Recently I attended a meeting of an area group, the Southern Illinois Coal belt Champion Community, which was held at the Orient No. 2 property north of West Frankfort, on Route 37. The SICCC is, in my opinion, one of the best groups in this area for uniting the efforts of counties and communities of Southern Illinois. The motto of SICCC, “Eleven Communities — Three Counties — Working as One” is truly descriptive of this organization.
The old Orient Mine No. 2 site is now owned by McVicker Enterprises. Russ McVicker, Vice President, hosted the meeting and elaborated on his plans and dreams for the property. Russ took us on a tour of the buildings and land which he has worked diligently to clear of old junk while preserving the historical artifacts and structures. A tour of the first building (in which John A. Logan College Extension Center had been located) gave a glimpse of what the more recent laboratory for testing coal looked like. Many of the glass funnels, test tubes and other lab glassware were there, still coated with the “bug dust” from previous years. Included here, was a scale complete with weights for measuring minute quantities. A lab used in earlier years was located in another building.
I must interject a question here. When my Dad worked at Orient No. 2, he would occasionally bring home for my amusement, a can of “bug dust.” If you would watch the surface of this can of black grainy material, a small indention would appear, and as it became larger, would resemble a small whirlpool maybe an inch in diameter. The least movement would erase this action, until the indention was started again. As a child, I was told, this was caused by a very small bug which, try as I might, I could never see. Would this be where the name “bug dust” came from? OK, you history buffs out there, call me and give me the answer.
As the tour progressed, we viewed the old wash-house where the miners would shower and the “change house” where they would change into their “pit clothes”, place their belongings in a basket and hoist it in the air; a mystery room which was sealed off when McVicker started his work. This turned out to be a room where the miners picked up their tags before going below. Of interest, was an opening cut into the old “high-line” which has now been closed. This portal was made to allow the miners who lived south and west of the mine to walk through it to home instead of having to go around the long way. An old piece of rusted mining equipment, a loading machine, is on the property. We viewed the building and huge exhaust fan which was enclosed in concrete to prevent rusting. It is believed the failure of this fan was the cause of the terrible mine explosion of December 21, 1951. The “hoist-house” still has some of the large motor shafts used with heavy belts to raise and lower the cage in mine shaft. The brick work and the slab concrete ceilings in these buildings is the work of true artisans. Some heavy engineering and pride in work is evident in these structures.
If you have the opportunity to visit this site, which played such a large part in the lives of several generations of area families, be sure and take it. As we entered the various buildings and walked the site, I kept thinking, “here I am, taking some of the same steps taken by my grandfather, Art Shaffer, who was Chief Electrician there during the late 30’s, early 40’s, or my Dad, Stanley Durst, who was Top Electrician there at the time of the explosion. This site definitely deserves to be preserved as a part of the history of West Frankfort and Franklin County. Another question — put your thinking caps on and give me the answer — who were the two National League Baseball Rookies of the Year who played here in the baseball stadium for the Cardinals? Call me, 932-3694 or 932-6212. If I’m not available, leave your name and number and I’ll return your call.”
Written by Nancy Bundy, The Daily American
www.dailyamericannews.com
