Thursday, dozens of people gathered to honor the 15th anniversary of the inspiring Quecreek Mine rescue.

Nancy Griffith remembered the day she learned that the miners were trapped 240 feet underground and that two of her friends, Thomas Foy and Harry Blaine Mayhugh, were among them.

“Terrified, terrified just to hear that they got trapped in the water and I’m thinking what it must be for them,” said Nancy Griffith, a Berlin resident.

Days passed and workers hit several setbacks drilling the rescue shafts. Finally, after 77 hours, they broke into the mine and pulled all nine miners to safety on July 28, 2002.

“Our whole household screamed and yelled, “They’re saved, they’re saved,'” Griffith said.

During Thursday’s ceremony, the former governor at the time of the rescue, Mark Schweiker, commended the collaboration on local, state and federal levels to get the equipment and manpower needed to save the men.

“We were going to fully respond, fully deploy and we were going to reunite those families,” said Former Governor Mark Schweiker, (R) PA.

Speakers emphasized that the Quecreek Mine rescue also increased safety regulations for miners.

“It set a tone for Pennsylvania and throughout the country on mine safety,” said Joseph Sbaffoni, the retired director of the PA Bureau of Mine Safety.

Anniversary events continue this weekend. Saturday, July 29, the Quecreek Mine Rescue Foundation is hosting a Community Celebration Day. There will be free tours of the rescue site and museum, food, music and activities for children.

A celebration for the miners, their families and friends and residents in Somerset County who were touched by the miners’ story of survival.

“Just to see their faces as they come up out, it was very emotional, as for many people in the area,” Griffith said.

For more information on the Quecreek Mine rescue and the 15th anniversary events, visit the foundation’s website.