Larry Dale Newman – Zeigler, IL

Larry Dale Newman, 72, of Zeigler, passed away on Friday, September 9, 2022, at Memorial Hospital in Carbondale, IL.

He was born on January 9, 1950, to Vernon and Lillian Newman in Christopher, IL.

Larry was a loving husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather and enjoyed spending time his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He was a motorcycle enthusiast and loved flat track racing. He was an excellent welder and fabricator and was well-known in Southern Illinois for his skills and his personality. He will be deeply missed by his family and all that he touched in his lifetime.

Larry is survived by his family and many friends who will all cherish the memories of him.

Arrangements have been entrusted to Pate Funeral Home, 301 S. Main St., Benton, IL.

Per Larry’s wishes, cremation will take place and a celebration of life will take place at a later date.

Memorials may be made to the Shriners Hospital for Children or St Jude Children’s Research Hospital and will be accepted at the funeral home.

Online condolences can be given at www.patefh.com.

Shirley Ann (DeBartoli) Grammer – Benton, IL

Shirley Ann (DeBartoli) Grammer, 85, of Benton, IL went to be with her Lord & Saviour Jesus Christ on Monday, August 29, 2022.

She was born on November 9, 1936 in Benton, IL to Tom and Ann DeBartoli.

She married the love of her life and high school sweetheart Paul Grammer March 30, 1957 in Benton, IL and her preceded her in death on October 1, 1996.

Shirley worked for many years taking care and loving many children in her Day Care. She also worked 23 years at Benton Park concession stand, raising her children, whom she loved dearly, and loving on her grandchildren. She also liked to play dominoes with her friends. She loved to fish and loved her flower garden. She loved her Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. She was a member of Immanuel Baptist Church in Benton, IL. She loved her church, pastors and people.

She is survived by her one son and two daughters, Matt & Kim Grammer, Holly & John Shay and Lesa & Darryl Lynch. She is survived by twelve grandchildren Elizabeth, Ben, Ellie, Zach and John Grammer of Goreville, IL, Emily, Sara, Michael, Wilson, Quinn & Hannah Shay of Western Springs, IL, Austin & Kelcie Lynch, Alaina Lynch of Benton, IL. She is also survived by many special nieces & nephews.
She was preceded in death by her Parents, Husband, Brother-Thomas and Sister-Rosalie.

Funeral services will be held at 1:00 P.M. on Thursday, September 1st at the Immanuel Baptist Church in Benton with Rev. Ron Cremeens officiating. Burial will be in the Masonic & Odd Fellows Cemetery in Benton. Visitation will be from 11:00 A.M. to 1:00 P.M. on Thursday at the church.

For more information or to send online condolences please visit www.mortonjohnstonfuneralhome.com

Hazel M. Price – Benton, IL

Hazel M. Price, 103, passed away peacefully August 16, 2022 at her daughter’s home in Marion, IL.

She was born on August 26, 1918. She was the daughter of Lee and Lena Rea, Benton. She had lived at Heritage Woods in Benton for several years where she enjoyed the many friendships there and the kindness shown to her by everyone. She always loved participating in their bingo and playing checkers and cards until she was no longer able to play because of her eyesight.

Hazel was a woman of great faith and was always willing to express this to many others. She was a member of East Benton Baptist Church for many years and was presently a member of the Immanuel Baptist Church in Benton.

She was married to Troy Chance and had two daughters, Sandra and Mary Lou. He was tragically killed in a mine accident in Benton. Several years later she married Albert Price who succeeded her in death in 1989. Family was very important to Hazel and she enjoyed spending time with all her grandchildren and great grandchildren. She is survived by the following family members: Daughter, Sandra Long, Marion, Step-Daughter, Berta Price, West Frankfort Grandchildren, Scott (Rae) Long, Springfield, Tera (Ryan) Keller, Benton and Ofallon, Il Todd (Michele) Thomas, Benton and Steve (Kristy) Long, Marion Great-Grandchildren , Allison (Nick) Long, Springfield, Samantha Long, Springfield, Josie Long, Oxford, Mississippi, Caroline Keller, Oxford, Mississippi, Courtney Keller, Oxford, Mississippi, Carlianne Keller, Benton, Chase Thomas, Benton, Kyle Thomas, Benton, Bailey Long, Marion and Brody Long, Marion. Her son-in-law Terry Thomas, Benton and her loving nieces, Billie Wyant, Benton and Sharon Smothers, Florida

