One hundred years ago today, in 1913, a crowd of almost 3000 people gathered in the sweltering heat at the municipal park in Hancock, Michigan for a Labor Day rally. It had been a difficult, violent summer, and there was no indication that the strike on the Copper Range was…
First TV Broadcast of 1913 Massacre – Labor Day, 2013
We’re very happy to announce that 1913 Massacre will air on Twin Cities Public Television (tpt) over the 2013 Labor Day holiday. This is the first television broadcast of the film. Showtimes: On tpt Channel 2.1: Monday, September 2nd, at 11:00PM and Tuesday, September 3rd at 5:00AM. On the Minnesota Channel (locally tptMN Channel 2.2): Monday at 12:00am, 6:00AM, 12:00PM, and 6:00PM The online…
Where Is Calumet?
It’s uncanny how this notice from a 1913 newspaper anticipates the opening scene of 1913 Massacre: “Where is Calumet?” That is a simple question, apparently. Almost anybody will say it is a thriving city up in the country where they blow open the earth with dynamite and wrest copper there…
Murder, Mother Jones and the Militia
By August of 1913, things in the Copper Country were really starting to heat up. The miners had been on strike since the end of July, and the strike was “gradually drifting,” in the words of the Calumet News, “towards its second stage, a period of guerilla warfare.” The Michigan National…
STRIKE!
100 years ago today, the Finnish language newspaper Työmies or The Worker announced: This morning in Michigan’s Copper region, a miner’s strike broke out which, according to information received from various locations up to this point, has stopped work in all of the mines with few exceptions. The strike that began…
Juhannus: Summer is Here
Juhannus, a midsummer celebration held near Misery Bay on the Keweenaw Peninsula, was one of the highlights of our recent screening tour of the UP. We ran into old friends and made some new ones. Accompanied by percussionist Randy Seppala, who plays bones and spoons with Johnny Perona in our…
Roy Stafford Reviews 1913 Massacre
Roy Stafford has written a lengthy review of 1913 Massacre — which screened today at the Bradford International Film Festival in the UK — on The Case for Global Film. His thoughtful review touches on a number of themes and questions the film raises, and draws parallels with other films…
People’s History is Alive
I love this tweet: People’s history alive and well: 1913 Massacre, doc film by Ken Ross & @lvgaldieri inspired by Woody Guthrie’s song ow.ly/jkO4k — Voices (@vph) March 22, 2013 This is from the Twitter account of Voices of a People’s History. I suspect it was posted partly in response…
Tulsa Public Radio Features “1913 Massacre” on Woody’s Birthday Week
Saturday, July 14th will mark Woody Guthrie’s 100th birthday, so this is a special year for the annual Woody Guthrie Folk Festival in Woody’s birthplace, Okemah, Oklahoma. There will be three screenings of 1913 Massacre on Thursday, July 12th at the Crystal Theater in downtown Okemah. We’re thrilled to be…