By Jim Muir

Who’s the greatest Southern Illinois high school basketball player of all time? That particular question has been asked and the answer argued for decades.

Certainly the era involved, size of school and the success of the player’s team make up the usual discussions when the best-ever question is brought up.

However, if offensive prowess is the main factor that goes into determining the best high school basketball player from our region to ever lace up a pair of sneakers, Charlie “Chico” Vaughn is in a class by himself.

Nearly 50 years after graduating from tiny Tamms High School Vaughn still holds the all-time career high school scoring mark in Illinois with 3,358 points. Vaughn scored 377 points as a freshman, 844 as a sophomore, 1,085 as a junior and 1,052 as a senior.

Perhaps the best way to put those gaudy numbers in perspective is to compare them with some of the other high school greats from this area – players who were virtual scoring machines. Among those falling in behind Vaughn on the all-time scoring list in Illinois are Marty “Mule” Simmons, of Lawrenceville (2,968 points), Scott Burzynski, Sesser-Valier (2,762 points), Dwight “Dike” Eddleman, (2,702 points), Centralia, Ron Stallings (2,643 points), Ridgway, JoJo Johnson (2,575 points) Benton, Jim Mitchell, (2,561points) Zeigler-Royalton, Mike Duff (2,558 points) Eldorado and T.J. Wheeler (2,528 points) Christopher.

SISC Publisher Jim Muir recently sat down with Vaughn and discussed his glory days in Tamms, the three-point shot that didn’t exist when he played, his still legendary jump shot and today’s game of basketball.
————————-

Despite the fact that he’s now 69 years old and a little stooped when he walks Charles “Chico” Vaughn still carries himself like an athlete. In fact, looking at his 6-feet-4-inch frame, his smooth gait, long arms and ham-like hands it doesn’t take much imagination to picture Vaughn in his hey-day reigning points from all over the court on outmanned opponents.

The fifth of seven children Vaughn actually got his start playing basketball in the northwest, living in Portland, Oregon until he was in the sixth grade. His dad worked in the shipyards in Portland and by his own admission his family was “dirt poor” while he was growing up. Vaughn said it was when his family announced that they were moving back to Southern Illinois that he realized that he had special God-given talent as a basketball player – head-turning talent that might someday open other doors.

“I was in the sixth grade and the school officials didn’t want me to move back,” recalled Vaughn. “They wanted me to live with my grandma in Portland so I could stay and play basketball. They really worked hard trying to get me to stay and I was only in the sixth grade.”

Despite the efforts to keep Vaughn in Oregon his family moved back to deep Southern Illinois, settling in tiny Hodge’s Park, located near Tamms. Vaughn played organized basketball in Portland through the sixth grade but there was no junior high school team in Hodge’s Park so he actually sat out two years before going to Tamms High School.

During that two-year stint Vaughn honed his skills in local sandlot games but basically entered high school as an unknown quantity at Tamms, who competed against Gorham, Cobden, Dongola, Ullin, Thebes, Mounds City and Mounds Douglas. However, early in his freshmen season he caught the attention of coaches and eight games into his first season of high school ball made the move to the varsity.

“I ended up being the leading scorer on the varsity team my freshmen year,” Vaughn said.

When asked about his natural ability versus his work ethic Vaughn said he was keenly aware of both.

“A lot of things came easy for me, I was quick and I was a jumper, but I always believed in giving 100-plus percent all the time,” said Vaughn. “I worked hard to become a better player.”

Vaughn said his vertical jump was never measured during his playing days but many longtime Southern Illinois basketball fans claim that the Tamms phenom could literally put his elbow on the rim.

“Nobody ever measured how high I could jump, so I don’t know,” Vaughn said. “But, I could get in the air pretty good.”

Vaughn said he also had another philosophy about the game that he carried throughout his career.

“I thought the basketball was mine,” Vaughn said. “And it didn’t matter if I was on offense or defense when that ball went in the air I wanted it.”

Contrary to today’s high school basketball players who live in the gym and sometimes play 25-30 games during the summer months Vaughn said he didn’t darken the door of a gymnasium during the summer. In fact, Vaughn said he felt like summers were made for something besides basketball.

“I didn’t like summer basketball, never did,” said Vaughn. “I played baseball in the summer. In fact, right after I graduated high school I was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies but I decided to go to SIU and play basketball instead. I thought going to college would be my best bet.”

