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The 1909 disaster under Cherry, Ill., changed the coal mining industry across the United States, advanced the causes of the United Mine Workers and became the basis for the state s workman compensation law, Stout wrote. The Utica resident noted that the tragedy was one of the most important historical events in Illinois during the last century. Twenty-one men buried alive for days were rescued during the tragic accident. Originally from Galesburg, Stout has been a student of poet Carl Sandburg and Illinois history for several decades. Stout is a professional photographer by vocation and runs two studios in LaSalle and Ottawa.