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Thursday, August 22, 2013

Calumet Art Center to host The 1913 Singers TONIGHT, Aug. 22

CALUMET -- Much has been written about the 1913-1914 Copper Miners’ Strike, but new research has uncovered what strikers and company loyalists sang to raise morale and build solidarity both on and off the picket lines. Join Alice Margerum and The 1913 Singers as they perform "All the news that’s fit to sing: verses from the 1913-14 copper strike" -- songs and poems that were published in local newspapers during this tumultuous period.

This presentation will take place at 7 p.m. TONIGHT, Thursday, Aug. 22, 2013, at the Calumet Art Center, located at 57055 Fifth Street in Calumet, Michigan (at the corner of Red Jacket Road and Fifth Street). It is free and open to the public.

This special performance offers a rare opportunity to hear the music of the period. Margerum scoured all the local sources she could find to learn what music people were listening to during the strike. Songs from the Miners’ Bulletin, the official pro-union newspaper of the strike; Työmies, the daily Finnish language newspaper from Hancock; and Truth, the anti-union newspaper of the Citizens’ Alliance all contained songs, verses, and poems. The 1913 Singers, vocalists from the Houghton and Hancock area, have revived these songs, which are an often-overlooked part of the history of the labor confrontation.

The Fourth Thursday in History series arranges public presentations on important aspects of Copper Country and regional history, including techniques for historic preservation. Presentations are scheduled in venues throughout the Keweenaw Peninsula, particularly at historic sites associated with specific topics. They are free and open to the public.

For further information, including specific directions to this event, contact Keweenaw National Historical Park at (906) 337-3168 or check the web at www.nps.gov/kewe.

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