She was preceded in death by her parents, Lee and Lena Rea , husband Troy Chance, husband Albert Price sisters, Dorothy Smothers and Ruth Ann Garrett of Benton and recently her daughter, Mary Lou Thomas, Benton.

A private burial service will be held at Masonic Odd fellows Cemetery in Benton, Saturday, August 20, 2022.
For more information or to send online condolences please visit www.mortonjohnstonfuneralhome.com

Thomas “Tom” Dean Witges-Albers, IL

Thomas “Tom” Dean Witges, 60, of Albers, IL (formerly of Sesser, IL) passed away on Thursday September 16, 2021 at his home.

He was born on March 15, 1961 in Franklin Co., IL to Leonard Arthur and Isabell (Czerwinski) Witges. He married Lisa (Dublo) Witges on December 15, 2006.

He is survived by his wife Lisa Witges of Albers; two sisters Sandra Kinion of Florida and Diann (Tom) Reed of Springfield; one Brother Joe Witges of Sesser; sister-in-law Sheila Lappin; brother-in-law Jeff (Leeda) Dublo; nephews Zachary Witges, Jacob (Meghan) Witges and Jeffrey Dublo; nieces Ashton Lappin, Madyson Dublo and Morgan Dublo; great niece and nephew Makinlee Witges and August Witges.

He was preceded in death by his parents and a special friend of his sister Sandra, Wayne Bradford.

Tom loved to do woodworking, fish and hunt, especially with his nieces and nephews. He had worked at Waltonville Grain Elevator and then worked at Continental Tire, where he retired on March 1, 2011 after 30 years of service.

Funeral service for Tom will be on Friday September 24, 2021 at 11 a.m. at the Brayfield-Gilbert Funeral Home in Sesser with Mark Kabot officiating. Visitation will be on Thursday September 23, 2021 from 5 p.m. until 8 p.m. at the funeral home. Burial will be at Maple Hill Cemetery in Sesser.

In lieu of flowers donations can be made to the St Judes Children’s Research Hospital, Shriners Children’s Hospital and Siteman Cancer Center. Envelopes will be available at the funeral home.

For more information go to our website www.gilbertfuneralhomes.com

Henry Daniel Meadows Sr.-Cleburne, IL

Henry Daniel Meadows Sr., 94, of Cleburne, passed away on Wednesday August 11, 2021 at his home.

He was born on January 13, 1927 in Mulkeytown, IL to Alfred and Minnie (Brashears) Meadows. He married Rose Ella (Hicks) Meadows and she preceded him in death on December 13, 1989.

He is survived by his children Rosalind (Charles) Brandon of Royalton, IL, Randy Meadows of Sesser and Charles (Deborah) Meadows of Cleburne; 12 grandchildren; 15 great grandchildren and four great great grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his parents, wife, two sons Sammy Meadows Sr, and Henry Meadows Jr., two sisters Lillie Cash and Rethia Harrison and four brothers John Meadows, Charlie Meadows, Ernest Meadows and Alvin Meadows.

He was coalminer and a member of the UMWA and also was a mechanic.

Graveside services will be on Saturday August 14, 2021 at 10:00 AM at the Zeigler Cemetery with Brother Larry Cook officiating. Friends and family are asked to meet at the cemetery.

For more information go to our website www.gilbertfuneralhomes.com

Janet Faye Woodsides – Christopher, IL

Janet Faye Woodsides, 82, of Christopher, passed away on Thursday December 31, 2020 at Memorial Hospital of Carbondale.

