On Monday May 13, 1940, at 10 am, mine gas exploded in the 2rd level north of the Occidental coal mine claiming the life of Pete Bago, a 54-year-old miner of Austrian heritage. Bago was married with four children. He was found dead in the 5th crosscut, just inside the No. 6 chute. Bago was packing timber when the force of explosion threw him against center posts which held up the mine roof. The same accident burned the arms, hands, face, and neck of John Mihelich of Enumclaw and Pete Stefanovich of Palmer, who were rushed to Auburn hospital. Eleven other miners working on that level escaped without injury, then aided in bringing the injured men to the surface.
In this photo, the injured Mihelich is prepared for placement in the ambulance. Many of the attendees have been identified (left to right): Bob Costanich, Bill Morris ministering to John Mihelich on stretcher, Vern Hale bending over, unknown, unknown, County Coroner in hat and suit leaning in, unknown, unknown, Bill Merritt in suspenders looking on, and Dr. Leo De Merchant, far right with glasses and hat. The Occidental mine was opened in the summer of 1898 with its first slope sunk in 1901, by Mr. P. Gibbons. It was located near Bayne on the west side of the Cumberland-Kanaskat Road, north of the 1,460-foot peak called Lizard Mountain. Two other miners perished in the Occidental mine during its active years – James T. Mills in 1906 and Oscar Lindberg in 1929. The mine closed permanently in 1945. This photo appeared in the May 17, 1940, Enumclaw Courier-Herald with a news story about the incident.