Vaughn scored over the 60-point mark on three occasions and over the 50-point mark numerous times and once had a 46 point second half where he scored 30 points in the fourth quarter. However it was none of those games that came to mind when asked to recall his most memorable offensive showing.

“I can remember it like it was yesterday, it was during the regional tournament during my senior year and we were playing Mounds Douglas,” said Vaughn. “I scored 16 points in the first half and in the second half I scored 33 straight points and never missed a shot and ended up with 49 points. It was just one of those games where I couldn’t seem to miss.”

Vaughn’s teams advanced out of regional tournament play on three different occasions but ran into the talented Herrin and Pinckneyville teams of the late-1950s in the sectionals where they were defeated.

While Vaughn played during a different era on the court he also played during a different era off the court. He said traveling to some gymnasiums in Southern Illinois meant that racial slurs would be a part of game.

“It was bad,” he said. “Some of the teams had never seen a black ballplayer before. We just tried to play the game and get out of there, but I heard plenty of racial insults along the way.”

Vaughn said he always tried to rise above the racial tension.

“I knew myself and what I was about,” said Vaughn. “As long as they didn’t touch me or lay a hand on me words didn’t mean anything. I tried to make my statement and do my talking on the court.”

Vaughn said Tamms was one of the first integrated schools in Southern Illinois and the team consisted of both black and white players. While Vaughn still vividly recalls the racial tension he often encountered he also lists his high school coach, Scottie Lynch, a white man, as one of the most positive influences in his life.

“He was the kind of guy that didn’t care who you was, he had a set of rules and everybody had to abide by the rules,” said Vaughn. “He didn’t care what color you were he just treated everybody the same.”

Despite his 6-foot-4-inch frame and his jumping ability Vaughn said the strongest part of his game was his outside shooting. Vaughn’s quick answer showed that he’d given the matter some previous thought when he was questioned about how many of his shots would be three-pointers by today’s standards. When asked about his range as a jump shooter he answered by giving his opinion about the 19-feet-nine-inch range that nowadays counts for three points.

“I would say that 70-percent of my shots would be three-pointers,” said Vaughn. “I had a range of about 30-plus feet, so I was crossing the half line looking for a shot. A lot of guys back then shot from that distance, a 19-footer was a lay-up to us.”

Vaughn completed his high school career with 3,358 points and was recruited by scores of colleges but instead opted to take his basketball skills to Carbondale and play for the SIU Salukis.

A step up in competition didn’t change anything for Vaughn as he led the Salukis in scoring for four consecutive years, scoring 2,088 points which is still an SIU record. At SIU Vaughn averaged 23.6 ppg his freshmen year, 26.9 his sophomore year, 23.4 his junior year and 21.9 ppg through nine games his senior year. In all, Vaughn played in only 85 college games and had a career average of 24.6 ppg. Much like the list of high school players he stands in front of the list of those at SIU also speaks volumes about his scoring record as a Saluki. Some of those behind Vaughn include Kent Williams (1999-2003) 2,012 points, Mike Glenn, 1974-77, 1,878 points, Ashraf Amaya (1990-93) 1,864 points, Darren Brooks (2000-2005) 1,761 points, Steve Middleton (1985-88) 1,710 points and Joe C. Meriweather (1973-75) 1,536 points.

Vaughn was declared academically ineligible his senior season and didn’t return to school, opting to take his basketball skills to the NBA.

“The issue involving the eligibility was my fault, entirely my fault,” said Vaughn. “I just started not going to class and I didn’t pass my classes. The rest of it was just playing basketball like I had always played. I just screwed up and didn’t go to class.”

Following his collegiate career Vaughn played for nine seasons in the NBA that included stints in St. Louis, Detroit and San Diego. When asked about his professional salary compared to the multi-million dollar contract these days Vaughn simply laughed.

“It was pitiful what we made,” he said. “In the mid-1960s Bob Pettit was the best player in the NBA, a superstar and he made $49,000 a year. My first contract in 1963 was for $10,000.”

Vaughn played with and against the who’s who of NBA players including many who were recently named as the top 100 to ever play professionally. Vaughn listed Oscar Robertson, Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, Hal Lanier, Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain as superstars that he competed against. When asked who the best of that group was, Vaughn didn’t hesitate in saying that “The Big O” – Oscar Robertson stood at the top of his list with Jerry West a close second.

“He was big and strong, he had great hands and he could score from anywhere and he could pass,” Vaughn said about Robertson. “I think I lost 13 pounds one night trying to guard him.”

