Why did you attend Saturday's ceremony remembering the 100th anniversary of the Cherry Mine Disaster?

“I’m a descendant of coal miners from this part of the state, and my grandmother is from Spring Valley. I taught history, and I’ve been here before for research.”

Richard Joyce of Coal City

“I grew up in LaMoille, and we talked about the Cherry Mine Disaster in school. So I wanted to come down and check it out. I learned a lot more about what happened thanks to today.”

Rose Renkosik of Ottawa

“I’m here because when I started teaching 40 years ago, I had a student from Cherry who talked about the disaster. I read about the ceremony in the Springfield newspaper and then in the Bloomington Pantagraph, so I decided to come.”

Dorothy Deany of Bloomington

“I’m very interested in local history. Also, my grandfather was a fireman with the Ladd Fire Department here during the Cherry Mine Disaster, and I just wanted to be here for him.”

Jim Piacenti of Ladd

“I have an in-depth desire to learn more about the history of coal mining. I’m fascinated with coal mines, and I’ve been looking forward to today for two years.”

Derek Bennett of Edwardsville