1 00:00:01,280 --> 00:00:04,000 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, the production 2 00:00:04,120 --> 00:00:12,720 Speaker 1: of I Heart Radios How Stuff Works. Hello, and welcome 3 00:00:12,720 --> 00:00:15,920 Speaker 1: to the podcast. I'm Tracy V. Wilson and I'm Holly Fry. 4 00:00:16,560 --> 00:00:18,760 Speaker 1: If you've been listening to our show for a long time, 5 00:00:18,880 --> 00:00:22,599 Speaker 1: you might have noticed the uncanny number of just terrible 6 00:00:22,640 --> 00:00:26,840 Speaker 1: tragedies we've covered that have happened right around Christmas. There's 7 00:00:26,840 --> 00:00:29,880 Speaker 1: the Iroquois Theater fire, and the Richmond Theater fire, and 8 00:00:29,920 --> 00:00:32,960 Speaker 1: the Christmas tree ship that sank in like Michigan, and 9 00:00:33,040 --> 00:00:35,680 Speaker 1: the disappearance of the Solder children after their family home 10 00:00:35,960 --> 00:00:40,239 Speaker 1: caught fire. We would probably see a similar pattern of 11 00:00:40,320 --> 00:00:43,520 Speaker 1: tragedies if we picked just any random date and looked 12 00:00:43,520 --> 00:00:46,320 Speaker 1: at the stuff from right around it. But the proximity 13 00:00:46,360 --> 00:00:48,800 Speaker 1: to major holidays for all of these always just makes 14 00:00:48,840 --> 00:00:53,479 Speaker 1: them seem particularly sad. There are so many others of 15 00:00:53,560 --> 00:00:55,760 Speaker 1: these that we've never talked about on the show. But 16 00:00:55,800 --> 00:00:59,240 Speaker 1: while I was looking through our listeners suggestion list to 17 00:00:59,440 --> 00:01:01,280 Speaker 1: try to figure out what I wanted to talk about next, 18 00:01:01,320 --> 00:01:05,399 Speaker 1: one in particular struck me. It is the Italian Hall disaster, 19 00:01:05,560 --> 00:01:08,800 Speaker 1: which was suggested by listener Mark long enough ago at 20 00:01:08,840 --> 00:01:11,400 Speaker 1: this point that it's in the upper third of the list, 21 00:01:12,280 --> 00:01:14,920 Speaker 1: which means it was a long time ago. This disaster 22 00:01:15,160 --> 00:01:21,440 Speaker 1: happened in Michigan on December in a town that's now 23 00:01:21,480 --> 00:01:24,520 Speaker 1: known as Calumet, but was called Red Jacket at the 24 00:01:24,520 --> 00:01:28,319 Speaker 1: time for some reason. All of those prior tragedies that 25 00:01:28,360 --> 00:01:31,039 Speaker 1: I listed off a minute ago are all episodes that 26 00:01:31,080 --> 00:01:35,319 Speaker 1: I researched. So when I found this one, I told 27 00:01:35,360 --> 00:01:37,520 Speaker 1: Holly I didn't know if I had the stomach for 28 00:01:37,560 --> 00:01:40,600 Speaker 1: another Christmas tragedy, But even as I tried to move 29 00:01:40,720 --> 00:01:43,440 Speaker 1: on to other topics, I just couldn't stop thinking about 30 00:01:43,480 --> 00:01:45,280 Speaker 1: this one. So I decided to go ahead and do it, 31 00:01:46,160 --> 00:01:49,600 Speaker 1: just not to have the episode come out right around 32 00:01:49,600 --> 00:01:51,640 Speaker 1: the anniversary off when it had actually happened, which this 33 00:01:51,720 --> 00:01:54,160 Speaker 1: year is roughly at the same time as both Christmas 34 00:01:54,200 --> 00:01:57,320 Speaker 1: and Hanukah. You just keep picking the sad ones, Tracy. 35 00:01:57,680 --> 00:01:59,880 Speaker 1: I know, I know, I'm over here, like you'll go 36 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:06,400 Speaker 1: out um. The Italian Hall disaster happened during a strike 37 00:02:06,480 --> 00:02:09,240 Speaker 1: in Michigan's Copper Country, which lasted from the summer of 38 00:02:09,320 --> 00:02:12,720 Speaker 1: nineteen thirteen to the early spring of nineteen fourteen. And 39 00:02:12,800 --> 00:02:16,480 Speaker 1: Copper Country is on Michigan's Upper Peninsula. That's the northernmost 40 00:02:16,480 --> 00:02:20,320 Speaker 1: part of the state, particularly concentrated on the Kiwana Peninsula. 41 00:02:20,520 --> 00:02:22,959 Speaker 1: Native people knew that there was copper in the area 42 00:02:23,080 --> 00:02:26,320 Speaker 1: long before this, but people of European descent learned about 43 00:02:26,320 --> 00:02:29,079 Speaker 1: it in the eighteen forties. That discovery, kind of in 44 00:02:29,160 --> 00:02:32,520 Speaker 1: quotation marks, is often credited to Samuel O Nap or 45 00:02:32,560 --> 00:02:35,240 Speaker 1: someone who worked for him. In eighteen forty seven, they 46 00:02:35,280 --> 00:02:38,920 Speaker 1: found pits that Native people had excavated for copper, possibly 47 00:02:38,919 --> 00:02:41,520 Speaker 1: going all the way back to the prehistoric mound building 48 00:02:41,560 --> 00:02:45,120 Speaker 1: peoples who lived in the area. These ancient pits became 49 00:02:45,160 --> 00:02:48,680 Speaker 1: the sites of many of Michigan's first underground copper mines. 50 00:02:49,200 --> 00:02:52,320 Speaker 1: As Michigan's copper mining industry grew, it had a lot 51 00:02:52,320 --> 00:02:54,799 Speaker 1: of the same issues as other mining industries in other 52 00:02:54,840 --> 00:02:58,120 Speaker 1: parts of the world. The industry operated on a system 53 00:02:58,200 --> 00:03:02,720 Speaker 1: of paternalism. Caller Country was remote, so mining companies built 54 00:03:03,000 --> 00:03:06,679 Speaker 1: entire towns to try to attract and retain workers. If 55 00:03:06,680 --> 00:03:08,880 Speaker 1: you worked in a copper mine, it was very likely 56 00:03:08,960 --> 00:03:12,560 Speaker 1: that your home, your children's school, the hospital, the stores, 57 00:03:12,639 --> 00:03:16,280 Speaker 1: and everything else was owned by the mind. Although the 58 00:03:16,320 --> 00:03:19,120 Speaker 1: mine companies usually framed this as a mark of their 59 00:03:19,160 --> 00:03:22,760 Speaker 1: generosity and care toward their workers. It was also a 60 00:03:22,760 --> 00:03:24,840 Speaker 1: way to keep people in line. If you got in 61 00:03:24,840 --> 00:03:27,320 Speaker 1: trouble at work, the mine could restrict the services and 62 00:03:27,400 --> 00:03:30,400 Speaker 1: facilities that you could access in your off hours. If 63 00:03:30,440 --> 00:03:33,160 Speaker 1: you got fired, the mind could evict you from your home, 64 00:03:33,240 --> 00:03:35,200 Speaker 1: and if you were killed on the job, it was 65 00:03:35,400 --> 00:03:38,800 Speaker 1: entirely possible that your family would be evicted immediately so 66 00:03:38,840 --> 00:03:41,760 Speaker 1: that your home could be used by your replacement. Mining 67 00:03:41,800 --> 00:03:45,000 Speaker 1: in general was also very dangerous, and copper mining was 68 00:03:45,040 --> 00:03:49,880 Speaker 1: particularly so. On average, every week someone died in Michigan's 69 00:03:49,880 --> 00:03:53,320 Speaker 1: copper mines, and at least ten other people were seriously injured. 