Memorial For Fallen St. Clair County Miners To Be Refurbished

FORT GRATIOT, Mich. (AP) -- A memorial created to remember the 22 miners who died during a 1971 explosion in St. Clair County is getting a touch-up.

Martin Esquibel, who was in fifth grade back in 1971, is restoring the names that are etched into the memorial at Fort Gratiot County Park. The work should be completed Tuesday.

Miners were building a tunnel to get drinking water from Lake Huron when a gas explosion occurred. The Great Lakes Water Authority still uses the tunnel.

Dennis Delor of St. Clair County Parks and Recreation tells the Port Huron Times Herald it was a "terrible tragedy" that "grabbed national headlines."

Laborers Union Local 1075 is paying for the work on the memorial. A 50th anniversary ceremony is planned for 2021.

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