with approximately 270 million gallons of high quality drinking water per day. "We can never forget the water we drink and Detroit drinks came at a price, and it's something we take for granted," said T. J. Gaffney, curator of collections at the Port Huron Museum.
Fund raising efforts are under way to erect a brick-paved memorial walkway and a granite stone featuring the names of the 22 victims. Names and sentiments of supporters of the memorial campaign will be engraved on the bricks. Starting December 16, 2002 contributors can purchase a regular-sized brick for $25 and larger corporate bricks will be available for donations of $250 or more. A state historical marker and memorial garden will also be located at the site.
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The dead:
Vernard Woolstenhulme, 63, of Lexington
Frank Polk, 27, of Port Huron
Gerald Curtis, 32, of Port Huron
Gerald Hardel, 30, of Knox, In.
Walter Woods, 36, of Port Huron
James Beesley, 34, of Port Huron
Guilliermo Teran, 36, of Flint
Claybourne Simpkins, 38, of Hamlet, In.
Romualdo Alvarez, 40, of Flint
Kenneth Hawes, 33, of Port Huron
Manuel Abasta, 31, of Port Huron
Raymond Comeau, 35, of Goodells
Martin Laretz, 25, of Lexington
Glen Verner, 44, of Tuttletoen, Tenn.
Charles Epperson, 44, of Port Huron
Donald Fogel, 21, of Avoca
Donald Williams, 44 of Port Huron
Rosewell Brown, 43, of Port Huron
Patrick Dingman, 35, of St. Clair
Gary Roehn, 20, of Lexington
Jimmy H. Reighard, 32, of Robinsville, N.C.
Efforts to erect a permanent memorial for 22 workers who perished in a 1971 water project tunneling accident are now underway, thanks to a cooperative effort among the Port Huron Museum, the Port Huron Times Herald, the Community Foundation of St. Clair County, families of the victims and representatives of the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD).
Once completed, the permanent memorial will pay tribute to 22 men, ages 20 to 63, who died as a result of a methane gas explosion on December 11, 1971 during construction of DWSD's Lake Huron Water Treatment Plant. Once funded, the memorial will be erected on the grounds of the treatment plant on Metcalf Road in Fort Gratiot Township.
The 1971 explosion occurred within a six-mile, 16-foot diameter tunnel that was being constructed 230 feet below the lake bed to draw up to 1.2 billion gallons of water per day when complete. Tragically, methane gas (commonly found in pockets of the shale geology) accumulated in an unventilated portion of the tunnel and was later inadvertently sparked, leading to a devastating underground explosion. Forty-three men were in the tunnel when it exploded.
Twenty-one men were killed that day and another man got out of the tunnel but died 10 months later. The explosion ranks as one of the state's most deadly industrial accidents.
Cherie Darmis, widow of one of the victims and member of the 1971 Water Tunnel Explosion Committee, writing in the Times Herald said, "We cannot let the lives of these men be forgotten. These were real men, fathers, sons, husbands, grandfathers, friends--real people with real families.... All 22 must be remembered." She added, "Even the Unknown Soldier has a marker."
In addition to the valiant men who lost their lives, the accident is also noted for the hundreds of heroic police officers, firefighters and other rescue workers who risked their own lives to save those within the tunnel.
The Lake Huron Treatment Plant was completed in 1974, and today supplies Detroit's northern suburbs, with approximately 270 million gallons of high quality drinking water per day. "We can never forget the water we drink and Detroit drinks came at a price, and it's something we take for granted," said T. J. Gaffney, curator of collections at the Port Huron Museum.
Fund raising efforts are under way to erect a brick-paved memorial walkway and a granite stone featuring the names of the 22 victims. Names and sentiments of supporters of the memorial campaign will be engraved on the bricks. Starting December 16, 2002 contributors can purchase a regular-sized brick for $25 and larger corporate bricks will be available for donations of $250 or more. A state historical marker and memorial garden will also be located at the site.