70 00:03:53,920 --> 00:03:56,920 Speaker 1: Every year, roughly one out of every two hundred copper 71 00:03:56,960 --> 00:04:01,040 Speaker 1: mine workers died. Apart from these safe the issues, working 72 00:04:01,080 --> 00:04:04,240 Speaker 1: conditions in the mind were just difficult. The minds had 73 00:04:04,280 --> 00:04:06,640 Speaker 1: to be very deep in order to get to the copper, 74 00:04:06,760 --> 00:04:11,320 Speaker 1: and without electricity, the illumination was mostly from candles and lamps, 75 00:04:11,360 --> 00:04:15,480 Speaker 1: so workers were deep underground and almost total darkness for 76 00:04:15,600 --> 00:04:18,039 Speaker 1: ten to twelve hours a day, six days a week. 77 00:04:18,480 --> 00:04:21,840 Speaker 1: Pay was also very low, particularly in the jobs that 78 00:04:21,880 --> 00:04:25,200 Speaker 1: mostly involved physical labor, such as trammers who pushed loaded 79 00:04:25,240 --> 00:04:28,279 Speaker 1: carts of or through the mind generally along a track. 80 00:04:28,960 --> 00:04:31,359 Speaker 1: In addition to being low, the pay for these jobs 81 00:04:31,440 --> 00:04:35,000 Speaker 1: was often unfair. Trammers were paid by the pound for 82 00:04:35,040 --> 00:04:37,560 Speaker 1: how much material they moved, but most of the minds 83 00:04:37,560 --> 00:04:40,960 Speaker 1: did not have scales, so they're pay basically boiled down 84 00:04:40,960 --> 00:04:43,440 Speaker 1: to a manager's best guess at how much they had 85 00:04:43,480 --> 00:04:47,359 Speaker 1: hauled based on like a visual assessment. This combination of 86 00:04:47,440 --> 00:04:50,400 Speaker 1: factors meant that most of the people working Underground and 87 00:04:50,520 --> 00:04:53,720 Speaker 1: Michigan's Copper Minds were recent immigrants to the United States, 88 00:04:53,760 --> 00:04:59,480 Speaker 1: and they came from several parts of Europe, including England, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Poland, 89 00:04:59,480 --> 00:05:04,039 Speaker 1: Croatia and Slovenia. Coworkers often didn't speak the same language, 90 00:05:04,080 --> 00:05:07,640 Speaker 1: and job assignments were made by ethnicity, with some ethnicities 91 00:05:07,720 --> 00:05:12,720 Speaker 1: disproportionately getting the least prestigious jobs. For example, Cornish immigrants 92 00:05:12,720 --> 00:05:16,560 Speaker 1: often became managers, with Germans and Scandinavians also holding more 93 00:05:16,600 --> 00:05:21,919 Speaker 1: prestigious jobs. Meanwhile, Italians, Fins, and Croatians tended to work 94 00:05:21,960 --> 00:05:25,760 Speaker 1: in jobs that were primarily manual labors, such as being trammers. 95 00:05:25,920 --> 00:05:29,479 Speaker 1: The diversity presented a challenge when organizers started trying to 96 00:05:29,600 --> 00:05:32,919 Speaker 1: establish labor unions in copper country in the eighteen eighties, 97 00:05:33,560 --> 00:05:36,320 Speaker 1: it wasn't uncommon at all for workers in one mind 98 00:05:36,360 --> 00:05:40,040 Speaker 1: to speak at least five or six different languages among them. 99 00:05:40,080 --> 00:05:43,160 Speaker 1: The Western Federation of Miners, which was established in eighteen 100 00:05:43,200 --> 00:05:46,839 Speaker 1: ninety three, proved to be particularly adept at organizing people 101 00:05:46,880 --> 00:05:50,359 Speaker 1: from different ethnic groups who had different backgrounds and cultures 102 00:05:50,400 --> 00:05:53,919 Speaker 1: and spoke different languages. The w f M brought in 103 00:05:54,120 --> 00:05:57,200 Speaker 1: organizers who could speak to all of these different groups. 104 00:05:57,760 --> 00:06:00,720 Speaker 1: By the nineteen teens, membership in the West During Federation 105 00:06:00,760 --> 00:06:04,839 Speaker 1: of Miners was really growing. Among Michigan's copper miners, copper 106 00:06:04,920 --> 00:06:07,880 Speaker 1: was in high demand thanks to things like increasing use 107 00:06:07,880 --> 00:06:12,120 Speaker 1: of electric power, the growing automobile industry, and other industrialization, 108 00:06:12,720 --> 00:06:16,000 Speaker 1: but this increased demand was not trickling down to better 109 00:06:16,080 --> 00:06:19,080 Speaker 1: pay for the workers and the minds. On top of that, 110 00:06:19,400 --> 00:06:23,800 Speaker 1: mine managers were increasingly focused on the idea of scientific management, 111 00:06:24,000 --> 00:06:28,400 Speaker 1: or using scientific principles to improve workplace efficiency and reduce 112 00:06:28,440 --> 00:06:31,760 Speaker 1: the need for labor. One innovation that came out of 113 00:06:31,800 --> 00:06:34,760 Speaker 1: this and was widely criticized by mine workers was the 114 00:06:34,800 --> 00:06:38,320 Speaker 1: one man drill. Before this point, the drills used in 115 00:06:38,360 --> 00:06:42,320 Speaker 1: copper mining required two people to operate. Workers thought that 116 00:06:42,360 --> 00:06:44,440 Speaker 1: the one man drill was going to cause workers to 117 00:06:44,520 --> 00:06:47,400 Speaker 1: lose their jobs, because the idea was that the mining 118 00:06:47,440 --> 00:06:51,200 Speaker 1: companies could cut their workforce by half, not that they 119 00:06:51,200 --> 00:06:54,400 Speaker 1: could run twice as many drills. Yeah, it also seemed 120 00:06:54,440 --> 00:06:57,640 Speaker 1: inherently less safe to go from working as a team 121 00:06:57,680 --> 00:07:00,160 Speaker 1: of two people to working all by yourself. People like, 122 00:07:00,200 --> 00:07:02,960 Speaker 1: if something goes wrong, there won't even be anybody around. 123 00:07:03,000 --> 00:07:06,520 Speaker 1: He can come and help me. Drill operators were regarded 124 00:07:06,560 --> 00:07:09,720 Speaker 1: as skilled laborers in the minds, and before this point 125 00:07:09,800 --> 00:07:12,600 Speaker 1: they had more often aligned themselves with management when there 126 00:07:12,600 --> 00:07:16,120 Speaker 1: were labor disputes, But as the one man drill threatened 127 00:07:16,120 --> 00:07:19,280 Speaker 1: their livelihood and safety, they started to align themselves with 128 00:07:19,320 --> 00:07:22,440 Speaker 1: the people whose pay and working conditions tended to be poorer. 129 00:07:22,920 --> 00:07:26,400 Speaker 1: Mine managers knew that their workers were deeply frustrated by 130 00:07:26,440 --> 00:07:31,240 Speaker 1: all of this. On July, Charles Lawton, general manager of 131 00:07:31,320 --> 00:07:34,280 Speaker 1: Quincy Mining Company, said quote, I do not think it 132 00:07:34,280 --> 00:07:36,720 Speaker 1: would be hard at this time for the WFM to 133 00:07:36,800 --> 00:07:39,240 Speaker 1: call a strike with a hurrah from one end of 134 00:07:39,280 --> 00:07:42,240 Speaker 1: the copper country to the other. The call for strike 135 00:07:42,360 --> 00:07:44,440 Speaker 1: came not long after, and we're going to get into that. 136 00:07:44,600 --> 00:07:53,720 Speaker 1: After we first paused for a sponsor break. By the 137 00:07:53,760 --> 00:07:57,800 Speaker 1: spring of nineteen thirteen, about nine thousand copper mine workers 138 00:07:57,800 --> 00:08:01,080 Speaker 1: in Michigan had joined the Western Federation of Miners. This 139 00:08:01,240 --> 00:08:03,640 Speaker 1: made the union large enough to try to negotiate on 140 00:08:03,680 --> 00:08:07,920 Speaker 1: these workers behalf. Their demands included