Showing that he still pays attention to the professional game Vaughn named Dwayne Wade, Tracy McGrady, Dirk Nowitski, Kobe Bryant, Jason Kidd and Steve Nash as his favorite current players.

Vaughn is known for his scoring prowess but he stressed that during his playing days, from high school to the pros, all aspects of the game was important to him.

“You know, when I say that I thought the ball was mine I’m talking about rebounding and scoring too,” Vaughn said. “I played bigger than my height, I led SIU in rebounding, and that’s something that was important to me.”

When asked if he could have played basketball with the same success now that he enjoyed 50 years ago Vaughn didn’t hesitate when answering.

“Yeah, I think I could’ve played today,” said Vaughn. “The game is faster but it still comes down to putting the ball in the hole.”

While Vaughn has enjoyed success on the hard court his life has not always been easy. In 2003 his wife of 24 years, June, died of colon cancer and then 10 months later his 22-year-old son Justin was killed in a shooting incident in Cairo.

“At times like those you count on God, your family and friends to get you through it,” said Vaughn. “I just put my hand in God’s and he helped me through it.”

In 1988, 30 years after leaving SIU, Vaughn returned to the Carbondale campus and obtained his bachelor’s degree in recreation. For the past 16 years he has worked at the Meridian High School as a teaching assistant.

“I love my job at Meridian and I love the interaction with students,” said Vaughn. “I look forward to being there every day.”

Vaughn said he’s surprised, especially with the advent of the three-point shot, that his high school career record has never been eclipsed.

“It’s been nearly 50 years now,” said Vaughn. “Yeah, I’m surprised that it’s never been broken. That record is like me, it’s been around a long time and sort of stood the test of time and I’m proud of that. What’s happened to me during my life because of basketball, it’s a very special thing.”

SIDEBAR STORY

Meridian High School is a better place because of the daily work of Charlie “Chico” Vaughn.

That’s the assessment of Mitch Haskins, who has served as dean of students for nearly two decades and has held a close association with Vaughn during that time.

“He wears a lot of hats around here. He does morning security duty and he’s one of the first faces that many kids see every morning when they enter the school,” said Haskins. “He has a great rapport with the students.”

Haskins said Vaughn works very hard to establish a line of communication with all students, not just those involved in athletics.

“He maintains his area of responsibility but also makes students aware that there are choices they make and with each choice there is a consequence,” said Haskins. “He explains that there’s a price tag with every decision and just does a great job working with the kids and has for years and years.”

Haskins said Vaughn has the ability to find common ground with all students.

“He’s there greeting the students every morning and he’ll talk to them about the game the night before or the one coming up or what was on television the night before or maybe even a concert they attended,” said Haskins. “He does some tutorial work with students and he talks about the importance of academics. And there are many times that students come to him with their personal problems. He’s a father-figure to many of the students here.”

— Jim Muir —

By Jim Muir

It’s fair to say that Rob Dunbar was far ahead of his time as a high school basketball player.

In the mid-1970s was not the prototypical ‘post-up’ center. At 6-feet-seven, Dunbar was a combination of quickness, athleticism, dazzling inside moves and the ability to handle the basketball and step out and hit 18-20 foot jumpers with ease. In many instances, he was a guard in a big man’s body.

A 1975 graduate of Benton High School, Dunbar died December 31 after a yearlong battle with cancer. Following his death, teammates, classmates and legendary coach Rich Herrin, paused to talk about the impact that Dunbar made during the Benton basketball glory days of the mid-1970s.

Dunbar was a two-year starter for the Rangers and played on back-to-back teams that recorded more than 25 wins per season. During his senior season Dunbar was an All-Stater on a Rangers team that went undefeated in the regular season and finished with a sparkling 27-1 record.

Speaking from his Carterville home, the 86-year-old Herrin, who amassed 982 wins in his illustrious high school and college coaching career that spanned all or parts of seven decades, fondly recalled Dunbar’s career and particularly the 1974-75 team that went undefeated in the regular season with a 25-0 mark before falling in the first round of the West Frankfort Sectional.

“First, I was very saddened to hear the news about Rob,” said Herrin. “He could do it all with a basketball, he was very talented and could score inside and outside. I knew he was good as a junior but as a senior he worked himself into a great player.”
Herrin also pointed out that Dunbar is the fourth player from the top six on that storied Rangers’ team to pass away. Other Rangers from that team who passed away previously include starters Keith Tabor and Mark Craddock, and Andy Lampley, who was the first one off the bench.

