the years leading up to the 1932 Disaster because of the prosperous mine and the growing sense of community in the town, but the migrant workers ended up being disconnected from the community, and everyone kept to themselves. The Disaster On December 24, 1932, at 8:15 AM, the whistle from the mine blew. People from the town began to gather outside the mine because they knew that the whistle meant that something went wrong at the work site. There was a methane gas explosion in the mine shaft a few minutes before they got there. It was later discovered in a state investigation published February 1, 1933, by the Moweaqua News that the disaster was caused by the open flame of a miner's carbide lamp which ignited the methane gas and prompted the explosion. Only about half of the miners were working that day as it was Christmas Eve and many chose to stay home with their families or were out of the town. 54 miners were trapped below the ground in the shaft. Two miners named Frank Floski and Ibra Adams did survive the accident because they were in a cage deeper in the mine. Specially trained rescue miners from Pana and Springfield arrived to help control the situation and retrieve bodies from the mine. When the other miners who had taken the day off arrived at the mine, they were not allowed in. The Illinois Central Railroad brought in cars to give the rescue miners a place to sleep and food to eat. The American Red Cross, the Moweaqua Hospital and people in the town also helped provide meals for the workers. The rescue miners worked for six days to find all of the bodies in the mine. Victims and After Effects The owner of the mine, Mr. Shafer, said, "If the mine is reopened, every safety precaution would be taken of course. Upon the recommendation of the state mine inspector, nothing but electric safety lamps would be used in the future." The mine then reopened on December 28, 1933, after a service was held four days earlier to remember and honor the men who died in the disaster exactly one year before and to commemorate the rescue mine workers who helped uncover the bodies of the men trapped in the mine. The mine started up with success and by March 7, 1934, 65 men were back working