better pay, with an 141 00:08:07,960 --> 00:08:10,640 Speaker 1: increase to three dollars and fifty cents a day for 142 00:08:10,720 --> 00:08:14,000 Speaker 1: underground mine workers. That was up from between a dollar 143 00:08:14,120 --> 00:08:17,440 Speaker 1: fifty and two dollars fifty. They also wanted the work 144 00:08:17,560 --> 00:08:20,200 Speaker 1: day reduced to eight hours and for the minds to 145 00:08:20,320 --> 00:08:23,920 Speaker 1: stop the changeover to the one man drill. The workers 146 00:08:23,960 --> 00:08:27,400 Speaker 1: also wanted a formal grievance procedure and recognition of their 147 00:08:27,480 --> 00:08:32,120 Speaker 1: union as their collective bargaining unit. On July fourteen, the 148 00:08:32,120 --> 00:08:35,719 Speaker 1: Western Federation of Miners sent letters to Michigan's mind managers, 149 00:08:35,800 --> 00:08:40,440 Speaker 1: including Calumet and Hecla General manager James McNaughton. Calumet and 150 00:08:40,480 --> 00:08:44,160 Speaker 1: Hecla employed about people, and Red Jacket was one of 151 00:08:44,200 --> 00:08:48,760 Speaker 1: its company towns. This letter outlined the WfMS demands and 152 00:08:48,840 --> 00:08:52,040 Speaker 1: also stated, quote failure to answer will be taken as 153 00:08:52,040 --> 00:08:54,320 Speaker 1: proof that you are not willing to have the matters 154 00:08:54,320 --> 00:08:58,920 Speaker 1: settled peacefully. The mining companies naturally found this language threatening, 155 00:08:59,200 --> 00:09:02,720 Speaker 1: especially since some of the WfMS previous strikes had involved 156 00:09:02,840 --> 00:09:06,760 Speaker 1: violence on both sides. The mining companies were also deeply 157 00:09:06,800 --> 00:09:09,640 Speaker 1: opposed to the idea of negotiating with the union at all, 158 00:09:10,000 --> 00:09:12,560 Speaker 1: and their general perception was that if they made any 159 00:09:12,640 --> 00:09:15,400 Speaker 1: kind of reply to this letter, that would be taken 160 00:09:15,400 --> 00:09:18,640 Speaker 1: as evidence that they recognized the union as valid in 161 00:09:18,720 --> 00:09:21,840 Speaker 1: some way. So neither McNaughton nor any of the other 162 00:09:21,920 --> 00:09:25,439 Speaker 1: mine managers answered this letter. So on July twenty three, 163 00:09:25,800 --> 00:09:29,760 Speaker 1: copper workers went on strike. The union reported that ten 164 00:09:29,880 --> 00:09:32,720 Speaker 1: thousand men had joined the strike, while the mining companies 165 00:09:32,760 --> 00:09:36,359 Speaker 1: reported that that number was more like three thousand. Regardless, 166 00:09:36,440 --> 00:09:39,439 Speaker 1: at least for a time, the striking workers totally shut 167 00:09:39,480 --> 00:09:43,760 Speaker 1: down mine operations, both by refusing to work themselves and 168 00:09:43,920 --> 00:09:49,080 Speaker 1: by physically blocking non striking workers from getting into the mines. Immediately, 169 00:09:49,360 --> 00:09:52,400 Speaker 1: mine owners reported that the striking miners were likely to 170 00:09:52,480 --> 00:09:56,079 Speaker 1: be violent, and they asked for help. Governor Woodbridge Ferris 171 00:09:56,080 --> 00:09:59,800 Speaker 1: started ordering the National Guard go to the peninsula's mining towns, 172 00:10:00,200 --> 00:10:03,600 Speaker 1: starting at about ted am on the morning of There 173 00:10:03,720 --> 00:10:06,240 Speaker 1: is an odd disparity in the accounts from the early 174 00:10:06,320 --> 00:10:09,360 Speaker 1: days of the strike. Accounts from mine operators and the 175 00:10:09,440 --> 00:10:13,240 Speaker 1: National Guard report that the striking workers were terrorizing the 176 00:10:13,280 --> 00:10:16,640 Speaker 1: rest of the population and described the situation as total 177 00:10:16,720 --> 00:10:20,160 Speaker 1: chaos and lawlessness. But in the first weeks of the 178 00:10:20,200 --> 00:10:23,880 Speaker 1: strike there were no fatalities on either side. The National 179 00:10:23,920 --> 00:10:27,280 Speaker 1: Guard were slowly recalled starting in mid August, and in 180 00:10:27,320 --> 00:10:30,600 Speaker 1: the end the only National guardsman killed in connection to 181 00:10:30,760 --> 00:10:33,599 Speaker 1: his duty in Copper Country had died because he was 182 00:10:33,679 --> 00:10:36,920 Speaker 1: kicked by a horse. Yeah, this is contrary to a 183 00:10:36,960 --> 00:10:42,199 Speaker 1: lot of the previous episodes based on like the late 184 00:10:42,400 --> 00:10:45,960 Speaker 1: nineteen early twentieth century, when the National Guard has been 185 00:10:45,960 --> 00:10:50,000 Speaker 1: called out like in almost every story other than this one, 186 00:10:50,240 --> 00:10:53,560 Speaker 1: that has led to extreme violence and many deaths among 187 00:10:53,600 --> 00:10:55,920 Speaker 1: the people who, in theory, the National Guard was being 188 00:10:55,960 --> 00:10:59,040 Speaker 1: sent to protect. So this is an outlier in terms 189 00:10:59,080 --> 00:11:03,160 Speaker 1: of all that. Meanwhile, the mind companies didn't really have 190 00:11:03,280 --> 00:11:05,880 Speaker 1: a lot of incentive to negotiate with the miners or 191 00:11:05,920 --> 00:11:09,319 Speaker 1: to recognize the union. Most of the mining companies had 192 00:11:09,360 --> 00:11:12,240 Speaker 1: a surplus of unsold copper and they had plenty of 193 00:11:12,280 --> 00:11:15,959 Speaker 1: cash on hand, so they weren't in dire straits to 194 00:11:16,000 --> 00:11:18,440 Speaker 1: get this resolved. At the same time, though they didn't 195 00:11:18,440 --> 00:11:22,200 Speaker 1: want to stop production entirely, so they hired replacement workers. 196 00:11:22,360 --> 00:11:25,840 Speaker 1: They started recruiting newly arrived immigrants at port cities on 197 00:11:25,880 --> 00:11:28,600 Speaker 1: the coast and paid for their train ticket to Michigan, 198 00:11:28,640 --> 00:11:31,680 Speaker 1: which was then deducted from their pay once they started working. 199 00:11:32,160 --> 00:11:36,720 Speaker 1: The mine companies also hired several detective agencies, including Wattle 200 00:11:36,800 --> 00:11:40,800 Speaker 1: Mahone detective agency, to help break the strike. They protected 201 00:11:40,840 --> 00:11:44,680 Speaker 1: the replacement workers and generally harassed and intimidated the strikers. 202 00:11:45,400 --> 00:11:48,120 Speaker 1: Most of these men were armed, and some were given 203 00:11:48,160 --> 00:11:52,200 Speaker 1: formal authority by being deputized under the local sheriff. So 204 00:11:52,240 --> 00:11:54,960 Speaker 1: while it's certainly true that there were some instances of 205 00:11:55,080 --> 00:11:57,680 Speaker 1: violence on the part of the striking workers, we're going 206 00:11:57,720 --> 00:11:59,280 Speaker 1: to get to some of that in just a moment. 