MOWEAQUA - Lisa Parker has lived in Moweaqua all her life but just discovered there is more to her hometown than she imagined.

The 11-year-old is among 39 fifth-graders at Gregory Elementary School and 21 sophomores at Central A&M High School who have been learning about the village's history, with the older students starting to share their work with the community at large.

"I thought it was very, very, very interesting," Lisa said after sampling the historical and baked goodies in the high school library Monday morning during a reception highlighting the results of the village's "Mining More in Moweaqua" project. "The whole town seems so much bigger now."

Interestingly enough, 16-year-old Molly Rogers of Assumption believes her neighboring community might have been even larger than its current population of about 1,900 had an explosion not occurred at the Moweaqua Coal Mine in 1932, killing 54 men.

The mine reopened in 1933 but closed two years later.

"If it had stayed open longer, business would have been better and more families might have come to live here," Molly said.

Such were among project highlights that include 10 recorded interviews with older citizens about their memories and copies of dozens of historical photos that they and local newspapers provided.

Carol Moore, the retired teacher and Moweaqua resident who has coordinated $60,000 federal grant supporting the project, said it's been a good experience for the entire community. "People have really enjoyed participating in it," she said.

The grant was awarded in October by the Illinois State Library under the U.S. Library Services and Technology Act.

It is paying for archivist Mark Sorenson to date, preserve and organize artifacts, videographer Andy Moore (who is no relation to Carol Moore) to put together a DVD about the mine disaster using those artifacts and interviews conducted by the students and Carol Moore to develop a unit on Moweaqua history for fifth grade and for equipment and books related to the project.

Partners in the "Mining More in Moweaqua" project - the Central A&M School District, Moweaqua Coal Mine Museum, Moweaqua Historical Society and the Moweaqua Public Library - will get copies of everything produced.

High school English teacher Amy Taylor said two sections of Honors English II have been working on their part over the past nine weeks, first doing research and learning how to use the digital voice recorders and camcorders the high school received before talking to the older citizens who had agreed to be interviewed.

Among them was Joe Ben Hibbard, 92, of Moweaqua, who was 16 and employed by Moweaqua Coal Mine but not at work on the day disaster struck.

Students Jessica Entler, 15, of Moweaqua and Tim Bridgman, 16, of Assumption spoke with Hibbard about losing the very uncles who helped him get a job at the mine - Jim and Tom Birley, ages 46 and 44 - and on Monday showed him their edited recording of the interview.

"They done real good," Hibbard said with a grin.

Jessica said she wasn't sure she would have ever taken the time to learn about the Moweaqua mine disaster if it hadn't been a class project, and she's glad she did.

"It's hard to believe people so young were doing something so dangerous," she said. "It's a great feeling to know you've passed something on for future generations."

Molly Rogers and Katie Yoder, also 16 and from Assumption, interviewed Gwen Adams, 87, whose father-in-law, Ibra Adams, was one of only two men working at the mine who survived the explosion.

"He really never said a whole lot about it," Adams said, "but the interview was a lot of fun. These are really sweet girls."

Fifth-graders at Gregory Elementary School, meanwhile, received three visits from Carol Moore over the past three weeks, one to go over Moweaqua's history, another to discuss the coal mine and the last to cover the disaster.

The unit culminated with a walking tour Friday of downtown Moweaqua that included stops at the coal mine museum and historical society.

Rebecca Mathias, 11, of Moweaqua said she will not soon forget how the miners used open flame carbide lights and how one apparently ignited explosive methane gas that flooded into the mine.

"I can't believe they had open flames on their heads," she said. "It's great to give us time to learn about the history of Moweaqua so you can pass it on to the grandkids you have someday."

Theresa Churchill can be reached at tchurchill@herald-review.com or 421-7978.