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6.17.08 | An integral part of Butte’s mining history, memorialized in stone.
For Floyd Bossard, the completion of the Miners’ Memorial Wall at Butte’s World Museum of Mining is both a professional and a personal triumph. On Friday, June 13 the ribbon cutting ceremony took place. Twenty-eight granite slabs comprising the memorial wall hold the names of 2,318 miners, railroad workers, and mill/smeltermen that have lost their lives in the Silver Bow mining district since 1865. It was no coincidence that the June 13th date was selected for the event. It was also Miners’ Union Day, which was celebrated widely in Butte for over a hundred years.
Over 200 people attended Friday’s event. The construction of the wall has long been anticipated as a needed addition to the history of Montana’s mining city. Many in attendance had personal stories of a brother, father, or grandfather who had lost his life while working in the mines. Bossard, an employee and later an engineer in Butte’s mines from the 1940s through the 70s, recounted the tragedies he witnessed.
"It was 1948. I was 19 and working in the mine two nights a week and in the summers to pay my way through school. I was working in the shaft, unloading cages at various levels. They sent me up to the office for the afternoon shift and in the office I saw a body wrapped in canvas," said Bossard, reflecting on his first encounter with the fatal dangers of the mines.
"Five years later I’m working as an engineer and I saw the same thing, only this time I knew the fellow. He was a young engineer from South Dakota. Then in 1956, three of my friends went underground to inspect a mine and got into bad air and perished," Bossard also told of an engineer who was operating a crane at the ore stockpile in the Berkley Pit in 1968. "He was the best operator on the hill. He was on the edge and reached to lift something, but his boom was too flat to lift and the crane toppled over, killing the operator."
"So I’ve seen death in the mines. My feeling is that this memorial had been missed. There was a void in the recognized history of Butte," said Bossard. He has long been a supporter of the museum, but when he heard about the memorial project he volunteered to help see that it was built. His experience in engineering and construction earned the approval of the museum’s committee to oversee the project. .
His role was to work with architects and contractors to accomplish the task of building the wall, but another part of his job was to find the necessary funding to make its completion a reality. "I was knocking on doors and soliciting funds," said Bossard. The museum was seeking sponsored and general donations. At that time, Bossard initiated a conversation with Tad Dale, Vice President of Human Resources at Montana Resources to ask for the company’s support. Dale set up a meeting with Mike Halligan, Executive Director of the Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation, to discuss the project.
"I told them my story and Mike said, ‘What can we do to help?’ I told him we’d like a donation and we discussed where we were financially. At that time we needed $50,000," said Bossard. "Mike told me I could stop knocking on doors and focus on the project." In addition to the grant awarded by the Foundation, Montana Resources also made a $5,000 donation. Two checks were delivered and covered the difference needed.
At Friday’s ribbon cutting ceremony, crews were pouring concrete. It was the first day they were able to do so because of cold temperatures in the previous weeks. "We had been hammered and delayed by weather, but the people actually got to see something going on with the project. It was well-received," said Bossard.
The event started at two o’clock with Irish dancers and western entertainment. Hamburgers and hot dogs were served. The ribbon cutting ceremony was held at three o’clock. Bossard and Dale addressed the crowd.
"Today, I am humbled to represent the employees of Montana Resources, who feel a deep kinship with these fallen individuals, because they, like their predecessors, are engaged in the business of mining, milling, and transporting metals to meet the needs of our society," said Dale in his remarks to the audience. "I also am delighted to represent the Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation, who believes that this project, once again, is an example of the spirit and unwavering loyalty of the people of Butte to honor the working man and their heritage."
"The interest was extremely evident," Bossard observed of the crowd. "People paid attention. This is something that is deeply embedded in the citizens of Butte. We are all extremely proud of this effort to revisit and memorialize our history."