207 00:12:00,160 --> 00:12:03,280 Speaker 1: These seemed to be individual people's actions which were not 208 00:12:03,400 --> 00:12:07,680 Speaker 1: authorized by the union. Meanwhile, the mining companies had partnered 209 00:12:07,720 --> 00:12:11,720 Speaker 1: with detective agencies to hire an armed force of strikebreakers, 210 00:12:11,760 --> 00:12:14,920 Speaker 1: some of whom had been deputized by the sheriff. On 211 00:12:15,080 --> 00:12:20,199 Speaker 1: August fourteenth, two striking miners were killed after at least 212 00:12:20,320 --> 00:12:23,760 Speaker 1: six strikebreakers opened fire on the boarding house where they 213 00:12:23,800 --> 00:12:28,080 Speaker 1: lived in Ceberville, Michigan. Two different miners had been walking 214 00:12:28,160 --> 00:12:30,400 Speaker 1: back to the boarding house on a path that crossed 215 00:12:30,400 --> 00:12:33,960 Speaker 1: over company property. Deputies had told them to turn around, 216 00:12:34,000 --> 00:12:36,640 Speaker 1: and they didn't because they didn't speak English and didn't 217 00:12:36,720 --> 00:12:40,400 Speaker 1: understand what was being said. When deputies arrived at the 218 00:12:40,480 --> 00:12:43,160 Speaker 1: boarding house to arrest them for having done this, they 219 00:12:43,200 --> 00:12:47,079 Speaker 1: refused to go. That is when the strikebreakers opened fire 220 00:12:47,160 --> 00:12:49,880 Speaker 1: through the windows. At least two other people in the 221 00:12:49,920 --> 00:12:53,320 Speaker 1: house were injured but recovered after this, this led to 222 00:12:53,360 --> 00:12:57,439 Speaker 1: a coroner's inquest that required five different interpreters because the 223 00:12:57,480 --> 00:13:02,000 Speaker 1: witnesses spoke five languages. Four of the strike breakers were convicted, 224 00:13:02,200 --> 00:13:05,280 Speaker 1: a fifth was acquitted, and a sixth fled before the 225 00:13:05,280 --> 00:13:09,520 Speaker 1: trial was over. On Labor Day of nineteen thirteen, Margaret Physicus, 226 00:13:09,640 --> 00:13:13,000 Speaker 1: who was fourteen, was shot in the head while picketing 227 00:13:13,080 --> 00:13:16,600 Speaker 1: after a fight broke out between strikers and strikebreakers. She 228 00:13:16,679 --> 00:13:21,079 Speaker 1: did recover from that. Although a deputized strikebreaker was arrested 229 00:13:21,120 --> 00:13:24,319 Speaker 1: for the shooting, a grand jury declined to charge him 230 00:13:24,320 --> 00:13:28,120 Speaker 1: with any crime. On December seven, and three men were 231 00:13:28,200 --> 00:13:31,240 Speaker 1: murdered at a boarding house in Payinsdale, Michigan, which was 232 00:13:31,240 --> 00:13:34,439 Speaker 1: owned by Thomas Dally, and Dally was one of the victims. 233 00:13:35,080 --> 00:13:37,760 Speaker 1: Several men boarding with Dally were working in the mines 234 00:13:37,880 --> 00:13:41,960 Speaker 1: during the strike. W f A member James Houdah, confessed 235 00:13:42,040 --> 00:13:45,520 Speaker 1: to the crime and others were also charged, but Hoodah 236 00:13:45,640 --> 00:13:49,480 Speaker 1: refused to testify against them. This was definitely an incident 237 00:13:49,559 --> 00:13:52,959 Speaker 1: in which striking miners instigated the violence, in this case 238 00:13:53,000 --> 00:13:55,560 Speaker 1: against men who were working in the mines in spite 239 00:13:55,559 --> 00:13:59,640 Speaker 1: of the strike. Also in December, supporters of Michigan's copper 240 00:13:59,679 --> 00:14:03,960 Speaker 1: mining industry formed the Citizens Alliance. This was another organization 241 00:14:04,000 --> 00:14:06,000 Speaker 1: that was meant to try to break the strike into 242 00:14:06,040 --> 00:14:10,440 Speaker 1: harass and intimidate the striking workers. This organization was funded 243 00:14:10,480 --> 00:14:13,640 Speaker 1: by mine management and about eight thousand people joined it. 244 00:14:14,280 --> 00:14:17,960 Speaker 1: So at the time the winter holidays approached in the 245 00:14:18,040 --> 00:14:21,880 Speaker 1: situation in copper Country was tense. Apart from the multiple 246 00:14:21,920 --> 00:14:25,120 Speaker 1: instances of violence, striking miners had been out of work 247 00:14:25,160 --> 00:14:28,600 Speaker 1: for about five months. They and their families were mostly 248 00:14:28,640 --> 00:14:31,880 Speaker 1: living on donated food and financial assistance from the union, 249 00:14:31,960 --> 00:14:35,560 Speaker 1: although that money was running out. So Annie Cleming, head 250 00:14:35,560 --> 00:14:38,360 Speaker 1: of the Women's Auxiliary of the Western Federation of Miners, 251 00:14:38,720 --> 00:14:41,240 Speaker 1: decided to hold a Christmas party for the children of 252 00:14:41,280 --> 00:14:45,600 Speaker 1: the striking miners with the hope of raising their spirits Clement, 253 00:14:45,760 --> 00:14:49,080 Speaker 1: whose name you'll also see sometimes spelled as Clemmings. Uh. 254 00:14:49,120 --> 00:14:52,160 Speaker 1: There's that appears in writing in a number of different ways. 255 00:14:52,200 --> 00:14:54,280 Speaker 1: She was known as Big Annie because she was more 256 00:14:54,320 --> 00:14:57,120 Speaker 1: than six feet tall. She was the daughter of Slovenian 257 00:14:57,160 --> 00:15:00,320 Speaker 1: immigrants and was married to a Croatian miner. She had 258 00:15:00,360 --> 00:15:03,160 Speaker 1: been extremely active in the strike up to this point, 259 00:15:03,240 --> 00:15:07,440 Speaker 1: including carrying an American flag and the union's demonstrations and parades, 260 00:15:07,960 --> 00:15:10,360 Speaker 1: and one of these parades she was threatened by an 261 00:15:10,480 --> 00:15:13,840 Speaker 1: armed deputy and she told him, quote, kill me. If 262 00:15:13,840 --> 00:15:16,880 Speaker 1: this flag won't protect me, I'll die with it. For 263 00:15:16,920 --> 00:15:20,080 Speaker 1: this party, she's solicited donations with the hope that each 264 00:15:20,160 --> 00:15:22,640 Speaker 1: child attending could get a small gift like a hat 265 00:15:22,760 --> 00:15:25,080 Speaker 1: or a pair of mittens where a piece of fruit 266 00:15:25,200 --> 00:15:28,239 Speaker 1: or candy. The venue for the party was the Italian 267 00:15:28,320 --> 00:15:31,200 Speaker 1: Hall in Red Jacket, which, as we said earlier, is 268 00:15:31,240 --> 00:15:34,560 Speaker 1: now called Calumet. The Italian Hall was a multi use 269 00:15:34,600 --> 00:15:38,600 Speaker 1: building that belonged to the Italian Mutual Benefit Society. It's 270 00:15:38,640 --> 00:15:41,760 Speaker 1: lower floors housed a saloon and an Atlantic and Pacific 271 00:15:41,800 --> 00:15:44,920 Speaker 1: tea company store, and upstairs was a space that could 272 00:15:44,920 --> 00:15:47,280 Speaker 1: be used as a banquet hall, a meeting room or 273 00:15:47,320 --> 00:15:50,480 Speaker 1: a theater. It was in the upstairs space. The between 274 00:15:50,600 --> 00:15:53,680 Speaker 1: five hundred and seven hundred people gathered for a Christmas 275 00:15:53,760 --> 00:15:58,320 Speaker 1: party on Christmas Eve. During this party, somebody came into 276 00:15:58,320 --> 00:16:02,320 Speaker 1: the hall and shouted fire. Annie Clemicc didn't see or 277 00:16:02,400 --> 00:16:04,760 Speaker 1: smell any smoke, and so she told people to stay 278 00:16:04,760 --> 00:16:07,600 Speaker 1: calm and to stay at the party. Other people probably 279 00:16:07,640 --> 00:16:11,040 Speaker 