On Nov. 10, Com.It.Es (Comitato degli italiani all’estero) organized a pilgrimage to the town of Cherry, Illinois, on the 115th anniversary of the 1909 mine disaster that took the lives of 250 souls, 73 of whom were Italian immigrants.

A group of 28 in the company of Italian Consul General Mario Bartoli traveled by bus to the tiny town 100 miles southwest of Chicago. The pilgrimage included a visit to the mine site, the Cherry Mine Disaster Museum and Library, and the cemetery, where Bartoli laid a wreath at the monument honoring those who had perished.