A new monument in Peterborough honours the two dozen people who died in a fire at the Quaker Oats factory in the city more than a century ago.
On the weekend, the new monument was unveiled bearing the names of the 24 victims who perished following an explosion and fire at the plant on Dec. 11, 1916.
A statue and replica of a burnt wall stands at the north end of Millennium Park. The backdrop is the iconic Peterborough Quaker Oats factory.
Unifor paid for the monument that was locally designed and installed.
“We do have a National Day of Mourning each year … it’s unfortunate but even with today’s technologies and all of the advances we have, we are still seeing industrial accidents and disease,” said Bob Orr, Unifor’s secretary-treasurer.
“That’s what people really have to understand. This is people who died in an industrial accident.”
The event was organized by the Descendants of the Quaker Fire Organizing committee.
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