She was born on March 12, 1938 in DuQuoin, IL to Gilbert and Freda (Murphy) McMurray.

She is survived by her significant other Robert “Bob” Sheneman of Christopher; children Kimberly Ann Ransom of DuQuoin, Mark Woodsides of Christopher, Eric Woodsides of Massachusetts and Jennifer Rigdon of Florida; three grandchildren Abigail Ransom, Riley Rigdon and Nolen Rigdon.

She was preceded in death by her parents, two grandchildren Josh Ransom and Adam Ransom; one sister Shirley Hemmer and one brother Gilbert McMurray.

Janet’s wishes were to be cremated.

For more information go to our website www.gilbertfuneralhomes.com

‘Christmas ended that night …’ – The 69th Anniversary of the Orient 2 mining disaster

By Jim Muir
Christmas traditionally is a time for wide-eyed children, exchanging gifts and festive family get-togethers. For many, though, it also is a time that serves as a grim reminder of the worst tragedy in the history of Franklin County.

On Friday, Dec. 21, 1951, at about 7:35 p.m. a violent explosion ripped through Orient 2 Mine, located near West Frankfort, claiming the lives of 119 coal miners. The tragedy occurred on the last shift prior to a scheduled Christmas shutdown.  News of the tragedy spread quickly from town to town and hundreds of people converged on the mine to check on loved ones and friends.

Rescue workers are pictured with one of the 119 miners killed on Dec. 21, 1951 in the Orient 2 explosion.

Rescue workers are pictured with one of the 119 miners killed on Dec. 21, 1951 in the Orient 2 explosion.

A basketball game was under way at Central Junior High School in West Frankfort, when the public address announcer asked that Dr. Barnett report to Orient 2 Mine, No. 4 Portal, because “there had been a catastrophe.”  There were about 2,000 people at the game, and nearly half of them left with Dr. Barnett.  News of the tragedy and massive loss of life drew nationwide attention. Both Time Magazine and Life Magazine featured accounts of the explosion and newspapers from throughout the country sent reporters to Franklin County to cover the holiday tragedy. Gov. Adlai Stevenson was at the mine the following day along with volunteers from the Red Cross and Salvation Army.  Those who arrived at the Orient 2 Mine immediately after reports of the explosion surfaced had no way of knowing that they would be a part of history and folklore that would be handed down from family to family for decades to come.

A Christmas  Miracle 

Rescue workers began entering the mine within hours of the explosion, clearing gas and searching for survivors.   What they met, however, was the grim reminder about the perils of mining coal and the force of methane-fed coal mine explosions. Locomotives weighing 10 tons were tossed about, timbers a foot thick were snapped like twigs and railroad ties were torn from beneath the rails. Rescue workers began recovering bodies of the 120 missing men shortly after midnight on Dec. 22.   As the hours passed, and body after body was recovered from the mine, it became apparent that it would take a miracle for anybody to survive the explosion and the gas and smoke that resulted.  In the early morning hours of Christmas Eve — 56 hours after the explosion — that miracle happened.

Benton resident Cecil Sanders was found on top of a “fall” barely clinging to life. Authorities theorized that Sanders, by climbing on top of the rock fall, miraculously found a pocket of air that sustained him until rescue workers arrived.  Sanders told authorities later that he was with a group of five men (the other four died) when they actually heard the explosion. He said the men tried to get out of the mine but were driven back by smoke and gas. Sander said later he had resigned himself to the fact that he was going to die, even scribbling a note to his wife and children on the back of a cough drop box. “May the good Lord bless and keep you, Dear wife and kids,” Sanders wrote. “Meet me in Heaven.”

Sanders, who died only a few years ago, reported in a book, “Our Christmas Disaster,” that rescue workers were amazed that he survived.

“My God, there’s a man alive,” Sanders later recalled were the first words he heard as he slipped in and out of consciousness. “They didn’t seem to think it was true. When they got to me I couldn’t tell who they were because they all had on gas masks. Rescue workers came back in a few minutes with a stretcher, gave me oxygen and carried me out of the mine. There’s no question it was a miracle.”