--------
The dead:
Vernard Woolstenhulme, 63, of Lexington
Frank Polk, 27, of Port Huron
Gerald Curtis, 32, of Port Huron
Gerald Hardel, 30, of Knox, In.
Walter Woods, 36, of Port Huron
James Beesley, 34, of Port Huron
Guilliermo Teran, 36, of Flint
Claybourne Simpkins, 38, of Hamlet, In.
Romualdo Alvarez, 40, of Flint
Kenneth Hawes, 33, of Port Huron
Manuel Abasta, 31, of Port Huron
Raymond Comeau, 35, of Goodells
Martin Laretz, 25, of Lexington
Glen Verner, 44, of Tuttletoen, Tenn.
Charles Epperson, 44, of Port Huron
Donald Fogel, 21, of Avoca
Donald Williams, 44 of Port Huron
Rosewell Brown, 43, of Port Huron
Patrick Dingman, 35, of St. Clair
Gary Roehn, 20, of Lexington
Jimmy H. Reighard, 32, of Robinsville, N.C.
Memorial for the 1971 Water Tunnel Explosion
Efforts to erect a permanent memorial for 22 workers who perished in a 1971 water project tunneling accident are now underway, thanks to a cooperative effort among the Port Huron Museum, the Port Huron Times Herald, the Community Foundation of St. Clair County, families of the victims and representatives of the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD).
Once completed, the permanent memorial will pay tribute to 22 men, ages 20 to 63, who died as a result of a methane gas explosion on December 11, 1971 during construction of DWSD's Lake Huron Water Treatment Plant. Once funded, the memorial will be erected on the grounds of the treatment plant on Metcalf Road in Fort Gratiot Township.
The 1971 explosion occurred within a six-mile, 16-foot diameter tunnel that was being constructed 230 feet below the lake bed to draw up to 1.2 billion gallons of water per day when complete. Tragically, methane gas (commonly found in pockets of the shale geology) accumulated in an unventilated portion of the tunnel and was later inadvertently sparked, leading to a devastating underground explosion. Forty-three men were in the tunnel when it exploded.
Twenty-one men were killed that day and another man got out of the tunnel but died 10 months later. The explosion ranks as one of the state's most deadly industrial accidents.
Cherie Darmis, widow of one of the victims and member of the 1971 Water Tunnel Explosion Committee, writing in the Times Herald said, "We cannot let the lives of these men be forgotten. These were real men, fathers, sons, husbands, grandfathers, friends--real people with real families.... All 22 must be remembered." She added, "Even the Unknown Soldier has a marker."
In addition to the valiant men who lost their lives, the accident is also noted for the hundreds of heroic police officers, firefighters and other rescue workers who risked their own lives to save those within the tunnel.
The Lake Huron Treatment Plant was completed in 1974, and today supplies Detroit's northern suburbs, with approximately 270 million gallons of high quality drinking water per day. "We can never forget the water we drink and Detroit drinks came at a price, and it's something we take for granted," said T. J. Gaffney, curator of collections at the Port Huron Museum.
Fund raising efforts are under way to erect a brick-paved memorial walkway and a granite stone featuring the names of the 22 victims. Names and sentiments of supporters of the memorial campaign will be engraved on the bricks. Starting December 16, 2002 contributors can purchase a regular-sized brick for $25 and larger corporate bricks will be available for donations of $250 or more. A state historical marker and memorial garden will also be located at the site.
--------
The dead:
Vernard Woolstenhulme, 63, of Lexington
Frank Polk, 27, of Port Huron
Gerald Curtis, 32, of Port Huron
Gerald Hardel, 30, of Knox, In.
Walter Woods, 36, of Port Huron
James Beesley, 34, of Port Huron
Guilliermo Teran, 36, of Flint
Claybourne Simpkins, 38, of Hamlet, In.
