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'+" '))/ '0 #.2'!# +! ,+ !# ,,( +" )'(# 1/ +" )'(# 1/ #.2'!# ,2# +" #5,+" 5,1. +##"/ # /&'- 3,.)"3'"# 5 )) ! ..'#./ 1')" 0 /1' ,1 " ')) '0 +# "/ # 1')" 0, /1 0 5 . . # # /-#!' )'6# '+ .#- '. ,$ )) . +"/ +" /'6#/ # )/, & 2# )'!( ++'&') 0,. .')) 0'!(/ 0& 0 "#/0.,5 !) 5 +" /& )# $.,* 5,1. '0 )) ,)) .## +" + " ,. $ 4 1/ *'))/ &1%&#/ +#0 *'))/ '0/#.2'!#'+! !,* '0/ 2 ') )# $,. ,') +" % / 3 0#. 3#)) %#,0&#.* ) *'+'+% !,+/0.1!0',+ +" ,0&#. --)'! 0',+/ Pennsylvania Honors Mining Engineers Adapted from a News Release from the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission recently dedicated a historical marker for the American Institute of Mining Engineers in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. The first meeting of theAmerican Institute of Mining Engineers, now called theAmerican Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers, was held May 16, 1871, and there were 22 people in attendance. Today, along with its member society (the Pennsylvania Anthracite Section of the Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration), the organization has about 150,000 members worldwide. Mining Engineer Michael C. Korb, one of those who spearheaded the drive to get the marker, has been a member of the organization since 1961. He described the era when anthracite fueled the industrial revolution of the 1800s as an exciting time, when sci- ence was developing and new technology was being created. The American Institute of Mining Engineers worked with issues related to the industry such as economical production, im- proving mining technology, education and welfare of miners, and especially safety, Korb said. When the Institute was first founded, the September 1869 Avondale Mine Disaster, in which 110 miners died trapped in an underground mine fire, was still fresh on everyone’s mind. “Safety wasn’t what people wanted it to be at first. That was a big reason for the development of the society,” he stated. Korb’s interest in the subject, along with his 50-plus years of experience working in the field, led him to join the push to get the historical marker for the American Institute of Mining Engineers. He said the application took about a year to work on before it received approval from the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. “It was fun doing the research. We had to put a lot of paperwork together,” he said. Since its creation by Congress in 1913, the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission has administered the his- torical marker program, which spotlights the state’s noteworthy people and places. There are more than 2000 of the markers, mainly cast-aluminum signs, throughout the state. The most recent markers to be placed in the region are for Eckley Miners’ Village in Foster Township, dedicated on May 15, 2015; and the Baltimore Mine Tunnel Disaster in Wilkes-Barre, dedicated January 22, 2014. While it’s important to remember the disasters, good things about the industry should also be commemo- rated, Korb concluded. 59 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® OCTOBER 2016