A Coal Town's Benefit Concert for a Fire Victim's Grave
Black Diamond's Ladies' Aid Society raised money on Feb. 22 to improve the burial lot of Daniel Downey, killed in a fire.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The Ladies' Aid Society of Black Diamond gave a pleasing and successful concert in the hall on February 22. Rev. H. T. Shepard was chairman of the evening, and a long programme of vocal and instrumental selections was rendered by local performers. There was a large attendance, and the proceeds will be applied to improve the burial lot of Daniel Downey, whose sad and tragic fate at the Black Diamond fire was reported at the time of the accident.
“The proceeds will be applied to improve the burial lot of Daniel Downey, whose sad and tragic fate at the Black Diamond fire was reported at the time of the accident.”
Black Diamond was a coal company town, and this 1901 benefit shows neighbors organizing to cover a burial after an industrial death. The town's mining heritage is now a historic site, but the question of who bears the cost of workplace disaster still resonates.
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