A Christmas  Never Forgotten  

Rescue workers and funeral directors were faced with a grim task during the 1951 Christmas holiday season.  Something had to be done with the scores of bodies that were brought up from the mine. And funeral homes throughout Franklin County — where 99 of the 119 fatally injured miners lived — would have to conduct multiple funerals; in some instances, six or eight per day.  A temporary morgue was set up at Central Junior High School where row after row of bodies lined the gymnasium floor. Brattice cloth, normally used to direct the flow of air in coal mine entries, covered the bodies.  The usual joyous Christmas season turned into a bleak pilgrimage for families from throughout Southern Illinois as they faced the task of identifying the charred remains of the miners. The last body was removed from the mine on Christmas night, completing the work of the rescue and recovery. In all, 252 men were underground at Orient 2 when the explosion took place — 119 died and 133 miners in unaffected areas escaped unhurt.

‘Christmas ended  that night …’     

Nearly every person in Franklin County was affected, either directly or indirectly, by the disaster. For some of those who lost loved ones in the Orient 2 explosion, the events of that Christmas are just as vivid in 2001 as they were in 1951.   Perhaps no story evolved from the tragedy that was more poignant than that of Geneva (Hines) Smith, the 26-year-old mother of two small children, who lost her husband, Robert “Rink” Hines in the explosion.  Smith, who later remarried, still brushes away a tear when she recalls the last words of her young husband before he left for work on that fateful Friday afternoon.

“He held our daughter Joann, she was 3 months old, and he put his face against hers and he said, ‘she looks just like me … doesn’t she?” Smith recalled. “Only a few hours later his sister came to the door and said there had been an explosion … and then we learned later that he’d been killed. The last thing I remember was how happy he was holding his daughter.”

Smith said a cruel irony involving the funeral also played out after her husband’s death.

“There was so many funerals that they had them early in the morning and all day until in the evening,” Smith remembered. “The only time we could have his funeral was at 8 p.m. on Christmas Eve. That was our fifth wedding anniversary and we got married at 8 p.m. … I’ll never forget that.”

Lyle Eubanks, of Mulkeytown, remembers distinctly his last conversation with his father Clarence, prior to the elder Eubank’s departure for work.

“He walked into the kitchen and got his bucket and then walked back into the living room and sat down on the couch,” Eubanks said. “He talked about it being the last shift prior to the Christmas shutdown and said if he didn’t need the money so bad he wouldn’t go to work that night — that’s the last time I talked to him.”

Eubanks said he identified his father’s body at the morgue.

“There was just row after row of bodies and they were covered with brattice cloth,” he recalled. “You just can’t imagine how horrible of a scene it was. I’ll never, ever forget what that looked like.”

Eubanks said the holiday season for his family and all of Franklin County came to an abrupt halt on Dec. 21, 1951.

“People took down their Christmas trees and outside ornaments after the explosion. It was almost like they didn’t want to be reminded that it was Christmas. Someone came to our house and took the tree, ornaments and all, and put it out behind a building in back of our house,” Eubanks said. ” Christmas in 1951, well, … Christmas ended that night.”

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‘It affected everybody …’

By Jim Muir
WEST FRANKFORT — Fifty years ago, Jim Stewart was a 25-year-old coal miner working at the Orient 1 Mine near Orient. His father, Silas, was working in the nearby Orient 2 Mine.  On Dec. 21, 1951, just past 7:30 in the evening, while both were at work, an explosion of methane gas tore through Orient 2 Mine and took the lives of 119 coal miners. Silas Stewart was among the victims.

The elder Stewart was working on the last shift before a scheduled Christmas shutdown.

“I didn’t know about it until I had finished my shift,” Stewart said. “It didn’t matter who you talked to, they had either lost a relative, a neighbor or a friend. It affected everybody.”

In the wake of the tragedy, Stewart remembers the generosity of total strangers.

