United Mine Workers of America( UMWA)
and feisty spirit to the mines in Colorado. While she fought battles all across the country for the fair labor of many people in the industrial realm, the Ludlow Massacre was said to have been one of the deadliest strikes in American history. It was after this she was invited to have a face-to-face meeting with John D. Rockefeller, Jr. This meeting prompted Rockefeller to visit the mines and bring about longsought reform for working conditions.
Classism and economic inequality were the primary focus of Mother
Jones’ passionate fight. While some argue she may have been one-sided because she didn’ t stand up for women’ s suffrage, she encouraged women to have a voice, even without the ability to vote. She called the women’ s suffrage movement a distraction to the harsh disparity the industrial workers were facing. Her maternal nature rallied many men and women together to fight against the excessive work hours and low wages. While her words may have been against women’ s suffrage, her actions did far more for the miners and industrial workers who
will be forever indebted to her.
Mary Harris Jones died on November 30, 1930. After being celebrated by a mass in Washington, D. C., she was buried at the Union Miners Cemetery in Illinois, next to victims of the Virden, Illinois mine riot of 1898. Her funeral was attended by thousands of mine workers and other mourners.
Coal Miner’ s Museum Opens! by Jean Di Lisio
In the planning stages a committee of 7 people worked on the formation of an educational 501 C3 non-profit organization: the Southern Colorado Coal Miners Memorial Museum. Frank and Yolanda Romero, Bob Butero, Alex Gerardo, Frank Colangelo and Luis Garza, raised the seed money through raffles, auctions, dinners, breakfasts and more.” They have lived and breathed this,” said Yolanda Romero, describing the passion of Butero, Gerardo, Colangelo and Garza as their volunteer efforts repaired and rejuvenated the new museum at 219 West Main donated by the EMCO estate.“ This is the perfect location, said Frank Romero,“ adjacent to the 2008 Canary Cage and the Coal Miners Monument.” Ben Johnson created this life-size memorial, cast in bronze, recognizing the contribution of hundreds of coal miners. The active, past, retired and deceased member’ s names of the coal mining industry are inscribed on the base of the monument. Names of coal miners from 18 states are represented. Three bronze mules, recently donated by Wilbur Dinger also grace the nearby gardens, as well as the 100-year mining-based time capsule buried under the memorial. Frank and Yolanda Romero, 30- year owners of Romero Liquor and Candy Store, made their own sacrifices for the project. Late at night, after work, they’ d sit at home researching strategies to collaborate with the community to share each coal miner’ s legacy. Last fall a turning point miracle descended on Trinidad.
Interior Museum Masterpieces
Creating 11 colossal paintings, Lindsay Hand of Colorado Springs empathized with the Ludlow victims whose blood seeped into the soil over a century ago. The number pays
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58 N New legends magazine