Books about Copper Country

[ROC]

I seen a piture of the Italian Hall doors and there were two sets of doors on the same frame.One set swung in and one set swung out.I've never seen doors like that before.Was that how they were or was that just a gimic to bring attention to the doors.

[Eelu]

Both sets of doors opened properly. The doors had nothing to do with the disaster. The "inward opening doors" is an old wives' tale. The photo you refer to - I believe - is an optical illusion.

Steve

[ROC]

Thanks for clearing up my double vision.

[Eelu]

There were two pics taken the same morning (12/25/1913) by William Nara and one was widely publicized (it was even made into stereo view cards). The OTHER pic was not widely distributed. I found a copy in a private collection and published it in my book. When you compare the two photos you see what was going on -- and the inner doors were too close to the bottom step to open inwards.

On the topic of books which talk about this topic whether directly or tangentially: someone else mentioned

"Red Metal," the author was Benedict. He was a long time C&H employee (I think he was a metallurgist). Also,

"We Are Many," Ella Reeve Bloor. This book is widely cited as the inspiration for Guthrie's "1913 Massacre." We could discuss the "accuracy" of the song all night long, but Bloor's story is not all that accurate either. Still, it is an interesting read.

Similarly interesting is the Autobiography of Big Bill Haywood. He mentions the strike but has little to say about it and he does not think the WFM handled it all that well.

There is the recent book "Finns in Michigan," by Kaunonen. He mentions the Italian Hall but does not even mention the cry of Fire. There has been a very recent movement to re-write the history of the Hall -- to say that the panic may have just happened spontaneously, with no one crying Fire.

Someone else above mentioned Molloy's "The Witnesses Speak." He states that the inquest started on Dec 31 (the date it ended) and that it took place inside the Italian Hall itself (very small portions took place in the Hall, but most of the inquest took place in the Red Jacket Village Hall). There are other issues with that work, so the readers should beware.

Someone wrote above about me and my book:

"Lehto also picks at details where it seems very unimportant. Quirks of language (probably from non-English speakers) are picked on as highly important, when they almost certainly are merely quirks. A lot of people were mis-quoted in the newspapers (which is often a pretty major problem), but for example, he picks on one quote in which the person said "... was wearing a black or grey coat" and a paper quoted him as saying "... was wearing a dark coat." I don't see how that warrants a paragraph of worry!"

The "quirks of language" I point out? I pointed out how the people who did not speak English were not given interpreters and were forced to answer questions asked in English -- and give answers in English. Is that a quirk? No. It is one of the most important observations EVER made about the Inquest. Turns out all the other writers (Lankton, Thurner, Molloy) missed it. Is it a quirk? I don't think so. Anyone who actually reads my book wouldn't think so either. (Even Lantkon admitted to me he missed it and it was "a pretty big deal.")

As for the "black, grey or dark," that was simply ONE example I gave of MANY where the papers misquoted a witness. By itself, yes it means little. Taken in the larger context (where they were making up whole sections of testimony) it added to the picture.

Finally, as for the WFM and how "crazy" they were elsewhere -- I did not go into it all that much in Death's Door because 1) much of what was said about them out West was exaggerated and untrue and 2) I was focusing on what they actually did in the UP. Why condemn them in the UP for things done by their western brethren? (For example, three people -- including Moyer -- were indicted for the Murder of Steunenberg. TWO WERE ACQUITTED AND the case against MOYER WAS DROPPED. Who is crazy in that scenario? The people who were arrested but not found guilty? Or the people who conjured up the baseless case against them?)

Steve

[ozarkmark]

i thought it was strange how the records of correspondence between john macnaughton and his superiors or whoever he was writing to disappeared for the time frame right around the time of the italian hall incident. if that is true, it is very suspicious.

[Eelu]

Yes, jim macnaughton's corrrspondence has a large and obvious gap at that point. We don't know why but I agree - it seems suspicious. The writers who are pro-management don't like it when I bring this point up. They hate anything that makes MacNaughton look bad.

Steve

[nailhed]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/081666 ... c-forum-20

Mine Towns: Buildings for Workers in Michigan's Copper Country (Paperback)
~ Alison K. Hoagland (Author)
This title has not yet been released.
Paperback: 328 pages
Publisher: Univ Of Minnesota Press (April 30, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0816665672
ISBN-13: 978-0816665679
Product Dimensions: 10 x 7 x 1.5 inches

Product Description
During the nineteenth century, the Keweenaw Peninsula of Northern Michigan was the site of America’s first mineral land rush as companies hastened to profit from the region’s vast copper deposits. In order to lure workers to such a remote location—and work long hours in dangerous conditions—companies offered not just competitive wages but also helped provide the very infrastructure of town life in the form of affordable housing, schools, health-care facilities, and churches.

The first working-class history of domestic life in Copper Country company towns during the boom years of 1890 to 1918, Alison K. Hoagland’s Mine Towns investigates how the architecture of a company town revealed the paternal relationship that existed between company managers and workers—a relationship that both parties turned to their own advantage. The story of Joseph and Antonia Putrich, immigrants from Croatia, punctuates and illustrates the realities of life in a booming company town. While company managers provided housing as a way to develop and control a stable workforce, workers often rejected this domestic ideal and used homes as an economic resource, taking in boarders to help generate further income.

Focusing on how the exchange between company managers and a largely immigrant workforce took the form of negotiation rather than a top-down system, Hoagland examines surviving buildings and uses Copper Country’s built environment to map this remarkable connection between a company and its workers at the height of Michigan’s largest land rush.

About the Author
Alison K. Hoagland is professor of history and historic preservation at Michigan Technological University and the author of Buildings of Alaska and Army Architecture in the West: Forts Laramie, Bridger, and D. A. Russell, 1849–1912.

[jfactor1]

That book looks great Nailhed!!! I'll have to pick it up. But man, did you see they have the hardcover listed at $75?!?!?

[Norwich25336]

There are 2 books on the Norwich Mine and the Old Victoria Mine that I believe to be the best of the lot on these two mines. Both are written by Joseph Papineau of Ontonagon. Almost every book I've read on any of the mines in this area are almost a repeat of earlier books written. The two exceptions are those of Mr. Papineau's. He does his research the old fashioned way. He gets out there and digs every archive he can find, searches courthouse and mining records, has even searched garbage dumps, spent years going over microfish. Both his books took him over 20 years of research without a computer. I've visited him at his home and talked with this fascinating man. His whole house is packed with artifacts. He is compiling data and records on other mines in the area. I hope he gets them published before he passes away. We have both of his books for sale at our Museum.

[Chicaugon Lake Jim]

Hi Norwich, I'll vouch for Pappineau's books. I just read the Old Victoria book this winter. He has a lot of fascinating info about the mines, and alot of side stories that are very interesting. I would highly recommend it as reading for that area. I love his account about the Ontonagon boulder and all the hardship that the guy who finally got it out had to go through. Then to have the government come in and take it away in the end. What a bummer.