“Funds were established for the victims and their families and contributions poured in from across the United States. Those were pretty hard times anyway and there was just a great outpouring of help,” he said.

And Stewart remembers the despair of that Christmas.

“It was just a terrible, terrible time,” he said. “I remember that some of the funerals couldn’t be held because there wasn’t enough caskets for all the victims.

“My father was buried on Christmas Day, so there’s never been a Christmas go by that you don’t relive that.”

Jack Bigham of West City was just completing his first year of employment at Orient 2 and was underground when the explosion occurred.

“I was in the 15th East section of the mine working with Roland Black. We hadn’t been in there very long and the power went off, so I called out to see what was wrong,” Bigham said. “They wouldn’t tell us exactly what was wrong, they just told us to walk to the old bottom. I remember when we got to the bottom the power was still off and we had to walk the stairs out. We didn’t find out what was wrong until we got on top.”

Bigham, who is now retired after a 38-year career as a coal miner, went back to work at Orient 2 after it reopened and worked an additional eight years at the mine. He said it was difficult to go back.

“I think about it quite often — of course, even more at this time of the year when it’s near the anniversary,” Bigham said. “I know that I was just very lucky to be in another section of the mine that night.”

Curt Gunter, 57, of Benton, a 25-year veteran of the Southern Illinois coal industry, was 7 years old when his father, Harry “Tater” Gunter, was killed.

“There are things about it that are hazy, like I don’t remember my dad’s funeral at all,” Gunter said. “But the thing that stands out in my mind the most is that, looking back through the eyes of a boy, it seemed like there was a big, black cloud just hanging over everything because so many people were involved. When you grow up with a memory like that at Christmas, well, you don’t ever forget it.”
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By Jim Muir

UMWA President John L. Lewis was on the scene at Orient 2 the day after the explosion and the legendary union boss went underground at the ill- fated mine while rescue operations were still under way.

Lewis, known for his no-nonsense approach with coal operators and his untiring devotion to improve conditions for union miners, was visibly shaken when he left the mine. He wasted little time leveling an attack on mining laws that he said needed to be revised.

UMWA president John L. Lewis is pictured leaving the Orient 2 Mine the day after a massive explosion killed 119 miners.

UMWA president John L. Lewis is pictured leaving the Orient 2 Mine the day after a massive explosion killed 119 miners.” width=”300″ height=”432″ /> UMWA president John L. Lewis is pictured leaving the Orient 2 Mine the day after a massive explosion killed 119 miners.[/caption]

“Necessary legislative steps would prevent these recurring horrors,” Lewis said. “They are totally unnecessary and can be prevented. Unless all mines are forced to comply with the safety codes of the Federal Bureau of Mines, the mining industry will continue to be a mortician’s paradise.”

Exactly two months later, on Feb. 21, 1952, Lewis testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Mine Safety, and once again used the Orient 2 explosion as an example that mining laws must be improved.

Lewis said in part: “On Dec. 21, 1951, at the Orient 2 Mine, 119 men were killed. Their average age was 40.9 years old, the youngest was 19 and the oldest was 64. Aside from the human values that were destroyed in this explosion, the community and the state suffered a monetary loss in the contribution that those men would have made had they been permitted to live; or if their lives had been safeguarded; or if one coal company had carried out the provisions of the existing federal code of safety, promulgated by the U.S. Bureau of Mines. That is all, in the judgment of experienced mining men, that would have been necessary to have saved the lives of those 119 men and avoided the disruption of the lives of 175 children growing up to manhood and womanhood.”

Lewis didn’t mince words when he spoke before Congress offering a stinging rebuke about mining laws and practices.

“The Orient explosion was preventable, preventable in the judgment of the U.S. Bureau of Mines, as testified here by its able director. The Orient explosion was preventable in the judgment of every man in the industry that has knowledge of sound mining practices. So, the record runs on, explosion after explosion through the years. Management was at fault in the West Frankfort explosion. It failed to take proper precautions in the face of abnormal conditions that intensified the hazard. Management didn’t take those steps. As a matter of fact, I think it is conceded by those qualified to speak on the subject that every mine explosion and disaster we’ve had in our country since 1940 would have been prevented if the existing code of safety had been enforced.”

