SHEPPTON - People in Sheppton haven't forgotten the dramatic rescue of two men 50 years ago from a collapsed mine shaft just outside the small village or the miner who was never found.
They plan to commemorate the disaster, which captured the world's attention for 14 days in August 1963, the Rev. James Torpey of St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church, Sheppton, one of the coordinators, said.
Torpey asked the Most Rev. John O. Barres, bishop of Allentown, to join the parish for the event marking the 50th anniversary.
Barres will celebrate a Mass at St. Joseph Church at 6 p.m. Wednesday, which is the eve of the Feast of the Assumption. At 7:15 p.m., the community will go to the mine site, where a tombstone was placed for the lost miner, Louis Bova, Torpey said.
The bishop will bless and consecrate the grave, where people from the community, and possibly the family, will have remarks. The American Legion, which goes to the grave every Memorial Day, will salute Bova.
Following the service, a reception with refreshments for the community will be held at Sheppton-Oneida Volunteer Fire Company, Torpey said.
Torpey, who is handling the spiritual aspects of the event, said that many people from the community remember the rescue of David Fellin and Henry Throne from the Oneida No. 2 slope on Aug. 27 - 14 days after tons of rock and coal entombed them.
Rescuers drilled boreholes to reach the men - a technique never used before but one that is still used today in mining disasters, he said.