Reviewer: Sharon Brunner
Version 1.0.0
Steve Lehto’s “Death’s Door: The Truth Behind the Italian Hall Disaster and the Strike of 1913 (Second Edition)” offers a detailed account of the 1913 Christmas Eve mayhem and the corruption behind the strike in the Keweenaw Peninsula in Michigan. The peninsula is located in the northwestern portion of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan (U.P.). This story has occurred throughout the history of the world when the rich and powerful oppressed and blamed their victims. Sheriff Cruse, James MacNaughton, Judge O’Brien, “Big” Annie Clemenc, Prosecuting Attorney Lucas, Charles Moyer, and the Waddel-Mahon group were some of the main characters in the story. The problems began when the copper miners went on strike demanding more pay, safer conditions and shorter workdays. Corporate bosses were concerned about rising costs and lower productivity. Mine managers hired the Waddell-Mahon company to manage the strikers and stop the strike, essentially hired thugs. The law was on their side when they got away with murder, kidnapping and trespassing.
The Western Federation of Miners attempted to protect the striking miners. However, they were never invited to meetings addressing the strike. Sheriff Cruse deputized many men and gave them cheap guns to help control the nonviolent strikers and he turned a blind eye to the criminal behaviors of the hired thugs. Annie Clemenc and other women and men marched in multiple parades supporting the strikers’ efforts. Lehto linked the strike to what happened on that fateful night of December 24, 1913 in which over six dozen children and adults lost their lives. Crushed and smothered on the stairs by the door while the scabs laughed at their murderous joke.
Three themes stood out for me when I read this book: greed; corruption; and a strong desire to be treated fairly and humanely. The bosses in Boston and MacNaughton did not care about the safety of the men who worked in the mine. The life of a mule was given more importance. The hours they served underground were too long each day, from sunrise to sunset. The pay of only $2.00 a day did not adequately provide for the miners’ families. While MacNaughton earned a salary of $100,000 a year. Corporate bosses thought the miners were being coddled. MacNaughton and other managers owned the newspapers in Calumet and other places at the Keweenaw Peninsula and only what they wanted the public to know was posted. The Waddell-Mahon thugs shot, beat and kidnapped Charles Moyer, the president of the Western Federation of Miners. When he tried to report the incident to the paper, the paper turned things around to make Moyer the culprit. The strikers kept fighting for their rights by participating in multiple parades and the pride they exhibited demonstrated their strong character. The night of December 24th, 1913, the miners enjoyed spending time with their wives and families celebrating Christmas until the fake announcement of a fire.
“The Women of the Copper Country” by Mary Doria Russell came to mind when reading this book. Russell told the story about Annie Clemenc who led a strike in 1913 against the powerful Calumet and Hecla Copper Mining Company. She represented the “Joan of Arc” of the labor movement by leading parades while she held a flag proudly. The movement stood up against the terrible working conditions and extremely low wages faced by the miners. The author focused on the role women played in supporting the strikers and fighting for the rights of their families. The book was based on real events and brings to light the struggles of the working class who resided in the copper mining region of Michigan. The 1979 “Norma Rae” movie came to mind which was about a single mother who agreed to help unionize the mill she worked at in spite of the problems and dangers involved. Greed, corruption and a strong desire to protect the rights of people came through loud and clear with both the book and the movie.
Personally, the book struck a chord for me. When I think about underdogs such as the poor working class of the copper country, I also think about the slaves who were forced to come to this country to work on the plantations, and I also think about the history of Native Americans. I have conducted extensive research concerning their history. They faced harsh boarding school and reservation legislation. The working class of the copper country was treated like they were objects that lacked respect. The Calumet and Hecla Mining Company (C and H) placed their tenants, the copper miners, in a tenuous situation when it came to their homes. The company leased land to the prospective landowners (copper miners) for five-year terms. C and H could evict their tenants for any reason. A college professor said to a class I was attending that she felt the homeless people were the poorest of the poor. I have the same belief.
I liked many things in the book. For example, I liked how the Italian Hall Disaster was explained in detail and how the strikers were described as real-life people who struggled to have their needs met. In the chapter “Twisted Justice” Lehto explained in detail what happened to Charles Moyer after the Italian Hall disaster. Since Moyer was in support of the victims, he had to be put in his place before the light was shown on the mining companies’ corruption. It appeared they won when Moyer changed his tune. Lehto clearly defined how the year of 1913 ended in tragedy for the families of the miners.
I recommend Death’s Door for Lehto’s sharp eye when he interpreted documents and made historical judgments, because of its revelation of a crime-scene investigator, for its authoritative account about the truth behind the Italian Hall Disaster and for its defense of the innocent. The poem at the beginning of the book clearly defines what really happened during the Italian Hall Disaster written by Woody Guthrie. Lehto described how the hired thugs conducted acts of murder, kidnapping and trespassing. They had no right to enter the homes of the miners without a warrant, to shoot innocent unarmed people or kidnap anyone. The miners had a right to strike under peaceful protest. As a result of Lehto’s extensive research, he brought to life the truth concerning the corruption associated with the strike of 1913 and what really happened during the Italian Hall disaster.
Title: Death’s Door: The Truth Behind the Italian Hall Disaster and the Strike of 1913 (Second Edition)
Author: Steve Lehto
