A New Park Honors 51 Miners Lost in a Michigan Mine Collapse
A public park in Ely Township now honors the 51 men who died in the Barnes-Hecker mine disaster. The site includes memorials, walking paths, and information about the miners and their families. A ribbon-cutting ceremony marked the opening of the park, giving the community a place to remember the men and the lives changed by their deaths.
A Family’s Long-Lasting Loss
For Gary Walimaa, the memorial is tied to his own family. His grandfather, John A. Kallio, was trapped in the collapsed mine. Walimaa’s mother was only 13 months old when her father died, so she grew up without knowing him.
Walimaa remembers hearing how much his mother wanted a father. When her own mother went into town, the young girl would ask her to bring back a dad for her. That childhood story stayed with Walimaa as he grew older. The new park gives his family, and others like it, a place to honor people they lost before some relatives had a chance to know them.
Paths Through the Memorial
The park covers 51 acres. Visitors can follow a circular path that stretches about 2,000 feet, then continue along trails leading toward the lake where the mine cave-in took place. The landscape gives people a way to walk through the area while reflecting on what happened there.
Memorial statues show different sides of the tragedy. One honors the only miner who survived. Another depicts a wife and child bringing lunch to a miner who will not return home. Along the trails, each of the 51 miners has a plaque. The markers share a name and details about the person’s story and family, helping visitors understand that the disaster affected individual people and households.
The park is both a memorial and a public place. Its paths allow people to spend time outdoors, while the statues and plaques keep the history of the miners close at hand. Visitors can take in the landscape, look at the artwork, and learn about the people who once worked on the site.
A Community Effort
Building the park took help from many people and businesses. The project received a little more than $1 million in cash, donated materials, and labor. Project manager Glenn Wing said workers and companies cared deeply about the work because it had meaning beyond simply completing a construction job.
That shared effort helped turn the memorial into a community project. Donors and workers contributed time and resources, while the township took responsibility for the land. Ely Township bought the property and made it a public park, with the goal of keeping the memorial cared for in the years ahead.
Making the History Easier to Find
Plans to obtain the land and create a fitting memorial had been tried for many years. The community eventually found a place where the park could be built and a moment when the project could move forward.
Information about the miners and the disaster has also been digitized. This makes it searchable and easier to find. Some details are now available in a way they were not before, when people might have had to search through archives to uncover them. Preserving those records gives families and visitors more ways to learn about the men and the history of the site.
A Place to Remember
When Walimaa was young, his mother believed nothing should be built on the land because it was a burial site. Over time, he came to feel that the miners and their families needed a lasting place of remembrance. Seeing the park become real has brought him strong feelings of joy and emotion after years of hard work.
For Walimaa, the memorial is also a way to honor his mother and the father she never had the chance to know. He feels that the people being remembered would be glad to see the community’s work and care. The park invites visitors to walk the grounds, take in the artwork, and remember the miners whose lives were tied to the place.