The Jeffrey L. Sager Memorial Bridge

The Jeffrey L Sager Memorial Bridge

 

One of the last projects that Jeff Sager was laying plans for before he left this world was a bridge to The Ruins Project.

 

His children, with your help, want to finish it for him.

 

Coal mining, earth moving, stone crushing, and bridge building were just a few of his talents. Jeff Sager was always seeing beyond the horizon for ways to improve the world around him.

 

Jeff Sager looking like the cat who ate the canary when he won a free rock crusher.

 

One of his recent notable accomplishments was to recycle our local Kmart department store. After being demolished to make way for something new, the rubble was landfill-bound. Jeff intervened, offered to buy the rubble and store it on his property. He then used a giant piece of heavy equipment he had won in a contest (see picture below), a rock crusher, and crushed the huge chunks of cement back into usable gravel. Finally, he put it back into the marketplace and resold it. Now that’s recycling!

 

Belle Vernon Kmart - before.

 

Rock crusher that Jeff won in a raffle, free for 2 weeks, pictured here Crushing Kmart debris.

 

Belle Vernon Kmart - after.

 

Jeffrey saw the big picture. He taught his children to do the same.

 

In his honor, The Sager Family is building a bridge. A symbolic bridge. Jeff had made plans to build a bridge across a steep ravine to the front door of The Ruins Project.

 

Ravine near the entrance of The Ruins Project.

 

What is The Ruins Project?

 

The Ruins Project is what remains of the former Banning No. 2, a bituminous coal mine operation in Whitsett, Pennsylvania. As a mosaic artist, Jeffrey’s daughter, Rachel has transformed the walls and rooms of The Ruins Project into a giant cement canvas of stone and glass. Rachel uses mosaic art to tell the history of a forgotten corner of America. Building on Rachel’s vision, artists from all over the world, from Israel to Tasmania and Alaska to Belgium, have contributed their artwork to this unique and special place.

 

Banning No. 2 mine in Whitsett, PA in the 1930s.

 

Men who worked in Banning No. 2 coal mine (picture circa 1930).

 

Located a stone’s throw from the Great Allegheny Passage, visitors from everywhere stop during the summer months to tour The Ruins Project as Rachel narrates the history of the mine, the art installations, and speaks about the mosaic artists who have contributed and the meaning behind their work.

 

Banning No. 2 now The Ruins Project.

 

The Great Train by Stevo Sadvary, Pittsburgh, PA.

 

Ragged Old Flag by Deb Englebaugh, Hermitage, PA.

 

What will your donation do?

 

The Ruins Project needs a bridge.

 

Presently, The Ruins Project is very difficult to access by foot and impossible to access if you’re non-ambulatory or have difficulty on uneven ground. Jeffrey’s other daughter, Molly, uses a wheelchair. Jeff spent a good portion of his time, after Molly’s injury, turning what he saw as temporary obstacles into accessible domains for Molly to conquer. An active and productive member of the Sager family, he worked to include her in everything.

 

This bridge will give Molly, and all visitors a direct and accessible approach to the front door where The Ruins Project begins. It will be the entrance to and the exit from a truly one-of-a-kind post-industrial experience that weaves art, history, nature and story telling together. From portraits of the real coal miners who worked in the mine, and a portrait of Jeff himself, to wonders like the largest mosaic train in the world, to faraway countries mosaicked by their native artists, to Pennsylvania indigenous birds, The Ruins defies an easy definition.

 

Redheaded Woodpecker by Helga Maribel Sanchez, Apollo Beach. FL.

 

The Great Heron by Brenda Gratton, Madison, WI.

 

There are two parts of this walking bridge that your donation will help pay for: 1) the purchase and laying of the beams that will cross the ravine, and 2) the labor and materials needed to build the concrete pillars on either side of the bridge that will support the beams.

 

 

Installation of Jeffrey L. Sager portrait by Donna Van Hooser, Phoenix, AZ.

 

Barn owl by Spring Alene Dimmerling, East Canton, OH.

 

You don’t need to be an artist to become a part of this very special place. Donor’s names will be included in a custom-made plaque that will sit at the bridge entrance. The Sager Family is setting a deadline of November 1, 2021 for our fund goal to be met.

 

Donor's names will be added to a custom made plaque that will sit at the bridge entrance.

 

Without Jeffrey’s vision and influence The Ruins Project would not exist. His life and his life’s work was an inspiration for the creation of a place that honors and remembers all of those, like him, who worked hard to make America what it is.

 

Each person who walks the Jeffrey L. Sager Memorial Bridge will be crossing a symbolic threshold between worlds;

 

The Past and the Present. Industry and Nature. Truth and Beauty. Life and Death.

 

See image below for a mock up of the imagined Jeffrey L. Sager Memorial Bridge.

 

With your help, the future Jeffrey L. Sager Memorial Bridge.

 

Jeffrey's daughter, Rachel, owner and curator of the The Ruins Project.

 

Jeffrey's daughter, Molly, entering The Ruins on the back of a quad.

 

Jeff Sager in The Ruins Project, in Fayette County, PA, one of his favorite places on earth.

 

 

Any amount, no matter how large or small, will be greatly appreciated. Your donation will not only ensure that your name is on the Jeffrey L Sager Memorial Bridge plaque, it will also invest in a local small woman-owned business and will help support the work of local and international artists who continue to donate their work to this special place. Lastly, your donation won't just honor Jeffrey, and create a lasting tribute to his life and legacy, it honors all of the men who worked in this former mine, and all of the artists who work in it today.