1: did this as well. But this cry of fire spread 280 00:16:11,040 --> 00:16:14,000 Speaker 1: through the crowd and people panicked and started trying to 281 00:16:14,120 --> 00:16:16,960 Speaker 1: rush through the door and down the stairs. The first 282 00:16:17,040 --> 00:16:19,880 Speaker 1: few dozen people that tried to flee the Italian Hall 283 00:16:19,960 --> 00:16:22,520 Speaker 1: were able to get out, but at some point someone 284 00:16:22,560 --> 00:16:25,960 Speaker 1: tripped and fell, and this started a chain reaction, with 285 00:16:26,040 --> 00:16:28,560 Speaker 1: other people who were also trying to get out falling 286 00:16:28,640 --> 00:16:32,360 Speaker 1: over and onto the people below. The fire department was 287 00:16:32,480 --> 00:16:35,400 Speaker 1: just across the street, and firefighters were on the scene 288 00:16:35,480 --> 00:16:38,600 Speaker 1: almost immediately, but the crush of people at the foot 289 00:16:38,600 --> 00:16:41,360 Speaker 1: of the stairs was so high and so tightly packed 290 00:16:41,360 --> 00:16:44,840 Speaker 1: that they couldn't start a rescue operation from below. They 291 00:16:44,880 --> 00:16:47,280 Speaker 1: had to climb up a fire escape one that people 292 00:16:47,280 --> 00:16:49,880 Speaker 1: in the party either hadn't known about or hadn't thought 293 00:16:49,880 --> 00:16:52,520 Speaker 1: about in the panic to try to escape, and they 294 00:16:52,520 --> 00:16:56,000 Speaker 1: had to work from above, slowly removing people from this 295 00:16:56,160 --> 00:17:00,960 Speaker 1: steep staircase that had just become completely impassable. Exact counts 296 00:17:01,120 --> 00:17:04,720 Speaker 1: vary because of discrepancies in record keeping, but at least 297 00:17:04,720 --> 00:17:08,040 Speaker 1: seventy three people died, mostly from being crushed to death 298 00:17:08,160 --> 00:17:11,840 Speaker 1: or suffocating. More than half of them were finished immigrants 299 00:17:11,920 --> 00:17:15,240 Speaker 1: or people of Finnish descent. About sixty of those victims 300 00:17:15,280 --> 00:17:18,440 Speaker 1: were children. There was no fire, and we're going to 301 00:17:18,520 --> 00:17:21,160 Speaker 1: talk about the aftermath of this tragedy after we take 302 00:17:21,200 --> 00:17:23,640 Speaker 1: a little break and hear from one of our sponsors. 303 00:17:31,440 --> 00:17:35,199 Speaker 1: Immediately after the tragedy in the Italian Hall, reports started 304 00:17:35,240 --> 00:17:37,879 Speaker 1: to spread that this had been a deliberate act of 305 00:17:38,000 --> 00:17:42,160 Speaker 1: violence against the striking miners. Multiple witnesses say they saw 306 00:17:42,200 --> 00:17:45,600 Speaker 1: the person who falsely shouted fire, and that it wasn't 307 00:17:45,640 --> 00:17:48,960 Speaker 1: a miner, but with somebody wearing a Citizens Alliance button 308 00:17:49,000 --> 00:17:52,920 Speaker 1: on his coat. Early reports placed what el Mahones strikebreaker 309 00:17:53,040 --> 00:17:56,480 Speaker 1: Edward Manly in the stairwell after the incident. What el 310 00:17:56,520 --> 00:17:59,240 Speaker 1: Mahones sources said that he had gone into the stairwell 311 00:17:59,280 --> 00:18:02,040 Speaker 1: to try to help, but he was never questioned and 312 00:18:02,080 --> 00:18:06,880 Speaker 1: he disappeared from Calumet not long after. Some deathbed confessions 313 00:18:06,880 --> 00:18:10,000 Speaker 1: were also reported in the nineteen eighties and nineteen nineties, 314 00:18:10,040 --> 00:18:12,800 Speaker 1: but they were second and third hand. None of those 315 00:18:12,840 --> 00:18:17,600 Speaker 1: were ever verified. The disaster immediately became national news, including 316 00:18:17,640 --> 00:18:19,679 Speaker 1: a front page story in the New York Times on 317 00:18:19,760 --> 00:18:24,800 Speaker 1: Christmas Day, but newspapers in Michigan carried distinctly different accounts 318 00:18:24,800 --> 00:18:27,720 Speaker 1: depending on whether they supported the striking workers or the 319 00:18:27,840 --> 00:18:32,680 Speaker 1: mine management. For example, a Finnish American socialist newspaper called 320 00:18:32,720 --> 00:18:36,760 Speaker 1: two Amius or Worker, published a bilingual, Finish and English 321 00:18:37,080 --> 00:18:40,199 Speaker 1: edition on Christmas Day and that included reports that a 322 00:18:40,240 --> 00:18:43,560 Speaker 1: man with a Citizens Alliance badge and his hat pulled 323 00:18:43,600 --> 00:18:46,520 Speaker 1: down had yelled fire. A headline in this paper on 324 00:18:46,560 --> 00:18:50,760 Speaker 1: the twenty six translated to eighty three murdered. Some of 325 00:18:50,760 --> 00:18:53,760 Speaker 1: the newspaper staff were arrested on December twenty seventh of 326 00:18:53,840 --> 00:18:57,440 Speaker 1: nineteen thirteen for quote causing a riot. Because of these claims, 327 00:18:57,800 --> 00:19:01,600 Speaker 1: the newspaper was shut down at temporarily, and it eventually 328 00:19:01,600 --> 00:19:05,639 Speaker 1: moved its headquarters to another state. Meanwhile, the Calumet News 329 00:19:05,680 --> 00:19:08,840 Speaker 1: reported on how the Citizens Alliance and security guards from 330 00:19:08,840 --> 00:19:12,199 Speaker 1: Calumet and Hecla were part of the rescue, while not 331 00:19:12,359 --> 00:19:15,120 Speaker 1: mentioning all the miners who were also part of it. 332 00:19:15,760 --> 00:19:19,119 Speaker 1: Papers also reported that w f M president Charlie Moyer 333 00:19:19,280 --> 00:19:22,439 Speaker 1: was financially benefiting from the strike in some way, with 334 00:19:22,680 --> 00:19:26,680 Speaker 1: absolutely no evidence for that claim. Moyer to be clear 335 00:19:26,760 --> 00:19:30,000 Speaker 1: how it checkered past. He had served time in prison 336 00:19:30,040 --> 00:19:33,639 Speaker 1: in Illinois after another man's confession implicated him in a 337 00:19:33,720 --> 00:19:36,720 Speaker 1: string of crimes, including a home invasion and a department 338 00:19:36,760 --> 00:19:41,280 Speaker 1: store burglary. He was also implicated in a December bombing 339 00:19:41,359 --> 00:19:45,439 Speaker 1: that killed former Governor Frank Stunnenberg of Idaho, although that 340 00:19:45,520 --> 00:19:48,800 Speaker 1: case was dismissed after the other accused men were all acquitted. 341 00:19:49,359 --> 00:19:52,879 Speaker 1: People also questioned his leadership in the Copper Country strike. 342 00:19:52,960 --> 00:19:55,800 Speaker 1: He had authorized it even though the people at the 343 00:19:56,040 --> 00:19:59,600 Speaker 1: WFM headquarters were opposed to it, but after the Italian 344 00:19:59,640 --> 00:20:05,080 Speaker 1: Hall incident, Moyer avoided placing blame on any particular person. Instead, 345 00:20:05,320 --> 00:20:09,480 Speaker 1: he began sending numerous telegrams calling for an investigation, saying 346 00:20:09,480 --> 00:20:11,919 Speaker 1: that there was enough about the tragedy that was suspicious 347 00:20:12,320 --> 00:20:15,679 Speaker 1: that it warranted an extra look. The local sheriff and 348 00:20:15,720 --> 00:20:19,320 Speaker 1: several people from mind Management and the Citizens Alliance told 349 00:20:19,480 --> 00:20:22,520 Speaker 1: Moyer to stop writing these telegrams and to issue a 350 00:20:22,560 --> 00:20:25,520 Speaker 1: statement that would absolve the Citizens Alliance of any blame. 