SNP looking for help with Sunshine Mine memorial publication

OSBURN — Readers, we need your help!

As you may know, we are just months away from the 50th Anniversary of the Sunshine Mine Fire, a disaster that continues to shape our community to this day.

Each year on May 2, our community comes together to honor and remember those 91 lives that were lost, as well as the families and friends who were affected by this dark day.

This year, in honor of this upcoming milestone anniversary, the Shoshone News-Press is publishing a comprehensive publication with details from that fateful day. This special product will include content about the mine’s history, a closer look at the safety of mining today compared to the 1970s, and honor those 91 men with a keepsake section.

What we are looking for is firsthand accounts and perspectives of the fire and how it affected the community.

“We know that the fire really changed the Silver Valley in more ways than some people realize,” said Shoshone News-Press County Editor Josh McDonald. “We are hoping that people will be willing to share their stories, anecdotes and experiences during that time. We are looking for as much community input as we can get.”

These stories don’t have to be strictly about the fire itself, but also about how it affected the day to day life of the Silver Valley in its aftermath. These account can help people begin to understand just how far reaching this monumental event was.

Any stories would be appreciated, but the News-Press is also looking for any photographs that the locals may be willing to submit to us for publishing.

“Photos can tell us a story that can’t always be told with words,” McDonald said. “We would love to see the pictures that, perhaps, haven’t been shared.”

This publication will have far-reaching implications as well and will be widely released throughout North Idaho and Western Montana via seven Hagadone News Network regional newspapers, as well as at local museums and tourism hubs.

If you would like to contribute to this incredibly important project, please contact the News-Press at 208-752-1120, email cwatson@shoshonenewspress.com, jmcdonald@shoshonenewspress.com, kalexander@shoshonenewspress.com, or by messaging the Shoshone News-Press Facebook page.