My century-old copy of NYT on display in museum

_{In my office, in front of a framed print of the New York Times from March 9, 1924, with the headline Explosion Entombs 173 Miners in Utah; Gas Blocks Rescue.}

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In commemoration of the one-hundred-year anniversary of the Castle Gate Mine Disaster, the Western Mining and Railroad Museum in Helper, Utah will display a copy of the New York Times’ March 9, 1924, front-page reporting on the mine disaster, which I donated to the museum in 2021.

On March 8, 1924, over 170 men were killed in Castle Gate, Utah in one of the most devastating coalmine disasters in American history. Three of those men killed were my ancestors from one branch of my family tree. Another branch included the men who ran the mine.

The story was so big that it was covered by international news outlets. The antique newspaper on display this March was purchased by me in 2021 during the writing of Castle Gate, as part of my genealogy research. I soon donated it to the museum due to the fragile state of the relic. I didn’t have the expertise to preserve something like this … it would have ended up in a drawer or box instead of receiving the care it deserved.

Castle Gate is now a ghost town—the only things remaining are the cemetery where many of the miners are buried and the barred entrance to Mine #2, where the explosion occurred. (See images in The Gallery)

The Helper Museum will be displaying the newspaper during their centenary commemoration of the Castle Gate Mine Disaster on March 8, 2024. That same day, next door at the Rio Theater (owned by Historic Helper City), a short documentary called Remembering Castle Gate will premiere.

I was interviewed at my home here in Phoenix last January to be featured in the documentary and be will present at the premiere, signing copies of Castle Gate. Additionally, and more importantly, I’ll be visiting and honoring the site where this horrific event occurred 100 years ago, changing the lives of so many people … including my family.

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_{Based on years of exhaustive genealogical research, Castle Gate tells the story of a coal mining town shattered on that fateful day in 1924, and the Littlejohn and Garroch families who ran the mine and worked underground. Lisa Bonnice is a descendant of both families.}

_{Castle Gate is filled with stories of those who lived and died that day, some of whom stayed home due to premonitions, and many more who ignored those warnings. It explores life in a rugged mining town during Prohibition, which was largely ignored … especially in nearby towns which were filled with saloons and brothels.}

_{Lisa Bonnice is the author of Fear of Our Father, a best-selling true-crime novel which has been featured in television and radio programs in the US and the UK. She also authored a metaphysical comedy novel entitled The Poppet Master. A former associate producer for MSNBC.com, she is a popular program host with The Shift Network, hosting their annual Ancestral Healing Summit and Beyond the Veil Summit.}

_{For more information, visit castlegatebook.com}