Mine 42 man funds veterans memorial

Nov. 3--The way Joseph Orsargos tells it, the tiny community of Mine 42 is often neglected.

He would know.

The 88-year-old Orsargos has spent his entire life in this leafy community in Adams Township.

"This town don't never get nothing," he said. "Nobody does nothing for 42. That aggravates me."

Orsargos, a U.S. Navy veteran, funded a veterans memorial in July that was built near the Eureka 42 Citizens Club.

"Home Depot came in and did the work," he said. "I bought the stone, flowers and two benches.

"My son, Charles, helped dig it out and my daughter, Debbie, is a good landscaper so she planted the flowers."

What did he think when it was completed?

"I thought maybe we should have made it bigger," Orsargos said. "But this is a small town.

"I figured something is better than nothing."

On a street with maybe a dozen houses, Orsargos, a retired Bethlehem Steel worker, and his wife raised five children. He wants to honor local war veterans.

"I thought, 'Hell, it would be nice to do something in their honor,' " he said. "So that's why I decided to build it."

Now he's looking to help raise money for a bronze miner's statue and playground equipment.

"When you're a small town they neglect you," he said. "I figured what the heck, I'm getting old, maybe I can get something nice for the town."

Orsargos said he also wants to outlive his neighbor.

"I told my doctor I want to live to be 90," he said. "My neighbor was 90 when he died, and I've got to beat him."

Patrick Buchnowski is a reporter for The Tribune-Democrat. He can be reached at 532-5061. Follow him on Twitter @PatBuchnowskiTD.

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