Recognizing the sacrifice

  • President of the New Mexico Mining Museum Roger Siegmann took his annual drive through Cibola County to raise a toast in honor and recognition of all the past miners in the community. His final stop was at the Grants Memorial Park cemetery where he mentioned is the final resting place for many of Cibola’s miners. Diego Lopez -CC
    President of the New Mexico Mining Museum Roger Siegmann took his annual drive through Cibola County to raise a toast in honor and recognition of all the past miners in the community. His final stop was at the Grants Memorial Park cemetery where he mentioned is the final resting place for many of Cibola’s miners. Diego Lopez -CC

CIBOLA COUNTY, N.M. – Cibola County is rich with mining history, helping to win the Cold War miners in Cibola County were often hunting for uranium, putting their lives at jeopardy for the security and future of the United States.

December 6 is Miner Recognition Day, every year Roger Siegmann, President of the New Mexico Mining Museum, drives from the mining museum in Grants, New Mexico, down Santa Fe Avenue, down Elkins Road in Milan, over the tracks onto Route 66 and back into Grants before stopping for a toast to the memory of past miners at the old Town and Country Bar on McArthur Street in Grants. After his toast, Siegmann heads to the Grants Memorial Park to end his journey of respect for the community’s miners.

Not even the pandemic could keep Siegmann from paying his respects, typically he is led by the Cibola County Sheriff’s Office through the streets, but in an effort to keep the event as socially distanced and safe as possible Siegmann took the trip by himself with no escort.

Siegmann explained that the day had a lot of significance, and that he had a deep personal respect for all of miners and the work they did. Siegmann was a miner himself, and said that his trip is important to remember the sacrifices and work of miners who helped to build the United States.

What is Miner Recognition Day

On December 6, 1907 a disaster in Monogah, West Virginia, led to the deaths of 361 miners. The coal mine in Monogah, WV had an explosion occur across its network of tunnels. In recognition of the dangerous work miners undertake, the U.S. Congress passed Miner Recognition Day in 2009, according to History.com

Even though congress didn’t pass the bill until 21st Century, in 1907 the Mine Safety and Health Administration began National Miners Day to commemorate the Monogah mine disaster.