Over 400 McLean County workplace fatalities are remembered at the McLean County Workers’ Memorial Day ceremony, 6 a.m., Friday, April 26, at Bloomington’s White Oak Park, 1514 Cottage Avenue.
At the annual gathering 400 workplace death names are read, dating to 1856 and through 2020. Over 100 asbestos victims are remembered from the local United Rubber and Asbestos plant, which manufactured asbestos wrapping in Bloomington from 1952 to 1972. An exhibit on the plant, Deadly Deception, opens at the McLean County Museum of History on September 7.
White Oak Park was adopted by local unions. Over 100 trees were planted in memory of the asbestos victims, a park pavilion built, a memorial marker installed, and the 1942 Chicago & Alton Railroad Bloomington Shops’ flagpole was moved from the Shops complex to the park in 1996. The flagpole was assembled and dedicated by rail workers on January 2, 1942, less than a month into World War II. The flagpole was constructed from locomotive wheel bearings.
Workers Memorial Day is usually marked on April 28, but because that is a Sunday, the ceremony was moved to Friday morning. The ceremony usually takes 35-40 minutes. Workers are encouraged to attend before starting their workday.