Herrin labeled the 1974-75 Rangers team as “one of the greatest of all time” pointing out that Dunbar, Tabor and Billy Smith provided a high-powered offense not often seen at the high school level. Herrin said that trio averaged slightly more than 55 points per game while becoming the third team in Benton basketball history to finish the regular season with an unblemished record.

“We had the three big-time scorers in Dunbar, Tabor and Smith and the playmaking ability of Craddock that made it all click. Bucky Durham was the fifth starter and his job was to rebound and play defense and he did that very well. Probably our biggest weakness was that we did not have a lot of depth.”

The 1974-75 Benton team is without question the biggest “what-if” team that Herrin coached during his distinguished high school career and more than four decades later still provides a big piece of the legend and lore of Rangers basketball.

Blessed with size, quickness, the prolific scoring of Dunbar, Tabor and Smith, the heady play of Craddock and the blue-collar attitude of Durham and contributions off the bench by Lampley and Russ Mitchell, the Rangers rolled through the regular season with a record of 25-0. The Rangers were ranked No. 1 in The Associated Press statewide polls throughout the season during an era when there were two classes and Benton was in the larger class.
Benton rolled through the tough South Seven undefeated, won the prestigious Centralia Holiday Tournament where Dunbar was named MVP and then captured the Benton Invitational Tournament — a new tournament in only its second year. Dunbar, Smith and Tabor were all named to the BIT All-Tournament team.

But, win No. 25 during that fateful season — a 20-point blowout victory over Carbondale in the final regular season game — proved to be one of the easiest of the year but also the most costly. Dunbar, the do-everything All-Stater, tore his ACL in the season finale and was lost for the rest of the upcoming post-season.

To this day Benton fans can still recall the spot on the floor where Dunbar went down and the hush that fell over the gymnasium.

“It was just a shame for him and the team that he tore up his knee,” said Herrin. “There is not a doubt in my mind that if Dunbar hadn’t gotten hurt we would have made it to the super-sectional in Carbondale and played East St. Louis. And I think we could have matched up with them.”

Following Dunbar’s injury the Rangers won two games in winning the Harrisburg Regional before losing a first round game at the West Frankfort Sectional against Olney — a team the Rangers had beaten by 25 points in the championship of the BIT one month prior.
“We were still a pretty good team after Dunbar got hurt,” Herrin said. “But we didn’t have the size, and that hurt us in postseason.”

Jennifer (Hoffman) Peebles, of Johnston City, was also a 1975 graduate of Benton High School and was good friends with Dunbar since their grade school days. Peebles was a cheerleader during that magical unbeaten regular season run and said those games are still fresh in her mind 45 years later.

“It’s just very sad that we have lost another classmate and this is the fourth player from that 1975 super-team,” said Peebles. “I just remember they were so much fun to watch and such an amazing team. If we were at home or on the road the gym was packed every game. I will always remember when Rob fell under the basket and grabbed his knee and that ended his high school career. It seems like yesterday.”

Smith, who lives in Benton, said he was deeply saddened to hear of the passing of another teammate.

“It certainly makes you think when something like this happens,” Smith said. “I spoke with a couple other teammates yesterday after I heard Rob had passed. It makes you want to pick up the phone and call the people that made up a big part of your life as a high school student.”

Smith echoed the sentiments about Dunbar’s basketball skills saying that he was really a guard in a center’s body.

“At 6-feet-7, Rob could just do so many things,” said Smith. “He could handle the ball like a guard and could grab a rebound and then take the middle on the fast break. There was no dunking then but Rob would just take the ball up and drop it in … over his head. He was a great jumper.”

Smith said three wins over the Centralia Orphans that season – two at Troutt Gymnasium in Centralia – are forever etched in his mind. Smith noted that this was during the era when the Orphans were coached by Jeff Carling and were known as “Carlings’ Darlings.” He said it was standing-room-only all three times the Rangers and Orphans battled that season.

“They were quick and athletic and you never knew what Coach Carling was going to do,” Smith said. “I think it’s a great example of just how good Rob was when he was named MVP at Centralia where the competition was incredible.”

Smith, who is still considered one of if not the greatest all-around athlete to walk the halls at Benton High School, said he marveled at the transition Dunbar made from his junior to his senior season.