351 00:20:26,240 --> 00:20:29,280 Speaker 1: Moyer refused, and his account the sheriff said something to 352 00:20:29,359 --> 00:20:32,040 Speaker 1: him along the lines of then I can't protect you anymore. 353 00:20:32,600 --> 00:20:35,520 Speaker 1: Later that night, several men attacked Moyer and he was 354 00:20:35,520 --> 00:20:38,040 Speaker 1: shot in the back when a pistol discharged as he 355 00:20:38,119 --> 00:20:41,240 Speaker 1: was being beaten with it. The men dragged him to 356 00:20:41,280 --> 00:20:44,159 Speaker 1: the Portage Lake Bridge with a bullet still lodged in 357 00:20:44,240 --> 00:20:46,800 Speaker 1: his back, and threatened to throw him off of it, 358 00:20:47,200 --> 00:20:49,480 Speaker 1: and then they took him to the train depot and 359 00:20:49,480 --> 00:20:52,119 Speaker 1: put him on a train bound for Chicago, threatening to 360 00:20:52,200 --> 00:20:55,520 Speaker 1: kill him if he ever returned. No one was ever 361 00:20:55,560 --> 00:21:00,000 Speaker 1: prosecuted for any of this. On Christmas Day, finished Fatie, 362 00:21:00,000 --> 00:21:03,200 Speaker 1: a grapher John William Nara took pictures of the Italian Hall, 363 00:21:03,560 --> 00:21:06,320 Speaker 1: which continued to be a primary source of information about 364 00:21:06,359 --> 00:21:08,879 Speaker 1: what the scene was like. In the immediate aftermath of 365 00:21:08,920 --> 00:21:12,560 Speaker 1: the tragedy. The coroner held a three day inquest, but 366 00:21:12,640 --> 00:21:14,800 Speaker 1: didn't rule on a cause of death for the people 367 00:21:14,840 --> 00:21:18,720 Speaker 1: who had died in the incident. During the investigation, witnesses 368 00:21:18,760 --> 00:21:22,480 Speaker 1: were required to hear and answer questions in English, regardless 369 00:21:22,480 --> 00:21:25,760 Speaker 1: of what language they actually spoke, and the questioning seemed 370 00:21:25,760 --> 00:21:29,320 Speaker 1: more oriented towards clearing the citizens alliance of suspicion than 371 00:21:29,560 --> 00:21:33,320 Speaker 1: uncovering the truth of what actually happened. A grand jury 372 00:21:33,400 --> 00:21:36,760 Speaker 1: that had been convened to investigate strike crimes also issued 373 00:21:36,800 --> 00:21:40,080 Speaker 1: no indictments in the disaster or in the attack on Mowyer, 374 00:21:40,600 --> 00:21:43,639 Speaker 1: although it indicted Moyer for his organizing on behalf of 375 00:21:43,640 --> 00:21:48,400 Speaker 1: the miners. Congressional hearings into the disaster didn't really go anywhere, 376 00:21:49,000 --> 00:21:52,040 Speaker 1: As was the case with so many other mass tragedies 377 00:21:52,080 --> 00:21:54,879 Speaker 1: that we've talked about on the show before, Calumet was 378 00:21:55,000 --> 00:21:58,160 Speaker 1: not prepared to cope with a disaster of this scale. 379 00:21:58,480 --> 00:22:01,080 Speaker 1: There wasn't a more large enough to help manage all 380 00:22:01,119 --> 00:22:05,080 Speaker 1: the bodies. There weren't enough coffins, especially child sized coffins. 381 00:22:05,520 --> 00:22:08,119 Speaker 1: Help had to be brought in from surrounding communities to 382 00:22:08,160 --> 00:22:10,880 Speaker 1: try to manage it all. Most of the funerals took 383 00:22:10,880 --> 00:22:14,120 Speaker 1: place on December twenty, with all of the churches involved 384 00:22:14,160 --> 00:22:18,720 Speaker 1: coordinating to allow one massive funeral procession through town. That 385 00:22:18,760 --> 00:22:23,520 Speaker 1: procession drew about twenty spectators. Miners had dug into the 386 00:22:23,520 --> 00:22:26,480 Speaker 1: frozen ground for mass graves for most of the victims, 387 00:22:26,480 --> 00:22:29,760 Speaker 1: with twenty two buried in a Catholic cemetery in forty 388 00:22:29,800 --> 00:22:33,120 Speaker 1: four in a Protestant cemetery. The rest of the victims 389 00:22:33,119 --> 00:22:36,720 Speaker 1: were buried in family plots. Although mine management and the 390 00:22:36,800 --> 00:22:40,800 Speaker 1: Citizens Alliance raised money for a victim's fund, Mowyer and 391 00:22:40,840 --> 00:22:42,960 Speaker 1: the w f A refused to take it. They said 392 00:22:43,000 --> 00:22:46,280 Speaker 1: they did not want money, they wanted justice. Moyer also 393 00:22:46,320 --> 00:22:49,200 Speaker 1: said that the union would bury its own dead. Although 394 00:22:49,240 --> 00:22:52,600 Speaker 1: the strike didn't officially end until April of nineteen fourteen, 395 00:22:53,160 --> 00:22:56,080 Speaker 1: it was more or less over after this. Henry Ford 396 00:22:56,160 --> 00:22:58,560 Speaker 1: was offering people five dollars a day to work on 397 00:22:58,600 --> 00:23:01,640 Speaker 1: his automotive assembly line for work that was far less 398 00:23:01,720 --> 00:23:04,560 Speaker 1: dangerous than working in the copper mines, so a lot 399 00:23:04,560 --> 00:23:07,760 Speaker 1: of people moved to Detroit to work there. We actually 400 00:23:07,800 --> 00:23:10,359 Speaker 1: have several episodes on Henry Ford in our archive for 401 00:23:10,400 --> 00:23:13,040 Speaker 1: folks who would like to know more about the nuance 402 00:23:13,119 --> 00:23:16,240 Speaker 1: on all of that. After the Western Federation of Miners 403 00:23:16,320 --> 00:23:18,720 Speaker 1: voted to cut aid to the striking workers in the 404 00:23:18,760 --> 00:23:22,159 Speaker 1: spring of nineteen fourteen, those who hadn't already left for 405 00:23:22,240 --> 00:23:25,200 Speaker 1: other industries voted to go back to work. They got 406 00:23:25,200 --> 00:23:27,480 Speaker 1: a small pay increase in an eight hour work day, 407 00:23:27,520 --> 00:23:31,000 Speaker 1: but otherwise none of their demands were met. This disaster 408 00:23:31,400 --> 00:23:33,800 Speaker 1: was also part of the end of the Western Federation 409 00:23:33,840 --> 00:23:37,320 Speaker 1: of Miners. The union lost more than half of its 410 00:23:37,320 --> 00:23:41,160 Speaker 1: membership between nineteen thirteen and nineteen sixteen, and the Michigan 411 00:23:41,200 --> 00:23:45,600 Speaker 1: strike depleted its treasury almost entirely. In nineteen sixteen, the 412 00:23:45,680 --> 00:23:49,159 Speaker 1: union reformed as the International Union of Mine Mill and 413 00:23:49,200 --> 00:23:53,240 Speaker 1: Smelter Workers. That union was actually part of our episode 414 00:23:53,240 --> 00:23:57,000 Speaker 1: on the Bisbee deportation. Apart for the calls for justice 415 00:23:57,040 --> 00:24:00,600 Speaker 1: that went unanswered and the immediate aftermath of the tragedy, 416 00:24:00,640 --> 00:24:03,960 Speaker 1: the people of Calumet seemed to mostly want to move on. 417 00:24:04,320 --> 00:24:07,480 Speaker 1: There was no coverage of the disasters one year anniversary 418 00:24:07,520 --> 00:24:10,600 Speaker 1: and local newspapers, and it wasn't something that seemed to 419 00:24:10,600 --> 00:24:14,840 Speaker 1: be widely discussed. That started to change after Ella Reeves Blur, 420 00:24:15,000 --> 00:24:18,600 Speaker 1: known as Mother Bluer, published her autobiography We Are Many 421 00:24:18,720 --> 00:24:21,640 Speaker 1: in nineteen forty. She had been one of the organizers 422 00:24:21,640 --> 00:24:24,280 Speaker 1: that was involved in this strike, and her book included 423 00:24:24,280 --> 00:24:28,560 Speaker 1: an account of the disaster. That account inspired Woody Guthrie 424 00:24:28,600 --> 00:24:31,800 Speaker 1: to write his song nineteen thirteen Massacre about the incident. 