'Still incredibly emotional': 'Miracle' of Quecreek Mine worth retelling, remembering for property owner where rescue happened 20 years ago

Jul. 14—SIPESVILLE, Pa. — Bill Arnold still starts his mornings the way he did 20 years ago — waking up at 4 a.m. to milk dairy cows on his family's 150-acre farm.

But Arnold's life — and his farm — has been forever changed since the moment he was awoken by surveyors late during the night of July 24, 2002, to learn nine miners were trapped 240 feet underneath his property.

"It's still incredibly emotional," Arnold said, recalling the events that occurred afterward.

For 77 hours, his family farm became a staging site for hundreds of responders, including federal Mine Safety and Health Administration officials and contractors, who worked through a series of setbacks to rescue nine men trapped 240 feet below his rolling cow pastures.

By the time the last of "the nine" was hoisted to safety, tens of millions of Americans had their eyes fixated on Dormel Farms' through their television sets.

Arnold and the nine miners became household names — and even the narrow yellow rescue capsule had become an iconic sight.

'Coming in every day'

Arnold created the Quecreek Mine Rescue Foundation to preserve the story and broke ground on a 4,800-square-foot visitors center in 2008.

To Arnold, the Quecreek rescue was sort of a blue-collar Apollo 13 — an against-all-odds victory that was "snatched from the jaws of defeat."

And given the dark times America was facing in 2002 — the nation was still reeling from the 9/11 terrorist attacks — it was an uplifting moment the country needed, he said.

"This is not something, thankfully, people have been willing to forget about," he said. "We still have people coming in every day to visit the rescue site from all around the world. It's no longer shocking to see someone walk in from England or Ireland or France or New Zealand because it still happens on a regular basis."

On a property anchored by a 7-foot-tall statue of a coal miner outside, the Que- creek Mine center's two floors are filled with elements of the 77-hour ordeal both big and small.

Images of the rescue effort line the walls.

The yellow rescue capsule is on display alongside interactive exhibits and a minute-by-minute timeline of the events.

'Went on for days'

A WPXI News satellite truck — one of many from across the country that parked outside Dormel Farms that day was donated over the past decade and is now back on the property.

So is a broken drill bit — the first used to drill down toward the miners before rescuers were forced to carve a second tunnel.

"It's just fascinating," said Doug Desaulniers, of Asbury, New Jersey, as he visited the museum on May 31.

Like millions of Americans, Desaulniers remembered being transfixed by the latest TV news updates on a rescue effort "that went on for days" in 2002.

And seeing the rescue capsule brought memories back, he said.

"When you think of them being stranded down there for days ... and what they went through," he said. "It was like something you see in the movies."

Lincoln Township Supervisor Allan Hay credited Arnold with "working hard to keep the Quecreek story alive."

Hay said the rescue site — like the nearby Flight 93 National Memorial — has put the community "on the map," and it's common to see charter buses filled with tourists pulling into Dormel Farm's driveway — particularly over the summer.

"When I'm traveling and people ask where I'm from, they probably don't recognize Somerset County or Lincoln Township — but when I say 'Quecreek' ... they know right away," he said.

Arnold said the visitors center has lured tens of thousands of visitors over the years. That doesn't mean it's always been easy.

The COVID-19 pandemic brought tour buses and visitation to an almost standstill in 2020, he said.

"If it weren't for Amish and Mennonite groups, I'm not sure how we would've survived the last two years," Arnold said. "A lot of our visitors were senior citizens on motor coaches and when COVID arrived, they canceled."

Bus visits are still down, but visitation overall has picked up this year — back up to approximately 60% of pre-2020 levels, Arnold said.

But Arnold is confident the center isn't going anywhere — and that it'll be here to greet crowds again on the 25th anniversary.

God-willing, he will, too, he said.

And when the sun rises over his sprawling Sipesville-area farmland, he'll still be the guy up bright and early milking his herd of dairy cattle.

"Times change," said Arnold, whose farm has been certified organic for the past 15 years and now supplies a Colorado-based supplier that makes products such as Oikos and Activia for the Danone company.

"But I think the Quecreek story will always (resonate) with people," he said.

To Arnold, the rescue served as a turning point after 9/11 — and a reminder that no matter how dismal times can get, all hope isn't lost.

"I think Quecreek was a reminder to people all around the world that God is still on the throne, and that good things still happen when people come together, work and pray — and not accept anything except success," he said.

Hay said today's leaders can still learn from that.

"Back then, everyone was able to put their differences aside," Hay said. "If they did that today, maybe we wouldn't be having all of these problems right now because it doesn't seem like they are trying to work together anymore."