Hazard City Manager Tony Eversole knows the bravery and sacrifices of East Kentucky coal miners. He served several years in law enforcement in Perry County before working in the mayor's office carrying out special projects and programs. He's no stranger to courage. He's also no stranger to courage because of the lineage of coal mining that runs in his family history. That is why one of Eversole's most recent projects in the city of Hazard was meaningful for him. Over two years in the making, Eversole headed up a coal miners memorial monument project that finally was completed and celebrated earlier in November that honors coal miners in Perry County who lost their lives in the line of duty.
Eversole, along with members of city and county government and tourism officials, is thrilled that the collaborative coal miner memorial, now on display in downtown Hazard's Triangle Park, has rightfully taken its place with other tributes honoring war veterans and even the casualties of the catastrophic East Kentucky Flood. Eversole referred to coal mining as a lost art and that is why the city teamed up with Perry County government and the Hazard/Perry County Tourism Commission to make sure that not only a lasting tribute of coal miners was on permanent display, but that the memorial is a compelling piece of artwork that profoundly captures the spirit of the East Kentucky Coal Miner.
The Perry County Coal Miner Memorial statue's detailed engraving beautifully depicts a coal miner heading to work with his hard hat on and a pickax slung over his shoulder. Rows of coal camp houses from the early 1900s are etched in the background with modern-day mining machinery in the foreground. The names of the over 280 Perry County coal miners killed while working are listed on smaller monuments on each side of the engraved artwork. It is a stunning visual that tells the story of how East Kentucky counties like Perry County were built and the hundreds who gave their lives so that these counties and their families can prosper.
Hazard Mayor Donald "Happy" Mobelini said he had received high praise and an endless flow of compliments since the Perry County Coal Miner Memorial was completed.While the mayor admits the coal industry is not as strong as it used to be and that coal-producing counties like Perry County are having to diversify its economy in order to survive, he also recognized the impact coal has had on his town and told WUKY News that he wants to make sure people value the work of coal miners for generations to come.
Perry County has its festival - the Black Gold Festival - celebrating the coal industry, and now in the city of Hazard, it has a memorial monument on permanent display to honor the coal miners who dug deep within the far reserves of their strength and soul for the sake of prosperity and who died while doing it.