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
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
58
N
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.
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, 30year 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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