ISHPEMING – The 90th anniversary of the Barnes-Hecker mining tragedy is fast approaching.

The Barnes-Hecker Remembrance Committee in collaboration with local historians, the Michigan Iron Industry Museum, the Marquette Regional History Center, Cliffs Shaft Mine Museum, Ely Township, the historical societies of Ishpeming and Negaunee, Cliffs Natural Resources and the United Steelworkers locals 4950 and 4974 are presenting a series of events next week.

The co-chair of the Barnes-Hecker Remembrance Committee, Mary Tippet, said the goal of the events, which started Oct. 19, has been to give the descendants a sense of community and connection that they have not had until now.

“The outpouring of emotion and connection and responses from people who have started looking into their own families and their own histories is one of the the most exciting aspects of this,” Tippet said. “The reaction is so heartfelt, and so moving. That was the goal of all of this was to give the families something they haven’t had before.”

The schedule for this week’s Barnes-Hecker Remembrance are listed below.

n Monday – 10 p.m. WNMU TV-13 will broadcast “Barnes-Hecker: Memories of Misfortune.” The documentary features interviews with the first generation of descendants and provides insight into the personal aspects of the tragedy as it recounts the loss of 51 men.

SCHEDULE?OF?EVENTS:

n Tuesday – 2 p.m. WNMU TV-13 will rebroadcast “Barnes-Hecker: Memories of Misfortune.”

n Wednesday – 7 p.m. – Tom Friggens, author of “No Tears in Heaven” and the retired director of the Michigan Iron Industry Museum, will present “Remembering the Barnes-Hecker Tragedy” at the Marquette Regional History Center, 145 Spring St. Friggens will recount compelling human stories of Nov. 3, 1926. The program is offered as a collaboration of the Marquette Regional History Center and the Michigan Iron Industry Museum. A $5 donation is suggested.

n Thursday?- 11:20 a.m. – Ringing Of the Church Bells: Several churches in Marquette County will toll their bells 51 times, beginning at 11:20 a.m. to mark the time when the lights went out at the Barnes-Hecker Mine.

7 p.m – Ecumenical Memorial Service at Bethel Lutheran Church, 333 E. Ridge St. in Ishpeming. This service marks the first time since Memorial Day 1927 that a community-wide ecumenical memorial service will convene to commemorate the legacy of the Barnes-Hecker Tragedy. Faith leaders will offer brief meditations and music to remember and honor the lives of the 51 men who were lost, and to emphasize the hope and courage of the 42 surviving widows and 132 children. The service will include the names of the 51 men and the chiming of the bells.

n Saturday (Nov. 5)

9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. – the Michigan Iron Industry Museum at 73 Forge Road in Negaunee will offer back-to-back showings of “Barnes-Hecker: Memories of Misfortune” in the auditorium. Refreshments will be served.

6-8 p.m. – The “Candlelight Vigil of Hope” will be held at the Cliffs Shaft Mine Museum on the corner of Lakeshore Drive and Euclid Street in Ishpeming.

Tippet said for the first time in the history of the tragedy, the names of the 51 miners lost will be read along with the names of their widows. Readings will take place at 6:30 p.m., 7 p.m., and 7:30 p.m. and will be performed by students from Negaunee, Westwood and Ishpeming high schools.

This will be the closing event for the 90th Anniversary Barnes-Hecker Remembrance, including an open house hosted by the Cliff’s Shaft Mining Museum, Refreshments will be served. Attendees are reminded that the “dry” area of the building will not be heated, but heat and chairs will be provided in the museum’s Rock Room.

Lisa Bowers can be reached at 906-486-4401. Her email address is lbowers@miningjournal.net.