425 00:24:32,000 --> 00:24:35,000 Speaker 1: He put out that song in nineteen forty one. Because 426 00:24:35,040 --> 00:24:38,480 Speaker 1: the investigation into the disaster was handled so sloppily. It 427 00:24:38,600 --> 00:24:41,760 Speaker 1: is still not clear exactly what happened, and some of 428 00:24:41,800 --> 00:24:45,320 Speaker 1: the details that have become widely remembered are not actually 429 00:24:45,320 --> 00:24:49,440 Speaker 1: supported by the evidence. In some accounts, including Woody Guthrie 430 00:24:49,520 --> 00:24:53,600 Speaker 1: song lyrics, supporters of the mind bosses physically stopped people 431 00:24:53,640 --> 00:24:56,560 Speaker 1: from leaving the hall, or they laughed as children fell 432 00:24:56,600 --> 00:25:00,359 Speaker 1: and died. One widely held piece of misinformation and is 433 00:25:00,359 --> 00:25:02,960 Speaker 1: that the doors out of the hall opened the wrong way, 434 00:25:03,400 --> 00:25:05,760 Speaker 1: something that was absolutely true and some of the other 435 00:25:05,800 --> 00:25:08,199 Speaker 1: disasters that we have discussed, but that was not the 436 00:25:08,200 --> 00:25:11,639 Speaker 1: case in the Italian Hall. There are actually photographs that 437 00:25:11,680 --> 00:25:15,560 Speaker 1: show the doors opening outward. It seems very likely that 438 00:25:15,600 --> 00:25:18,480 Speaker 1: the person who shouted fire was opposed to the strike 439 00:25:18,560 --> 00:25:22,000 Speaker 1: and the striking workers and wanted to ruin the party. 440 00:25:22,040 --> 00:25:24,119 Speaker 1: But some people go so far as to conclude that 441 00:25:24,160 --> 00:25:27,040 Speaker 1: their intent wasn't just to harass the miners and their 442 00:25:27,080 --> 00:25:29,399 Speaker 1: families and to spoil their good time, but that it 443 00:25:29,480 --> 00:25:33,560 Speaker 1: was intended to create a fatal stampede on purpose. Because 444 00:25:33,560 --> 00:25:36,359 Speaker 1: there was never a thorough investigation, it's really hard to 445 00:25:36,359 --> 00:25:40,639 Speaker 1: say that conclusively. Big Annie Clemenc eventually moved to Chicago, 446 00:25:40,960 --> 00:25:44,239 Speaker 1: remarried and had a daughter. Her descendants did not know 447 00:25:44,320 --> 00:25:47,040 Speaker 1: about her work as a labor organizer or the Italian 448 00:25:47,080 --> 00:25:49,280 Speaker 1: Hall disaster when they were asked about it. In more 449 00:25:49,320 --> 00:25:52,760 Speaker 1: recent years. She has since been inducted into the Michigan 450 00:25:52,800 --> 00:25:55,760 Speaker 1: Women's Hall of Fame and Labor's International Hall of Fame. 451 00:25:56,320 --> 00:25:59,520 Speaker 1: Michigan's copper mines went into decline. They started closing in 452 00:25:59,520 --> 00:26:02,280 Speaker 1: the nineteen sixties, with the last closing down in nineteen 453 00:26:03,520 --> 00:26:06,639 Speaker 1: A law passed in two thousand four allowed mining to 454 00:26:06,680 --> 00:26:09,119 Speaker 1: resume in the state, though and Eagle Mine was the 455 00:26:09,160 --> 00:26:12,800 Speaker 1: first one to open under this new law. In Some 456 00:26:12,840 --> 00:26:15,640 Speaker 1: people point to the Italian Hall disaster as the beginning 457 00:26:15,760 --> 00:26:18,560 Speaker 1: of the downward trend in the industry that led to 458 00:26:18,640 --> 00:26:21,320 Speaker 1: its temporary total shutdown, but there was really a lot 459 00:26:21,359 --> 00:26:25,000 Speaker 1: more to it than that. Michigan's deep underground mines were 460 00:26:25,040 --> 00:26:28,520 Speaker 1: expensive and dangerous to operate, and in the nineteen teens 461 00:26:28,520 --> 00:26:31,480 Speaker 1: and beyond they were facing increasing competition from the mines 462 00:26:31,520 --> 00:26:33,480 Speaker 1: in the West and the Southwest, which were a lot 463 00:26:33,560 --> 00:26:36,359 Speaker 1: cheaper to operate. The Italian Hall was placed on the 464 00:26:36,440 --> 00:26:39,680 Speaker 1: National Register of Historic Places in nineteen eighty, but then 465 00:26:39,680 --> 00:26:42,719 Speaker 1: it was later removed. It was torn down in nineteen 466 00:26:42,760 --> 00:26:46,119 Speaker 1: eighty four, with its sandstone entry arch remaining as a 467 00:26:46,160 --> 00:26:49,640 Speaker 1: memorial for years. That archway had a sign that read 468 00:26:49,720 --> 00:26:54,840 Speaker 1: quote Michigan Historic Site Italian Hall. On December nineteen thirteen, 469 00:26:54,960 --> 00:26:57,760 Speaker 1: area copper miners had been on strike for five months. 470 00:26:58,320 --> 00:27:01,520 Speaker 1: The miners were fighting for better a shortened work days, 471 00:27:01,840 --> 00:27:06,280 Speaker 1: safer working conditions, and union recognition. That day, during a 472 00:27:06,320 --> 00:27:09,240 Speaker 1: Yule Tide party for the striking miners and their families, 473 00:27:09,400 --> 00:27:13,000 Speaker 1: someone yelled fire. Although there was no fire, seventy three 474 00:27:13,000 --> 00:27:16,240 Speaker 1: persons died while attempting to escape down a stairwell that 475 00:27:16,320 --> 00:27:19,480 Speaker 1: had doors that opened inward. Over half of those who 476 00:27:19,520 --> 00:27:22,160 Speaker 1: died were children between the ages of six and ten. 477 00:27:22,920 --> 00:27:26,200 Speaker 1: The perpetrator of this tragedy was never identified. The strike 478 00:27:26,359 --> 00:27:30,119 Speaker 1: ended in April nineteen fourteen. That wording was edited to 479 00:27:30,160 --> 00:27:34,840 Speaker 1: remove the reference to the inward opening doors. In twelve 480 00:27:34,880 --> 00:27:38,320 Speaker 1: of Michigan Technological University professor and students were part of 481 00:27:38,359 --> 00:27:41,120 Speaker 1: an archaeological study at the side of the Italian Hall. 482 00:27:41,680 --> 00:27:45,440 Speaker 1: This included ground penetrating radar work to determine the building's 483 00:27:45,480 --> 00:27:49,080 Speaker 1: original boundaries. The radar itself was actually on loan from 484 00:27:49,080 --> 00:27:52,720 Speaker 1: the q and Abey Indian Community Tribal Historic Preservation Office, 485 00:27:52,760 --> 00:27:55,440 Speaker 1: and it was run by the offices archaeologist who also 486 00:27:55,560 --> 00:27:59,879 Speaker 1: donated his time. On Christmas Eve, a granite monument was 487 00:28:00,000 --> 00:28:02,359 Speaker 1: dedicated at the site of the disaster and it lists 488 00:28:02,400 --> 00:28:05,159 