Milford Mine event remembers tragic loss, looks to the future – Brainerd Dispatch

BRAINERD — For some visitors to the Milford Mine Memorial Park, the names of those who lost their lives in the state’s worst mining disaster go beyond abstract history now 100 years old — they are personal, they are family.

Jan Loftis said her dad was 10 years old when his brother, Valentine Cole, died in the collapse and flooding of the Milford Mine north of Crosby. Valentine Cole was days away from his 25th birthday and was already a husband and father of two young children. One, a girl, was just a few months old when he died

along with 40 other underground miners in the Milford tragedy

.

In news reports at the time, his wife was described as inconsolable as she sat in their shack with her 4-year-old son at her side and her baby daughter in her arms, although his family said he had two daughters, with the youngest passing away within the last five years.

Members of Valentine Cole’s family were among those attending the grand opening of the Milford Mine Memorial Park expansion Monday, Aug. 26. People gathered for the ceremony, a hotdog lunch and walked the trails at the park.

Loftis was there when they first started on the park and constructed the pavilion.

“It has really expanded,” Loftis said. “I didn’t even know there was a whole town.”

Steve Kohls / Brainerd Dispatch

The town of Milford sprang up around the mine, as was common in those days. The county also found the foundation of the bachelor miners’ quarters at the site.

Jan and Boyd Loftis of Pillager were at the ceremony with her brother’s grandson, Issac Cole. The 13-year-old is Valentine Cole’s great-great nephew.

Contributed

“I think it’s pretty cool learning my history, about my family,” Issac said. It all makes for a little different connection to the park for him. “I’ve read some of the things, a book about it, and I thought it’s pretty interesting.”

Seeing what the county has done to preserve and unearth the site’s history is incredible, Loftis said.

Steve Kohls / Brainerd Dispatch

“It’s pretty inspiring to see his name out there, a picture of his house,” Loftis said, noting they can see Valentine Cole’s image and read more about him — a family member they never had the chance to meet. But he’s remained a part of them. The family tends his grave in Pillager. “We’ve always gone to his grave,” Loftis said. “We’ve always had to pay respect to him. So this means a lot.”

And the park, she said, may not be what people expect. There are trails and places to picnic or kayak, but she said there is so much history and buildings that amazed them as they always thought of Milford as just a mine, not the community that rose up at the site.

“It is amazing,” Loftis said. “I’m so glad the county has done this. They have done an amazing job and I hope people come out.”

Steve and Stephanie Dess live close to the park. A retired teacher, Stephanie Dess said the park will be an excellent opportunity for children of the area to learn about the environment, about a freshwater lake, the geology and the history of the area along with industries such as forestry.

“What we have here is precious, and so what you have done, it’s going to go on for generations, and people and children are going to learn, and they’re going to love being outside walking on these boardwalks,” Dess said.

Steve Kohls / Brainerd Dispatch

She’s brought her grandchildren out to walk the boardwalks, which carry the names of all the miners in the Milford on that fateful day 100 years ago.

“… What a wonderful opportunity and then to see the names of all of the miners, all the work that has gone into doing this so far has been so awesome,” Dess said. “So as an educator and also a parent and a grandparent, this is for our community, but it’s also going to be for our state and for people that come here, because what people will learn about the environment and nature … this is spectacular, what you were doing, so I want to say thank you.”

Steve Kohls / Brainerd Dispatch

Crow Wing County commissioners Steve Barrows, Rosemary Franzen, Doug Houge, Paul Koering and Jon Lubke, and county officials and park staff attended the event along with residents, relatives and other elected officials with Rep. Josh Heintzeman, R-Nisswa, and Rep. Ben Davis, R-Mission Township, who represents the area.

“A lot of this stuff would never have happened without your commissioner — Commissioner Houge,” Koering said. “ … I think he has been an absolute great commissioner for Crow Wing County and an advocate for you guys up here in Crosby, in this area.”

Houge noted the county first dipped a toe into the idea of having parks nearly a decade ago and now have six parks, including the one at Milford, which is continuing to work to connect people with the place and its unique history. Houge praised the staff for doing the heavy lifting to make it happen.

“They’re the ones out here doing the everyday work and maintaining these parks,” Houge said.

Davis also pointed to the funding for the Milford park, which includes timber and tax-forfeited land sale money in the county and dollars from the IRRR. Davis, who serves on the IRRR Board, said there is an effort behind the scenes to take that taconite sales revenue away from the Cuyuna area.

Steve Kohls / Brainerd Dispatch

“And so I would just encourage you to be aware of that and to help me protect those dollars that help our local community here,” Davis said.

The Milford Mine Memorial Park is at 26351 Milford Lake Drive, north of Crosby off Highway 6. After the grand opening, the Cuyuna Iron Range Heritage Network did an

encore presentation Monday night of the commemoration they provided for the 100th anniversary

of the disaster in February.

