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American Morning

Interview with Margie Lyons

Aired July 29, 2002 - 08:01   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: As we mentioned, we have Bill Hemmer standing by in Somerset, Pennsylvania. That, of course, is where the miracle rescue of the nine miners unfolded over the weekend.
Let's check in with him now for the latest on the men who remain in the hospital and those who are safe at home with their families this morning -- good morning, Bill.

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, Paula, good morning, again.

You know, there are so many countless stories that you come across out here in Pennsylvania. Here's one of them.

Robert Pugh was one of the nine miners. Last night I talked with his sister Barbara. Every year, Paula, the Pugh family gets together and has a reunion. This year it was scheduled for this past Saturday. Forty members of the Pugh family assembled up the road here at a firehouse waiting for word. And at the end of the day on Saturday, they got the big payoff. Robert Pugh was going to come out, along with either others, and, indeed, the happy ending to this story that lasted for the better part of three and a half days.

That's just one of the great stories out here.

The other one circles around Blaine Mayhugh, also one of the nine miners. He talked with reporters yesterday. With him, his wife Leslie by his side. And you could just feel and get a true sense of the joy and thankfulness that these people have now that these nine men have been saved.

Let's listen to what Ms. Mayhugh had to say from yesterday quickly here.

OK, we'll try and get that a bit later. But suffice it to say there is so much joy in the Mayhugh family. And one woman who knows that quite well is Margie Lyons. She's with us right now. She's a neighbor and a very good friend of the Mayhughs. With her, three kids today, Mark, T.J. and Britany (ph). Good to have you out here today.

MARGIE LYONS, FRIEND OF RESCUED MINER: Thank you.

HEMMER: I know you helped out with the Mayhughs. They have two children. And while Leslie spent an awful lot of time here at the site for four days running.

M. LYONS: Right.

HEMMER: What was happening back at the house?

M. LYONS: Well, everything was pretty quiet at her house. You know, they were pretty much here the whole time. She did not want to leave his side. She was very dedicated to him. The kids were with me part of the time and with her family part of the time. And they pretty much understood everything that was going on.

HEMMER: Did you see Blaine yesterday?

M. LYONS: For a couple of minutes. Not very long.

HEMMER: Yes, how's he doing? How did he look?

M. LYONS: He's, he looks very tired and very exhausted, a little overwhelmed. I think he's just, you know, overwhelmed by everything, the emotion. And I know he never ever in his wildest dreams had any idea that he had so much support out here.

HEMMER: Right. What do you tell children at a time like that?

M. LYONS: Well, I just personally tell my kids the straight up facts of what could happen, but try to focus on the optimistic part. I tell my kids that, you know, if you have enough faith and you believe -- and we prayed constantly. We never stopped. We prayed every day, many times every day and just told them, you know, they're going to be OK, you know? They have to be.

HEMMER: Did you ever think the worst?

M. LYONS: No, I didn't. I honestly didn't. I had a lot of people say to me, you know, they're not going to come out, there's no chance. And I said you know what? I'm not giving up hope.

HEMMER: Yes.

M. LYONS: I said until I know, until someone comes out and tells me otherwise, I said I won't give up hope.

HEMMER: I want to bring in your children here real quick, T.J., Mark and Britany (ph). Britany (ph) is a really good friend of Leslie Mayhugh, her daughter...

M. LYONS: Her daughter Kelsey (ph).

HEMMER: Who is Kelsey (ph), who is also 7 years old. I know you guys are best friends. How is she doing?

BRITANY (ph) LYONS, FRIEND OF RESCUED MINER'S FAMILY: OK.

HEMMER: Yes? Did you have a chance to talk to her? Yes. Yes. I guess the bottom line is that these guys are safe, huh, and it would be good to see them again? Right-o. She was talking earlier, I promise you. But that's OK now.

M. LYONS: Yes. They were playing yesterday. They were over and the kids played together for quite a while yesterday. HEMMER: You know, Tom Foy is also a relative here, as well.

M. LYONS: Right.

HEMMER: He is still in the hospital. Have you heard about his condition?

M. LYONS: I know that they had stopped to see him yesterday. He's doing a lot better. He's ready to come home, I think, because he's just that kind of man. He's ready to get home with his family and he misses everybody and like the rest of them he's just overwhelmed by all the support and grateful. But I think that he might get to come home today. So I think that will be great.

HEMMER: Thank you, Margie. Thank you very much.

M. LYONS: Thank you.

HEMMER: Margie Lyons, a really good friend of the Mayhughs.

M. LYONS: Thanks.

HEMMER: Helped them out for the last four days running. And T.J. and Mark and Britany (ph), thanks guys, OK? Thanks for getting up early for us.

Paula, one more note here. I talked about the Robert Pugh family a short time ago. When Robert Pugh got home early Sunday morning he never went to bed. He said he would stay up until the sun came up because he had not seen daylight in three and a half days. And very tired at that point, but nonetheless very thankful that, again, that this rescue operation turned out as successful as it did.

More coming up again here in southwestern Pennsylvania -- Paula.

ZAHN: Bill, I know you've gotten more details if you talked with family members as they tell you a little bit more about what the miners went through.

HEMMER: Yes.

ZAHN: I guess the most extraordinary thing to me is how they made this decision, you know, we're all going to either live together or going to die together. They tied themselves together. They were passing, writing notes and passing this little lunch box away to make sure the families got the notes if something terrible happened to them.

What else have you learned?

HEMMER: Yes, I tell you, you learn so much about their ordeal underground. But don't underscore the fact about that six inch pipe that was essentially punctured through the mine shaft early on. It was that pipe, Paula, that pumped constant compressed hot air into the mine shaft where they were. It did two things. Essentially, it gave them oxygen to breathe and it also allowed them well over 100 degrees in temperature to stay warm. And when one miner would get down or one miner would get cold, they would usher him over to that pipe and make sure that he was able to warm up for a certain time. Then he would shift down and another one would come over.

And it was that sort of teamwork that kept these men going and kept them alive. And it makes such a wonderful story now on this Monday morning as we kick off another week here.

ZAHN: But, Bill, the fact still remains that they were up to water up to their chins at one point of this challenge, right, before some of that water was pumped out?

HEMMER: Indeed, you're right, Paula. And pumping that water is so critical right now because now what we've learned is that the miners went looking for higher ground. You know, this shaft that we talked about is about 40 inches high, but also leads its way to different elevations. And when the water started coming in, that's when the miners sought higher ground. They found it. And when the water pump finally got down there, about 240 feet below the earth, when the water, 50 million gallons worth, started getting pumped out, that's what stabilized the water level, made sure these guys would keep their heads, at least, above that water level so they could continue to breathe.

It was an amazing rescue operation. You know, Paula, they talk about it and they talk about following the rules and make sure they could do it in a safe manner. And it worked this time. And as people look around and think about this incredible operation, boy, it worked out in such a positive way today. A lot of smiles here in Pennsylvania, Paula.

ZAHN: Yes, and a lot of gratitude to spread around, as well.

HEMMER: Yes, oh boy, you bet.

ZAHN: Thanks, Bill.

See you in a little bit.

HEMMER: Sure.

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