Speaker 1: the names of the victims. This site is part of 489 00:28:05,160 --> 00:28:08,280 Speaker 1: the quan On National Historical Park and today the calum 490 00:28:08,280 --> 00:28:11,720 Speaker 1: At Rotary Club puts luminaries at the site each Christmas Eve. 491 00:28:11,960 --> 00:28:14,640 Speaker 1: There is one for each victim. For folks who want 492 00:28:14,640 --> 00:28:17,399 Speaker 1: more detail on all of this, Steve Lato has written 493 00:28:17,400 --> 00:28:20,320 Speaker 1: books about it, and there are some talks and articles 494 00:28:20,359 --> 00:28:23,560 Speaker 1: by him in the show notes for this episode on 495 00:28:23,720 --> 00:28:27,679 Speaker 1: our website. I have a couple of pieces of listener 496 00:28:27,760 --> 00:28:31,359 Speaker 1: mail that are overall on us a lighter note because 497 00:28:31,400 --> 00:28:34,680 Speaker 1: they're about television. They're short, so I'm going to read 498 00:28:34,720 --> 00:28:37,800 Speaker 1: both of them. The first one is about television, but 499 00:28:37,840 --> 00:28:41,080 Speaker 1: it's also about a disaster. It is. This is from Tatum. 500 00:28:41,200 --> 00:28:43,920 Speaker 1: Tatum says, Hi, they're a longtime listener, but this is 501 00:28:43,960 --> 00:28:46,320 Speaker 1: my first time writing in. I just thought your listeners 502 00:28:46,360 --> 00:28:49,080 Speaker 1: might want to know that the Netflix series The Crown 503 00:28:49,480 --> 00:28:52,760 Speaker 1: featured the Abervan mining disaster in a recent episode Season 504 00:28:52,800 --> 00:28:55,360 Speaker 1: three episode three. Because I was watching the episode, I 505 00:28:55,400 --> 00:28:57,480 Speaker 1: started to realize that I knew where this story was 506 00:28:57,520 --> 00:29:01,320 Speaker 1: going due to having heard your episode from November. So 507 00:29:01,400 --> 00:29:03,120 Speaker 1: if any of your listeners would like to see what 508 00:29:03,160 --> 00:29:05,200 Speaker 1: the disaster may have looked like as it took place, 509 00:29:05,240 --> 00:29:08,920 Speaker 1: I would recommend checking that out. Uh So, thank you 510 00:29:09,280 --> 00:29:12,240 Speaker 1: Tatum for that. UM. Tatum went on to say some 511 00:29:12,320 --> 00:29:14,560 Speaker 1: kind things about us, but I don't know that every 512 00:29:14,560 --> 00:29:17,680 Speaker 1: single person needs to hear all of that. Yes, we 513 00:29:17,720 --> 00:29:22,160 Speaker 1: talked about that disaster in November. Like that email says, 514 00:29:22,360 --> 00:29:26,360 Speaker 1: that's a little newer than we typically do for Saturday Classics. 515 00:29:27,000 --> 00:29:29,920 Speaker 1: But if folks watched The Crown and thought I didn't 516 00:29:29,920 --> 00:29:32,120 Speaker 1: know anything about this disaster, that is something they could 517 00:29:32,160 --> 00:29:35,520 Speaker 1: find in our archive. UM. And then the other quick 518 00:29:35,560 --> 00:29:38,600 Speaker 1: email about television is from Emily. Emily says, I just 519 00:29:38,640 --> 00:29:40,800 Speaker 1: wanted to write a quick thank you for your episode 520 00:29:40,800 --> 00:29:43,600 Speaker 1: on Matthew Hopkins because it combined two of my favorite things, 521 00:29:43,600 --> 00:29:46,280 Speaker 1: your podcast and the book Good Omens by Neil Gaming 522 00:29:46,280 --> 00:29:49,160 Speaker 1: and Terry Pratchett. If you're not familiar, there's a character 523 00:29:49,240 --> 00:29:52,000 Speaker 1: in it named Shadwell who was a seemingly self appointed 524 00:29:52,000 --> 00:29:55,000 Speaker 1: witch Finder sergeant. I was delighted to know that his 525 00:29:55,160 --> 00:29:58,120 Speaker 1: asking at least two characters, how many nipples have you got? 526 00:29:58,200 --> 00:30:01,080 Speaker 1: Was inspired by their real life We're nous slash terrible 527 00:30:01,120 --> 00:30:04,080 Speaker 1: nous of Hopkins. Thanks again for hours of entertainment, Emily, 528 00:30:04,560 --> 00:30:07,520 Speaker 1: Thank you Emily for this note. I love the book 529 00:30:07,600 --> 00:30:11,280 Speaker 1: Good Omens. It's been so long since I've read it that, 530 00:30:11,440 --> 00:30:13,680 Speaker 1: as with many books, the details on a lot of 531 00:30:13,680 --> 00:30:17,000 Speaker 1: it are very fuzzy. So I only got caught up 532 00:30:17,040 --> 00:30:20,240 Speaker 1: on watching the Good Omens series that came out recently 533 00:30:20,320 --> 00:30:23,360 Speaker 1: after we had recorded that episode, and I was like, oh, yeah, 534 00:30:23,400 --> 00:30:26,800 Speaker 1: that guy. I forgot he was in the book. I 535 00:30:26,920 --> 00:30:29,280 Speaker 1: forgot to I. Um, it's been a long time since 536 00:30:29,280 --> 00:30:32,680 Speaker 1: I've revisited that one. Yeah yeah. I'm currently having the 537 00:30:32,720 --> 00:30:35,280 Speaker 1: same experience watching his Dark Materials, which is a book 538 00:30:35,280 --> 00:30:38,040 Speaker 1: series that I love. But it's been oh, more than 539 00:30:38,080 --> 00:30:41,400 Speaker 1: a decade since I read it. Probably, um, I could 540 00:30:41,440 --> 00:30:43,800 Speaker 1: be that could be too, but big of a number. 541 00:30:43,840 --> 00:30:45,640 Speaker 1: It's been years since I read it, So as I'm 542 00:30:45,640 --> 00:30:47,200 Speaker 1: watching it, I'm like, this is how the book was, 543 00:30:47,240 --> 00:30:52,239 Speaker 1: I don't remember anyway. That's some historically oriented television, not 544 00:30:52,360 --> 00:30:55,040 Speaker 1: his Dark Materials, but the other ones for folks to 545 00:30:55,080 --> 00:30:58,520 Speaker 1: check out if they would like. We are at History 546 00:30:58,640 --> 00:31:00,960 Speaker 1: podcast at iHeart radio dot com. If you would like 547 00:31:01,040 --> 00:31:03,520 Speaker 1: to send us an email about this or any other episode, 548 00:31:03,520 --> 00:31:06,000 Speaker 1: that is a new email address if you have not noticed, 549 00:31:06,320 --> 00:31:08,360 Speaker 1: and we are also all over social media at missed 550 00:31:08,360 --> 00:31:11,440 Speaker 1: in History. That's where you'll find our Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, 551 00:31:11,520 --> 00:31:13,960 Speaker 1: and Instagram. And you can come to our website missed 552 00:31:13,960 --> 00:31:15,880 Speaker 1: in History dot com for the show notes for all 553 00:31:15,880 --> 00:31:17,800 Speaker 1: the episodes that Holly and I have worked on together 554 00:31:17,840 --> 00:31:20,960 Speaker 1: in a searchable archive of every episode ever. And you 555 00:31:20,960 --> 00:31:23,520 Speaker 1: can subscribe to our show on Apple Podcasts, the I 556 00:31:23,640 --> 00:31:26,200 Speaker 1: heart Radio app, and anywhere else you get your podcasts. 557 00:31:31,080 --> 00:31:33,200 Speaker 1: Stuff you Missed in History Class is a production of 558 00:31:33,240 --> 00:31:36,280 Speaker 1: I Heart Radios. How stuff Works. For more podcasts For 559 00:31:36,360 --> 00:31:39,560 Speaker 1: my heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, 560 00:31:39,680 --> 00:31:41,640 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows