It was earlier that day that the lives of many of their fathers, husbands and sons had been destroyed in the Sample Run mine explosion, caused when accumulated gas was ignited by electrical equipment.

The explosion came in two blasts, the first occurring at exactly 1 p.m., according to the mechanical recorder in the fanhouse, the second blast 5 to 6 minutes later. The blasts knocked off a manway door, and fire and soot blew more than 100 feet in the air, according to an Aug. 27, 1926, article in the Indiana Evening Gazette. The explosion, the worst in Indiana County history, according to Clymer's historian, John Busovicki, killed 44 men.

One of those men was James B. Hetrick, grandfather of Jerry Hetrick of Alvaredo, Texas, formerly of Clymer. Hetrick is the creator of Clymer Borough's new Web site, www.clymerpa.com.

And, along with Clymer Borough, he is also the creator of the Sample Run Project part of the Web site, a future genealogy tool for descendents of those miners killed in the Sample Run accident.

Over time, pictures of each of the deceased's tombstones will be placed on the site. Each picture will be a link to the families' own genealogy page, which will include a family history and any other information the families want to submit - "pictures, pay stubs, whatever," according to Hetrick.

"Nobody else has (anything like) it," he said. "It's going to be awesome."

Each family can write its own story, but Hetrick, along with his Web site-development and Internet service company 8leg.com ("because spiders build webs"), reserves the right to edit it. But he "would let them see it before we put it up."

"This will be done free for them to allow them to have their story told because there is a major story behind all of the families," he said.

The site, which has been up for a few months, currently has 10 tombstone photos and one family link - James Hetrick. And Jerry Hetrick, who has been gathering information on Clymer's history and descendents for months, said help from the descendents is needed.

"If we can get descendents to get in touch with us, it will help us do the project," he said. "The more help we can get, the better and faster it can get done."

Although, according to Hetrick, it will never truly be finished.

"It'll never be finished because of the genealogy," said Hetrick, who claims 45 miners actually died, not 44 as is written in most records. "It will always be ongoing."

The Sample Run project isn't the only unique feature that will be added to the site.

Along with general information about the borough and its officials and council meeting minutes, "anything included in Clymer history is put on the site," he said. The site already features an essay on the history of Clymer written by Busovicki and old photos provided by Busovicki, who has been collecting information and pictures about Clymer for 52 years. "We're going to expand that," Hetrick said.

Hetrick also plans to include a page to ask for donations to make corrections to the miners' memorial plaque outside of the Clymer Borough building because many names are incorrectly spelled. Hetrick's company will also develop a site for and include links to local businesses for a fee.

Hetrick, who gets a lot of his information from Busovicki, old borough minutes and old tax information, said the site is also going to be unique because it will offer borough forms for residents to print out rather than pick them up at the borough office. The site already has building permits available.

"So far we've seen really positive response to it," said Hetrick, who plans to move back to Clymer along with his wife, Carole, once his property in Texas is sold. "We envision this site fairly interactive with residents of the borough. It allows them to utilize the borough easier, access for forms, complaints ... to ask questions."

The questions go to borough secretary Connie Gniewek.

"As information comes in, we'll add it," Hetrick said. "It's just a matter of finding people."