Cherry mine fire wows museum fans; Book signing set for Saturday - LaSalle News Tribune

CHERRY — Jim Ridings will sign copies of his new book, “The Illustrated History of The Cherry Mine Disaster of 1909,” 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, March 7, at the Cherry Public Library.

“This is the illustrated history; you have to see the pictures in this thing and the stories behind it, it’s just unbelievable,” said Cherry resident Jim Pozzi.

Pozzi, whose wife, DeAnn, is a curator at the museum in Cherry, said she and he are extremely impressed by the photographs and the families’ stories collected by Ridings.

“We’ve never seen some of this stuff before,” Pozzi said.

The coal mine fire of November 1909 killed 259 men and boys. It remains the third worst coal mine disaster in American history.

The 224-page book contains 400 photographs of the disaster, as well as the complete story. There are stories of tragedy and of heroism, including the rescue of 21 men who were tapped in the burning mine for eight days.

Ridings, who lives in Herscher, has written two dozen books of Illinois history. Several of his books have won awards from the Illinois State Historical Society and the Illinois Humanities Council.

The book contains a lot of new material Ridings uncovered, both photographs and stories from descendants of victims and survivors of the tragedy. Ridings said the goal for all his books is to find new material and information that has not been previously revealed.

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https://www.newstrib.com/2020/03/02/cherry-mine-fire-wows-museum-fans-book-signing-set-for-saturday/az3cjzb/

2020-03-02 16:56:21Z
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