At the grand opening, Mike Aulie, former mayor of Deerwood and volutneer with the Cuyuna Iron Range Heritage Network, thanked the county for its investment in the park.

“It’s one of the real important aspects of our history in the area,” Aulie said. “ … So on Feb. 5, 100 years ago, there were 48 miners underground working. They were 15 minutes away from the end of their shift, and that’s when the cave-in happened.”

The

first sign of doom came with a sudden gust of warm wind

. It blew out the carbide gas lamps on the miner’s hats, or blew their hats off altogether. A second gust came with a roaring, liquid sound. Seven miners made it out of the mine. Forty-one were entombed inside. It took 15 minutes for the mine, with its shaft 200 feet deep, to fill with water and mud. It would take nine months and a Herculean task of dewatering and digging to locate all the bodies.

Steve Kohls / Brainerd Dispatch

“At the time, it was the worst mining disaster in the United States, and even yet, today, it’s the worst mining disaster in the state of Minnesota,” Aulie said. “… Every one of those miners had a story and a family.”

Aulie blew a piercing whistle to start the ceremony. He noted it still isn’t nearly as piercing as the one that blew that day, which was echoed by other mines and even trains as the sound alerted the entire area that help was needed in Milford. One of the miners who likely could have saved himself if he left immediately stayed by the whistle in the mine to warn the others. Clinton Harris, who was reported to be filling in for a sick colleague, wrapped the rope around his waist as the tragedy unfolded.

Contributed / Crow Wing County

“That whistle blew for four hours,” Aulie said. His father, Berger Aulie, wrote a book about the Milford Mine disaster, with copies on hand Monday. “It’s a pretty interesting story.”

Tom Strack, environmental services supervisor, said staff has been working since early last year on the

recent additions to the park

with interpretive signs, new trails, and new pavilions. He said a lot of the new boardwalk is still coming and more work will go into connecting some dead-ends on existing trails, giving those who visit the park a nice loop and way to walk through the park.

Steve Kohls / Brainerd Dispatch

“There’ll be another one here that traveled right along the old railroad corridor, the old Soo Line, so people can walk through there,” Strack said. “And hopefully all our boardwalks are done come the first of the year.”

Strack said about $1.4 million was invested for the 1.25 miles of new trails, which use boardwalks for the site. Existing trails are being worked as well, more interpretive signs will be installed, particularly about the historic mining corridor at the site, along with information about the wildlife and the habitat at the park. The park was improved without the use of tax levy dollars.

“Luckily, we’ve been able to tap the IRRR,” Strack said. “So they’ve been a very big funding partner with us since we pretty much started the park. Back when we were putting together a master plan, they provided funding for us, and they’ve been helping ever since, along the way being this is a mining site, we’ve been able to really tap them and use their assistance.”

With the funding, the county was able to acquire a small piece of property along the road so the county has full ownership all the way around Milford Lake and the ability to maintain the reflective nature of the park at the historic site.

Strack said the next plan is to develop a 2.2 mile scenic walking trail around the backside of Milford Lake and connect to existing trails. The new trail will also provide an amazing view of the mine itself, he said.

“So we’re hopeful that we can build that one day,” he said. “We’re in the process of applying for grants and getting grant funds and seeing if we can make that a reality.”

Renee Richardson / Brainerd Dispatch

To remember and honor the miners, the Crow Wing County Board approved the Milford Mine Memorial Park concept in December of 2007.

Phase 1 of the project was completed in 2010 and included an access road, parking area and walking path construction.

In 2011, the Minnesota Historical Society listed the park as a site on the National Registry of Historic Places.

Projects included in 2012 were a sign at the entrance, a picnic shelter with three picnic tables and two cooking grills, small-lakeside picnic area, benches, and a bike rack.

Work in 2016 included a boardwalk, trails, kiosk construction and interpretive displays.

In 2017, a permanent outhouse, covered shelter, and canoe/kayak landing were added.

“The site has been transformed into a natural and man-made habitat — a place of recreation, reflection, and community to be enjoyed by families, residents, and future generations,” the county stated in a news release.

Renee Richardson / Brainerd Dispatch

In 2024, the grand opening featured 1.25 miles of newly constructed walking trails connecting additional historic features and scenic overlooks. Trails have interpretive signs, more than 1,000 feet of new boardwalk and two new picnic pavilions. Construction of trails was made possible with non-levy dollars including the sale of timber from tax-forfeited land and grant assistance from the Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation.

The

Milford Mine Memorial Park

is open year-round, sunrise to sunset, and is free to the public. Trail maps are available for pickup up at the Land Services Building in Brainerd or can be viewed at

www.crowwing.gov/289/Recreation

.

Renee Richardson, managing editor, may be reached at 218-855-5852 or [email protected]. Follow on Twitter @DispatchBizBuzz.