“It was incredible to be his teammate,” said Smith. “There were times on the floor when I would watch him make a move under the basket and score and I would just sort of stop and think “wow’ – he could just do everything on the basketball court. He’s clearly one of the greatest players ever in Benton basketball history.”

Memorial Celebration of Life Services for Dunbar will be held at 10 a.m. Tuesday, January 7, 2020 at the Leffler Funeral Home with Rev. Mark Minor officiating. Visitation will be from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Monday, January 6, 2020 at the Leffler Funeral Home of Benton.

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.

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.”

——————————————

‘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.”
————————————————-

Legendary UMWA President John L. Lewis was at Orient 2 the day after the explosion 

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.” 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.”
                            
     

 

 

 

In the holiday classic “A Christmas Story” the main focus of the movie is the desire and outright obsession of young Ralphie to convince his parents, Santa Claus or anybody else that would listen that he needed a Red Rider BB gun for Christmas.

“You’ll shoot your eye out,” you’ll remember is what poor Ralphie was met with at every turn.

Substitute a gold Schwinn stingray bicycle for that Red Ryder BB gun and during the weeks leading up to Christmas in 1963 I could have very well been Ralphie (minus the horn-rimmed glasses).

About two months before Christmas that year I was with my dad at a West Frankfort business where he was getting tires put on an old truck that he used to haul coal. Along with tires the store sold a variety of items including bicycles.

As I wondered around that day I spotted a bicycle that was unlike any I’d ever seen. It was a Schwinn stingray, metallic gold and it had what was called butterfly handle bars and a banana seat. The front tire was a little smaller than the knobby tire on the back. It had chrome all over it and a price tag of $39.95. In order to appreciate that price you have to think in 1963 dollars. That $39.95 was more than my dad made in two days working in the mines.

As I stared at the bike I learned an early lesson in life – there is such a thing as love at first sight.

Before we left I coaxed my dad over to the bicycle to show him. He casually glanced at it, obviously not nearly as impressed as I was and then quickly burst my bubble.

“That’s too much money for a bicycle,” he said matter-of-factly, and then abruptly turned and walked away.

Did his seemingly uncaring attitude faze me? Of course not and in fact it spurred me on to scheme and plot my strategy. In the following days I concocted every reason imaginable why I should have that bike and brought it up on a daily basis. And for every good reason I had my dad gave me the same stern answer.

“That’s too much money to pay for a bicycle,” he would say and then promptly change the subject.

And the harder I would persist the more short and abrupt were his answers. I was in a gloomy mood two days before Christmas when I gathered with a group of fellow heathens, as we did nearly everyday, to play basketball. Once again, keep in mind that this was during an era when kids actually played outside. The house where we were playing was about four blocks from where I lived, but was located directly across the street from my Aunt Thelma. Shortly after I arrived at the pick up game one of my friends told me that he had seen my dad and mom at my aunt’s house earlier in the day.

“I couldn’t see exactly what they were doing but they were putting something in her garage,” he said.

Realizing even at that young age that curiosity killed the cat I still couldn’t stand it and had to do a little investigating. Shortly before dark that night I walked down the alley and with the help of a milk crate looked in the window of the garage.

And what to my wondering eyes should appear … but that gold Schwinn stingray bike. I was elated and excited and joyous and scared to death – all at the same time. You see, I’ve never been able to lie about anything in my life without my eyes giving me away, so I had to pretend like the events of that afternoon never happened and then turn in an Academy Award acting performance on Christmas morning.

Much like Ralphie and that Red Rider BB gun, my love for that gold Schwinn new no bounds. I had to pull it off.

I’m certain I had a little extra spring in my step in the final days leading up to Christmas morning when we opened our presents but I managed to contain my enthusiasm and keep my mouth shut (which was no small task for me even back in those days).

On Christmas morning I bounded out of bed and turned in an acting performance that was, if I say so myself, simply superb. I hooted and hollered, yelled and screamed and within a matter of minutes I was riding that spectacular bicycle down the street with the cold December air hitting me in the face. It really does seem like it was just yesterday!

Of course, during that fateful Christmas in 1963 I also learned an important lesson that I filed away for future reference with my own children. Parents should never, ever hide Christmas presents in a building with a window because you can never tell when some nosy kid is lurking in the shadows.

More than 55 years later I can still recall what a wonderful Christmas I had that year. There has never been, or will there ever be a better Christmas present than that Gold Schwinn Stingray with the butterfly handlebars and banana seat!

From my little corner of the world to yours … Merry Christmas!