Past-E-Mail

Past-E-Mail: Cam Notes - 2012: August: Aug 05-12

Anti-union March ...scroll down to share comments

Douglass House in the Trolley Days ...scroll down to share comments

Sunday-What'sUP August 6 - 01:14 pm

By Charlie at Pasty Central (Chopper) on Sunday, August 5, 2012 - 07:52 am:

We've seen those old Copper Country photos of the 1913 strike, with the workers carry signs and the national guard troops lined up to preserve order. This march looks like one of those at first glance. But upon closer inspection we find it is an anti-strike march. Or more correctly, it is an anti-union demonstration, with 20,000 area citizens voicing their opposition to the Western Federation of Miners. This note from the MTU Archives website:

Citizens Alliance, Parade. Shelden Street Houghton, December 10, 1913 20,000 citizens joined Citizens Alliance after the Jane brothers were shot by union leaders of the Western Federation of Miners. [A parade of people, some with musical instruments walk down a muddy Shelden Avenue. The Douglass House is in the background]

The second photo appears to be the scene a few years later when the mud was replaced with cobblestones and trolley tracks (from the Detroit Publishing Company collection at the Library of Congress.)

Preparations are underway now for the centennial commemoration of that famous 1913 strike. There are several local area meetings to discuss and distribute information about the events planned next year. Find out more about it at the 1913 Strike website. The next meeting will be in Eagle River on August 16.

Have a good week :o)

p.s. see the correction to these original comments below

By Janie T. (Bobbysgirl) on Sunday, August 5, 2012 - 09:14 am:

Enjoy these history lessons and pictures of days gone by.

By Shirley Waggoner (Shirlohio) on Sunday, August 5, 2012 - 09:43 am:

I join Janie in expressing appreciation for remembrances of times from the past, Charlie, always interesting.

By J T (Jtinchicago) on Sunday, August 5, 2012 - 10:38 am:

Good morning Charlie:

Are you sure that the Dec 10, 1913 "March" photo (#1) was taken a few years before photo (#2) of Houghton with the horses and street car rails? Is a mistake possible?

The reason that I'm curious is (a) the trees on the left in photo (#2) most likely would have been cut down by 1913, (b) the street lights have improved in the "March" photo, and (c) horses replaced by cars would be more the norm.

In photo (#2) the lower left caption almost looks like Sheldon St. Hancock, Michigan.

JT

By Daveofmohawk (Daveofmohawk) on Sunday, August 5, 2012 - 12:44 pm:

jt: I believe the caption is the location of the studio that did the photo.

By Richard Wieber (Dickingrayling) on Sunday, August 5, 2012 - 01:43 pm:

Having been born and raised in Houghton I must put in my two cents worth. I believe the captions are correct. The referenced tree is in both photos (above the left shoulder of the tuba player)--bare branches while photo one was taken in a different season showing leaves. The building on the right is/was the Houghton Natl. Bank. The building on the left became the Chevy dealership in the late 20s or early 30s. That space is now a parking garage.

By Charlie at Pasty Central (Chopper) on Sunday, August 5, 2012 - 05:37 pm:

Good observations, everyone. A case can be made both ways, for the second picture being taken before or after.

Nowadays this is known as Shelden Avenue in downtown Houghton, and the caption on the second picture does say "Shelden Street". By isolating the trees, we have some good clues:

Notice in the 1913 photo the trees on the left haven't reached the upper windows yet, as they have grown in the later picture. The lower trees are barely visible in the 1913 picture, and appear to have grown well above the building next door when the 'later' photo was taken. The fact that the streets appear to be improved from the first photo to the second are also compelling arguments for the 1913/later theory.

If this is all the information we had, it might be argued that the second photo was "staged" by the photographer, who happened to be Edwin Husher of the Detroit Publishing Company. They could have replaced the cars with horse drawn wagons for effect. After all, does it make any sense that they would have replaced earlier cobblestone with a dirt road, if the second picture had been taken some years earlier?

Don't ya just love a mystery?

Here's a discovery I made this afternoon that actually proves J.T.'s theory: The second photo was taken in 1906, according to the Library of Congress. It appears that sometime between 1906 and 1913, they cut down the trees next to the Douglass House. And the street in the 1913 photo actually does have cobblestone and trolley tracks. You just can't see it under all that slush (taken in December 1913).

Thanks for the observations that made us look a little closer, J.T.

And thanks to Erik Nordberg for providing the 1913 photo from MTU's humungous Shoebox of Memories. :o)

By Bill Howard (Whoward) on Monday, August 6, 2012 - 08:43 am:

If the number of crossarms on the poles are any
indication, the 2nd photo is the at a later date
then the first one. Just a thought from an old
telephone man.

By Deb S. (Usedtobeayooper) on Monday, August 6, 2012 - 01:15 pm:

I just love these old black and white photos every Sunday!

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