As Lansford looks to move into the future, the borough took time Saturday morning to honor its past.

Martin Ditsky, borough council president, welcomed residents to Kennedy Park to rededicate the Miners Monument during the municipality's first Ethnic Day."My dad worked at the No. 6 Colliery when we came from Slovakia. I was raised here," he said. "We are trying to improve the town.""We love our community and we're focused to be positive," said Lansford Alive committee member Marie Ondrus. "We are trying to improve Lansford and move it forward so people can be proud of their town."I feel it's changing and people see it. I just wish more people would get involved," she said.The Rev. Jeremy Benack of Grace Community Church opened the ceremony with a prayer for the miners in the coal region.County Commissioner William O'Gurek shared words of encouragement and commemoration on the progress in the town."Today we remember the spirit of the miners, the dedication and hard work. Moments like today are opportunities to celebrate our communities. Ethnic Day will honor our miners. They are our founding fathers," O'Gurek said.Remembering the pastBefore Ditsky introduced Andrew Slog, a former underground pipeman at the Tamaqua No. 14 Colliery, he read the names of all the miners who had teamed together to build the memorial.Slogreminisced about his days at the mine and working with his co-workers to create the stone structure."I was younger then," he said. "I was 52."Slog moved to the borough in 1948 and has lived in the area ever since.During his speech, the 91-year-old gave details about the building of the wall."The stones were taken from the old office building, (The Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company) on Front Street, the Big Office it was called before they knocked it down," he said.Surveying the renovations on the wall, Slog said he was impressed."It looks great. They really spruced it up. It looks like it did 40 years ago."Slog said his job during the construction was to get and lift the stones."That was the hardest thing to do," he said of the three-week-long construction during the summer of 1976."The miners wanted to have it dedicated for the No. 9 mine, but it's good for everyone now," Slog said.The coal miner's daughter, Gail (Slog) Bourassa, now lives in Virginia but remembers her childhood in the borough and the hard work her father put in at the mine."It's fitting those stones came from the office, I think it's so cool because the mine bosses worked out of that office, now the stones are being used to honor the miners. I remember in '76 thinking it was cool then," she said.Future projectsAccording to Ondrus, the rededication, Ethnic Day and monument revamp took months to organize and execute.The committee will now tackle the adjacent coal car for its next project.Donations for upcoming projects can be made out to LA Events Committee, 36 Coal St., Lansford, PA 18232.Large commemorative and memorial bricks, custom engraved, are still available for $75. The bricks will be designed to form a walkway to the monument.To purchase a brick or for more information, call 570-645-7766.