The Great Escape
In the 1860’s/1870’s, Irish immigrants flooded the US. Many found work in the Pennsylvania anthracite mines. The Irish were considered the lowest form of humanity–drunks and ruffians who indiscriminately had babies that they couldn’t support. From this discrimination/humiliation came The Molly Maguires, a combination of a trade union and a terrorist group. The movement was very interesting–I urge anyone reading this to find a book on the subject. Many Irishmen were hanged; the head of the railroad decided he was qualified to be the District Attorney and personally prosecuted many Irishmen in trials that could make Hitler or Stalin proud.
In the early years of the twentieth century, the pro-union sentiment of the UMW in the coal regions found fertile ground in the silk mill where my maternal grandfather worked as a quasi-engineer, repairing machines and developing new processes/machines. He had at least four patents he took no ownership in.
My grandfather must have been a fascinating guy, he seemed to be anchored in the forests and uncharted woods outside of town. My mother’s most cherished childhood memories were picking huckleberries with her dad, listening to him identifying trees and analyzing the terrain to find a good harvest. Often, they’d sit in silence, snacking on berries and their packed lunch. Sometimes, real life did sound like a movie scene.
My mother vividly remembered one strike at the mill–Pinkertons on horseback, using billy clubs. Bloody faces, screaming voices, unconscious bodies splayed in streets wet with blood. During one strike before mom’s birth, my grandfather quietly sought out four women at the mill who were leaders in the work stoppages, inviting them to his house late at night.
After a quick meal, he told them management was aware of their involvement. Not only that, but he knew they were followed to his house that night. When they left, they would be killed–the bodies disappearing. Returning to their homes was out of the question.
He took them to the cellar, and moved furniture, revealing a tunnel that had been used by the Molly Maguires to hide members from the dreaded Coal and Iron Police, who had a reputation for sadism. Each woman received a silver dollar and instructions on how to get to the train station from the tunnel exit.
He never saw them again, and no one ever learned of the tunnel. Both my mother and aunt saw the tunnel, they corroborated the story.
Be back around May 8!