Cemetery memorial dedicated to miners killed in 1910 blast

IC photo/Marie Mischel

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Following the May 26 Memorial Day Mass at Mount Calvary Catholic Cemetery, Bishop Oscar A. Solis blesses the plaque commemorating the 16 miners who died in a 1910 explosion and were buried in a grave marked only by the tombstone of their foreman. At left is Deacon John Kranz, chancellor.

SALT LAKE CITY — As part of this year’s Memorial Day celebrations at Mount Calvary Catholic Cemetery in Salt Lake City, Bishop Oscar A. Solis blessed a plaque commemorating the lives of 16 miners and their foreman who were killed in 1910 in an explosion at the Union Portland Cement Works in Devil’s Slide, Morgan County. 

Because the bodies of most of the men were unable to be identified, their remains were buried together at the Morgan Cemetery. According to Rachel Turk, a Morgan County historian, the men who lost their lives were Hugh McGuire, George Catoloni, B. Catoloni, Frank Coney, S. D. Bernuardo, L. Nokovich, F. N. Gynkuck, M. Guesseppe, D. Cambalolo, F. Bergovic, P. Stojivic, P. Skebvic, A. Ishii, F. Nakamuri, M. Soilar, B. Kramovic and A. Petress.

McGuire, 25, the foreman, was from Bingham. A memorial Mass was celebrated for him at the Cathedral of the Madeleine in August 1910. His body was buried separately at Mt. Calvary. 

At some point during the last century the three boxes containing the remains of the 16 miners were transferred to Mt. Calvary Cemetery and buried in a grave marked only by McGuire’s tombstone. This bit of history was lost until two years ago, when the cemetery conducted a ground-penetrating radar survey to locate unmarked graves and revealed the boxes buried by McGuire’s grave.  

The plaque blessed by the bishop contains a brief history of the explosion and notes, “’All the victims were immigrants from Japan, Greece, Ireland, Italy and Austria. As well as could be learned many were unmarried and had many people dependent upon them,’ as was reported by the Ogden Standard. … We now wish to honor these young men with this final resting place of remembrance. May their souls forever rest in peace.”

The brass plaque, which was installed at the base of McGuire’s headstone, is set in limestone “because it was a limestone mine,” said John Curtice, director of Mount Calvary Cemetery. 

“Being a society of immigrants, we need to honor those migrants. It was just the honorable thing to do,” Curtice added. “Catholics honoring and respecting our departed ones is important. People now can go and honor their loved ones.” 

The accident occurred on June 1, 1910 when almost 600 kegs of black powder that had been set in a tunnel at the rock quarry exploded. The June 10, 1910 Salt Lake Telegram reported that it took several days to clear the debris and the workers expected to “unearth the remains of the rest of the victims; the bodies were so completely blown to pieces by the explosion that identification is impossible. …”

Prior to blessing the commemorative plaque, the bishop gave a brief history of the mining disaster, and added, “Today, we remember our brothers with our prayers and this plaque. … We pray that God may welcome them with a special resting place among all the saints of heaven.”