Item Detail
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30543
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5
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4
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English
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A Struggle for Survival and Identity : Families in the Aftermath of the Castle Gate Mine Disaster
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Utah Historical Quarterly
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Summer 1988
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56
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3
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Salt Lake City, UT
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Utah State Historical Society
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279-92
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"ON THE CLEAR, BRISK MORNING OF SATURDAY, MARCH 8, 1924, 171 men reported for work in the Number 2 mine of the Utah Fuel Company in Castle Gate, Utah. Shortly after they began their shift the mine was rocked by two separate, violent explosions. None of the miners survived, and one rescue worker, who apparently removed the nose clip of his gas mask, was killed by inhaling the deadly after damp. It took a week to recover all of the bodies. As the week wore on company officials went into action to provide for the families of those killed.
In 1917 the Utah State Legislature had passed a workmen's compensation law and set up a state insurance fund. The Utah Fuel Company, self-insured, provided $150 in funeral expenses for each miner and $16 a week for nearly six years, totaling almost $5,000 in compensation for each claimant. In addition. Gov. Charles R. Mabey set up a committee to distribute $132,445.13 in funds raised through public donations. On June 6, 1924, the Castle Gate Relief Fund Committee hired Annie D. Palmer, an experienced Red Cross worker, to determine the needs and conditions of widows and orphaned children. For seven years following the disaster, she submitted carefully detailed reports."