Mayor’s Row……by Ned Mitchell

          Even though we are experiencing a very wet spring things are beginning to cause most of us to stop and admire the beauty before us.  At the Mitchell house the garden is doing well, peonies are in full bloom, heritage Iris plants first set out by Mrs. Hutson decades ago are bursting forth.  The Iris plants I brought from Aunt Norma’s yard are magnificent as are those given to me by Betty Isom.  The Miss Bateman clematis is showing off its’ white blooms.  The Buckeye tree my dad planted is in full bloom and the Hummingbirds just love that tree.  New life is abundant in the rose bushes, including a 100 year old antique bush from my Aunt Marjorie’s farm.  Of course grass is growing faster than we can mow it, but all in all spring is bringing surprise after surprise for us to enjoy on a daily basis.

          The Coal Miner’s Memorial that will be finished in City Park is coming along nicely.  Money continues to pour in for this project and I just think it speaks volumes about how good people in this area really are.  This Memorial was the brain child of Sesserites Danny Sample and Ted Thompson.  They approached former United Mine Worker International officer Jerry Jones, also of Sesser with their concept.  A committee was formed involving Jim Dorris, Marvin Elliston, Ronald Roberson, Jack and Breck Phillips, Danny Sample, Ted Thompson, and myself.  There have been many others who have taken a big interest in this project that are selling engraved bricks to raise money to pay for this project.  Who would have thought that we could have raised $60,000 in two and a half months to fund this project?  Count me as one of the doubters but folks around here continue to amaze me with their generosity.

          The Memorial and surrounding area was designed by Larry Manker and approved by committee members.  Hats have been designed and we are working on tee shirts as well as a souvenir program listing all of the miners in our area that have lost their lives in mining accidents.

          We plan to have a ground breaking ceremony on Thursday, May 14th at 11:00 am in the City Park.  SIU President Dr. Glenn Poshard will be our guest speaker at this event and the public is invited to attend.  The Memorial itself has been ordered and is being made.  Soon concrete base work will be installed.  The bricks continue to be engraved.  We are on schedule, even with the rain, to dedicate this great Memorial on Saturday, June 20th during our annual Sesser Homecoming Rend Lake Days.  United Mine Workers International President Cecil Roberts will be on hand.  Governor Pat Quinn is a possibility depending on his schedule.  Sesser will have a larger crowd than usual as we dedicate this Memorial to the past, the present, and future coal miners and their families.  It will be a quite place with benches where descendants of miners long gone can come and reflect on their heritage and at the same time look to the future. 

          My Grandfather Isaac White worked at the Southern Gem mine north of Sesser and also at the Valier Mine.  My uncle Lowell Dame was killed at Waltonville Orient # 3.  His dad, Truman, was killed at the Valier Mine.  My own dad retired from Waltonville Orient # 3.  I have heard stories from my grandmother and my mom about “Ikey” and others from Sesser who walked down the railroad tracks from Sesser to Valier.  There they put in a long day of mining coal with pick and shovel and then made the long walk home. 

          Coal mining was once King in our area.  In the 1970’s there were over 4,000 miners working within a 10 mile radius of Sesser.  Today there are very few and none of the mines in our immediate area are active.  These miners made between $40,000 and $50,000.  The work was hard and dangerous yet the pay was good.  Today many of these miners enjoy a pension and health care plan that they through the years worked hard to get.

          This Memorial will be here down through the ages to call our attention to those who came here from all over the world to mine the coal under Sesser and surrounding area.  They laid a foundation for many of the things we enjoy here today.  We are proud to be involved as a City in this project and we want to thank each and every one who has played a part in this project.   The dedication will be a touching ceremony I can assure you of that!

          Visitors to Sesser at the historic Opera House this past week came from Deerfield, Illinois and Minneapolis, Minnesota.  We continue to attract visitors from just about every corner of America through here.  The folks from Deerfield were traveling down Interstate 57 and saw the Sesser exit.  The gentleman driving remembered hearing that his father was born in Sesser in 1911 and soon left to work up north; never to return here again.  His father, Oswald Mazetta was born to parents who had immigrated from Italy to work the coal fields of Southern Illinois.  They migrated north for factory work and stayed there.  We enjoy visiting with folks who come here and enjoy the great food at the Opera House Café.  We give them a tour of the theatre, invite them to shop at our local businesses and try to get them to fill up their gas tank before leaving town.  We are proud of Sesser and all we have to offer!

          My mother Rose Mary is out of the Marion hospital but is in Helia Health Care in Benton for some physical therapy.  We hope to have her home in short order.

Don’t forget the town wide clean up is May 18th & 19th for the North end and May 20th and 21st for the South end.  This is a great time to get rid of anything other than tires that the normal trash service will not pick up.