Tomorrow is the day before Christmas. It has been said, it comes but once a year. American Labor History features an event that I want you to know about. An event that I want you to learn about. I don’t want to pretend that it can or should replace the reasons you already have for celebrating the season, but I do want you to go away from this reading a changed person.
It happened in Calumet, MI, on Christmas Eve, Dec 24, 1913, but started months earlier. It was copper mining country in Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula, where companies were pressing for lower costs and higher profits. Technology had introduced a new type of drill for use in the mines. This new model weighed just over 150 lbs as compared to the old drills which weighed slightly less than 300 lbs. Management believed that since the new drill weighed in at about half of what the old ones did, it could be operated by one man instead of two. This situation called for a man to be working alone in dark, risky conditions with a machine that was, at best, hard to operate for an individual alone. This also meant that less than one half of the men in drillers’ positions would be needed to operate the mines and many workers would be displaced as well. On July 23rd, a strike was called by the Western Federation of Miners.
National Guardsmen in Calumet That same night, violence broke out, with stone-throwing and rioting by striking miners. The companies canceled the night shift and called for the National Guard. The Guard stayed in town for about 3 weeks during which time, the mines remained closed and both sides held parades and gave speeches. By mid-August, the miners were beginning to be broke and hungry, and some began returning to work. One half of the Guardsmen were recalled to the southern half of the state. One of the companies, Calumet & Hecla, hired a notorious “private security” firm, whose men were in town only a few days before they chased a couple of miners for trespassing, gunning them down in the yard of one of the men. These would come to be called the Seeberville Murders, having occurred there, approximately 20 miles from Calumet.
It was now mid-August, and fear and dwindling economics caused more WFM members to begin returning to work. By early September, most of the mines were open, with Calumet & Hecla having imported “scabs” to replace the strikers. The remaining pickets were joined by women and children, and violence by and against both sides increased. In hiring “scabs” the companies made efforts to get people of differing ethnic backgrounds, furthering the difficulties of unifying the workforce. As support for the strike dwindled, eviction notices, fear and hunger had caused many to flee. On November 2, the WFM admitted defeat and asked that their members be allowed to return to work while retaining their union membership. This was refused by the company. In mid-November, a group called the “Citizens Alliance” sprung up.
Procession After Seeberville Murders This group began to denounce the strikers and the union and discord was strong throughout the community. Many miners returned to work, but many others remained on strike, attempting to stave off the efforts of the company to change the workplace safety conditions that allowed for a man to be working alone. By early December, a judge found 139 strikers guilty of contempt for attempting to block others from returning to work. The judge however had lost his father in a mine accident many years before, and became sympathetic. He suspended the strikers’ sentences. This angered the “Citizens Alliance”.
On December 7, 4 members of the WFM fired on the homes of some scab miners, attempting to scare them off. Instead, they hit 4 people, 3 of whom died. These became known as the Painesville Murders, having taken place in another town, also about 20 miles away from Calumet. This served to further the cause of the Citizens Alliance. Buoyed by this success, the Alliance went on a rampage, shooting up homes of WFM members and harassing people in the streets. Still the strikers went on. December 18, the companies finally issued an order to return to work or face permanent replacement.
This being the Christmas season, local businesses intervened, asking the companies to delay that edict until after the holiday. For the first time in the entire situation, the companies capitulated, agreeing to give the miners until the beginning of the year to return to work. In an effort to lighten the mood and lift the spirits of the miners and their families, the WFM organized a party for the children of their striking members. It happened in Calumet, MI, on Christmas Eve, Dec 24, 1913.
Held on the second floor of the Italian Hall in Calumet, sponsored by the WFM, the party was safely planned and protected as a Union-only event, so as to minimize any chance of incident or violence. Sometime around 4:30 in the afternoon, as the story goes, someone outside yelled ”Fire” and then the door was held closed. The ensuing panic and crush killed 74 people, mostly women and children. Innocents. Partying the day before Christmas. And you have probably never heard it before. We certainly go to great lengths to block it from our educational processes. That can’t keep it from history. You can’t unring the bell!
On this holiday, as you go on celebrating the things you celebrate, please take a minute and remember. Remember those who sacrificed for the benefits you enjoy. Remember that it happened in Calumet, MI, on Christmas Eve, Dec 24, 1913, at the Italian Hall.
American Labor History features an event that I want you to know about. I don’t want to pretend that it can or should replace the reasons you already have for celebrating the season, but I do want you to go away from this reading a changed person.