The legendary union boss concluded his comments with a powerful and graphic description of what took place in Franklin County in the aftermath of the explosion.

“And the mining industry continues to be a mortician’s paradise. I just watched 119 funerals in two days in Franklin County – 119 funerals in two days! Can you imagine anything more heart-rendering, more soul- stirring? 119 funerals in that little county in two days!  They went to work, the last shift before Christmas … and many of them were brought home to their loved ones in rubber sacks – rubber sacks! Because they were mangled, and shattered and blown apart and cooked with methane gas, until they no longer resembled human beings. And the best the mortician could do was put them in rubber sacks with a zipper. And then, for a Christmas present in Franklin County, 119 families could look at rubber sacks in lieu of their loved ones.”
                            
     

 

 

 

Beatrice Sharpton Cottle – Benton, IL

BEATRICE SHARPTON COTTLE, 89, of Benton passed away Saturday afternoon, Oct. 17, 2020 at the Deaconess Hospital in Evansville, IN.

She was born in Cullman County, Alabama on July 10, 1931, the daughter of Oliver Richard & Bertha (McCurdy) Sharpton.

She married James H. Cottle on June 11, 1955 in Cullman, AL.

Mrs. Cottle was a graduate of Cullman High School, and then attended Trevecca College in Nashville, TN, and attained her Bachelor’s Degree in Education. She was a Schoolteacher for many years, but her greatest and most rewarding achievement was being a faithful and supportive Pastor’s wife.

Mrs. Cottle is survived by her:

Husband: Rev. James H. Cottle of Benton, IL
Son: Jim Cottle & wife Kerri of Benton, IL
Grandson: Brad Cottle of Benton, IL
Granddaughter: Bethany Cottle of Benton, IL
3 Great-Grandchildren: Braxton Cottle, Kalib & Addie Mayberry
1 Sister: Mary Ruth Guthrie & husband Edwin of Logan, AL
3 Brothers: Edwin Sharpton of Logan, AL
Billy Sharpton of Crane Hill, AL
Harold Sharpton & wife Diane of Cullman, AL
Several Nieces & Nephews

Mrs. Cottle was preceded in death by her Parents, by a Daughter-Debbie Cottle, by a Sister-Mavis Sharpton and by a Sister-in-law-Peggy Sharpton.
Visitation will be held from 6 to 8 P.M. WEDNESDAY, October 21st at the First Church of The Nazarene in Benton, IL

Funeral Services will be held at 1:00 P.M. Friday, Oct. 23rd at the Moss Funeral Home in Cullman, with a

Visitation from 12 Noon until the funeral hour at the funeral home. Burial will be in the Public Cemetery of Cullman, AL.

At the Visitation on Wednesday evening, due to local health requirements, there will be a limit of 50 people in the Church at one time, and masks are recommended to be worn by those in attendance.
For more information or to send online condolences please visit www.mortonjohnstonfuneralhome.com

Kris Bryant loses his service time dispute with the Cubs, keeping him under contract through 2021

The Cubs maintained control of third baseman Kris Bryant for the next two seasons, the Tribune confirmed Wednesday, after arbitrator Mark Irvings ruled that the team wasn’t trying to manipulate his service time by optioning him to Triple-A Iowa for the first 12 days of the 2015 season.

Here’s a link to the story at the Chicago Tribune.

After Super Bowl win, Patriots players waste no time saying they won’t visit White House

While championship sports teams making a visit to the White House has become an annual tradition, a newer one has emerged since President Donald Trump took office: athletes following up a title-winning performance by declaring that they’ll skip the trip.

Here’s a link to the story at the Chicago Tribune.

Benton, West Frankfort, Illinois News | Franklin County News