Approximately forty Glenville State College students, faculty, and community members attended a candlelight memorial on Tuesday, April 20th at the GSC Amphitheatre. The event was sponsored by the GSC Student Government Association (SGA) to remember and honor the twenty-nine miners who lost their lives in a devastating explosion at the Upper Big Branch Mine in Montcoal, West Virginia on April 5th.

The Glenville State College community was personally touched by the disaster because one of the victims was a GSC alum. William Roosevelt Lynch of Oak Hill, West Virginia was a 1972 graduate of GSC. He was a member of the Pioneer Basketball team that played in the 1972 NAIA Championship in Kansas City, Missouri. His son, Roosevelt Lamon Lynch, is also a GSC alum having graduated in 2001. Lamon and Melvin Lynch, Roosevelt’s brother, also work in the Upper Big Branch Mine. Lamon was working a different shift and was not in the mine at the time of the deadly explosion. Melvin was in the mine but was able to escape the blast.

Reverend Mark James of the Wesleyan Foundation, GSC President Dr. Peter B. Barr, and SGA president Marlon Henry spoke briefly during the vigil. The names of the twenty-nine victims of the worst mine disaster in the United States since 1970 were read aloud, and GSC senior Music Education major Mary Sue Bailey of Glen Daniel, West Virginia performed three songs during the candlelight memorial.

Dr. Peter Barr told those in attendance that he was proud of the SGA for honoring the miners and their families. “It is important for everyone to show that we appreciate the dangerous job that our miners do for our state and our nation. This ceremony demonstrates the caring and supportive people that make up the Glenville State College community. It is especially fitting to hold this vigil because one of those lost was a member of our Pioneer family,” he said.

Members of William Roosevelt Lynch’s family were invited to the candlelight memorial but were unable to attend. A plaque signed by President Barr and Marlon Henry memorializing Lynch and the other fallen miners will be presented to his family.

Similar memorials have been held at several campuses around the state.