Romualdo Alvarez, 40, of Flint
Kenneth Hawes, 33, of Port Huron
Manuel Abasta, 31, of Port Huron
Raymond Comeau, 35, of Goodells
Martin Laretz, 25, of Lexington
Glen Verner, 44, of Tuttletoen, Tenn.
Charles Epperson, 44, of Port Huron
Donald Fogel, 21, of Avoca
Donald Williams, 44 of Port Huron
Rosewell Brown, 43, of Port Huron
Patrick Dingman, 35, of St. Clair
Gary Roehn, 20, of Lexington
Jimmy H. Reighard, 32, of Robinsville, N.C.
Efforts to erect a permanent memorial for 22 workers who perished in a 1971 water project tunneling accident are now underway, thanks to a cooperative effort among the Port Huron Museum, the Port Huron Times Herald, the Community Foundation of St. Clair County, families of the victims and representatives of the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD).
Once completed, the permanent memorial will pay tribute to 22 men, ages 20 to 63, who died as a result of a methane gas explosion on December 11, 1971 during construction of DWSD's Lake Huron Water Treatment Plant. Once funded, the memorial will be erected on the grounds of the treatment plant on Metcalf Road in Fort Gratiot Township.
The 1971 explosion occurred within a six-mile, 16-foot diameter tunnel that was being constructed 230 feet below the lake bed to draw up to 1.2 billion gallons of water per day when complete. Tragically, methane gas (commonly found in pockets of the shale geology) accumulated in an unventilated portion of the tunnel and was later inadvertently sparked, leading to a devastating underground explosion. Forty-three men were in the tunnel when it exploded.
Twenty-one men were killed that day and another man got out of the tunnel but died 10 months later. The explosion ranks as one of the state's most deadly industrial accidents.
Cherie Darmis, widow of one of the victims and member of the 1971 Water Tunnel Explosion Committee, writing in the Times Herald said, "We cannot let the lives of these men be forgotten. These were real men, fathers, sons, husbands, grandfathers, friends--real people with real families.... All 22 must be remembered." She added, "Even the Unknown Soldier has a marker."
In addition to the valiant men who lost their lives, the accident is also noted for the hundreds of heroic police officers, firefighters and other rescue workers who risked their own lives to save those within the tunnel.
The Lake Huron Treatment Plant was completed in 1974, and today supplies Detroit's northern suburbs, with approximately 270 million gallons of high quality drinking water per day. "We can never forget the water we drink and Detroit drinks came at a price, and it's something we take for granted," said T. J. Gaffney, curator of collections at the Port Huron Museum.
Fund raising efforts are under way to erect a brick-paved memorial walkway and a granite stone featuring the names of the 22 victims. Names and sentiments of supporters of the memorial campaign will be engraved on the bricks. Starting December 16, 2002 contributors can purchase a regular-sized brick for $25 and larger corporate bricks will be available for donations of $250 or more. A state historical marker and memorial garden will also be located at the site.
--------
The dead:
Vernard Woolstenhulme, 63, of Lexington
Frank Polk, 27, of Port Huron
Gerald Curtis, 32, of Port Huron
Gerald Hardel, 30, of Knox, In.
Walter Woods, 36, of Port Huron
James Beesley, 34, of Port Huron
Guilliermo Teran, 36, of Flint
Claybourne Simpkins, 38, of Hamlet, In.
Romualdo Alvarez, 40, of Flint
Kenneth Hawes, 33, of Port Huron
Manuel Abasta, 31, of Port Huron
Raymond Comeau, 35, of Goodells
Martin Laretz, 25, of Lexington
Glen Verner, 44, of Tuttletoen, Tenn.
Charles Epperson, 44, of Port Huron
Donald Fogel, 21, of Avoca
Donald Williams, 44 of Port Huron
Rosewell Brown, 43, of Port Huron
Patrick Dingman, 35, of St. Clair
Gary Roehn, 20, of Lexington
Jimmy H. Reighard, 32, of Robinsville, N.C.
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