Gilles Huard, 18, Kirkland Lake, Ontario
“Two miners, 18 year old Gilles Huard and 54 year old Peter Moras, were killed when buried under rock dislodged by a rockburst in No. 2705-12 stope at the Wright-Hargreaves mine on May 28, 1959. The stope had been idle for a month. A three-man timber crew … was sent to the manway to reinforce the centre stull supporting the bulkhead… a severe burst occurred, causing the waste pillar in the stope to collapse, trapping the three men… At considerable risk, crews of miners and supervisors eventually worked to a point near the top of the manway where [one of the miners] could be heard yelling. He was removed, taken to level and treated… Recovery operations continued daily on a three-shift basis under hazardous conditions… four days after the burst, the body of Huard was recovered at 4:00 a.m. and another two days later, the body of Moras was found… Huard had a fractured neck and Moras, a fractured skull… Huard was gifted with a musical talent inherited from his father who was a ‘stepper’ and a mouth organ player. He loved to dance and play the guitar. A teenager in the late 1950’s, his rock n’ roll talent made him very popular, especially on weekends at local dance halls when he would jive the night away. All this came to an abrupt end when the rockburst at the mine killed him.”
- from Lamps Forever Lit – A Memorial to Kirkland Lake Area Miners, by Bernie Jaworsky |
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18
years old
Buried in a mine
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