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Vol. 17, No. 2, Wednesday, December 1, 2021 www.LamontLeader.com
17 candles at new monument Lives of 1960 Bus Train Accident victims remembered on site and at Chipman service BY JANA SEMENIUK The newly constructed monument in Lamont for victims of the 1960 Bus Train accident was a place of remembrance on Nov. 28, one day before the 61st anniversary, as friends, family and survivors gathered to light 17 small electric candles for each of the lives lost on the most tragic day in Lamont County history. The monument, fundraised by the Chipman Lamont Bus Train Memorial Committee, was installed in Sept. near the accident site. Lamont resident Tom Hrehorets, chairman of the committee, said the group gathered one day before the anniversary because it coincided with a special annual church service in Chipman. “We gathered on Nov. 28 instead of the 29th because the St. Johns Orthodox Church in Chipman have a special service on the last Sunday of each November commemorating the students whose lives were lost,” he said. “We decided after the special service we would go to the monument to light the candles in remembrance. They’re electric candles and they were still lit the next day.” Hrehorets explained why it was important to gather at the monument to light the candles. “It was very special to have somewhere meaningful to light the candles. There were people all day on the 29th coming to the monument as well as us on the 28th,” he said. “Words cannot express how a person feels over this. It’s a nice feeling that even though it took so long, at least it is done now and is there for generations to never forget and always remember.” Remembering the lost lives was something Hrehorets said is important for future generations. “As the years go by these tragedies get forgotten. And this is one thing that should not be forgotten about. People should remember so their memory can live on forever. They were teenagers
like a lot of kids today. They had dreams and hopes for the future and it was cut short for 17 of them,” he said. “When they got on that bus 61 years ago that day, they had no idea their life was going to end. What would they have been? Doctors? Lawyers? What part could they have played in our community? Where would they have been and what would they have done? We will never know. Lots of people said its way overdue and so thankful its done.” One of those who feel grateful is Mae Adamyk who lost her 15-year-old sister Barbara Pewarchuk in the accident.
“I was so proud of Tom. I felt it was time and was so happy he did it. Those of us who lost people were paralyzed. We knew there should be something, but it was too heartbreaking,” she said. Adamyk also shared that some people had negative feelings around the cost of the granite and marble monument whose total rose to $35,000. “Some people told me it was a waste of money. I didn’t think so. I felt personally touched that a lot of people wanted to keep these kids alive in their hearts. It will help us remember those people’s children who left us so suddenly,” she said.
Adamyk added that she was especially moved when Hrehorets took on the project as he had no personal tie to the tragedy. “He wasn’t involved in the tragedy, but he knows everyone that was hurt by it and lost someone they loved. When he decided to do it, we said anything we could do to help we did it,” she said. A school bus carrying 42 high school students crossed the railway tracks coming into Lamont where it was hit by an oncoming freight train killing 17 on Nov. 29, 1960.
Tom Hrehorets, chairman of the Chipman Lamont Bus Train Memorial Committee, admires the recently installed memorial while gathering with family friends, and survivors to commemorate the 17 victims of the Nov. 29, 1960 tragedy. (L-R) behind Hrehorets, Lil Pewarchuk, Jeanette Winnick, John Winnick, Dianne Cossey, and Terry Cossey. Photo: Jana Semeniuk
