This project deals with the changes and conditions Calumet, Michigan has undergone since its origins as a copper mining company town. The interviewees discuss the ethnic diversity of the town, effects of the 1913 mining strike, effects of the Great Depression, and local community life.
Enrietti, Johanna
Forster, Edna
Greenlee, B.
Katherine Ilenich
Kitti, Walter I.
MacDonald, James
Mihelic, Lodi
Steck, Alden
Stetter, Charles
Interviewee: | Enrietti, Johanna |
Call number: | 71-030 |
Date(s) of Interview: | May 1971 |
Physical Description: | 37 pages; 4 reels, 3 3/4 ips; no index |
Physical Location: | Interviews are housed in Weatherly Hall North, Room 122. Copies are also housed at the Indiana University Archives in Herman B Wells Library E460. For other locations housing the interviews from this project, please contact the Center for the Study of History and Memory office. |
Access Status: | Open |
Interviewer: | Ivey, William J. |
Johanna Enrietti, born on December 15, 1900, joined by her husband, Joseph Enrietti, shares her memories of the Great Depression, family and community life, and general differences in Calumet, Michigan. She speaks of her identity as an Italian American, the work ethic, and family values she has embraced throughout her life. She also shares some of her daily activities, including baking, sewing, and mending.
Rambletown, Michigan
Fourth of July
Great Depression
Italian Americans
child care
community life
ethnic diversity
family relations
generational differences
local community
pensions
work ethic
Interviewee: | Forster, Edna |
Call number: | 71-034 |
Date(s) of Interview: | April 29, 1971 |
Physical Description: | Not transcribed; 1 reel, 3 3/4 ips |
Physical Location: | Interviews are housed in Weatherly Hall North, Room 122. Copies are also housed at the Indiana University Archives in Herman B Wells Library E460. For other locations housing the interviews from this project, please contact the Center for the Study of History and Memory office. |
Access Status: | Open |
Interviewer: | Ivey, William J. |
Edna Forster shares her perspective on life in the community of Calumet, Michigan.
local community
Interviewee: | Greenlee, B. |
Call number: | 71-026 |
Date(s) of Interview: | April 1971 |
Physical Description: | 12 pages; 1 reel, 3 3/4 ips, 30 minutes; no index |
Physical Location: | Interviews are housed in Weatherly Hall North, Room 122. Copies are also housed at the Indiana University Archives in Herman B Wells Library E460. For other locations housing the interviews from this project, please contact the Center for the Study of History and Memory office. |
Access Status: | Open |
Interviewer: | Ivey, William J. |
B. Greenlee comments on his first impressions of Calumet, Michigan, some traits of the community, and the disaster at the Italian Hall in town. In addition, he speaks of the local economy, the impact of the strikes, and some of the major ethnic groups in the community. He also discusses the tendency of the community to glorify the past.
Great Depression
ethnic diversity
local economy
Interviewee: | Katherine Ilenich |
Call number: | 71-027 |
Date(s) of Interview: | May 03, 1971 |
Physical Description: | 32 pages; 1 reel, 3 3/4 ips; 80 minutes; no index |
Physical Location: | Interviews are housed in Weatherly Hall North, Room 122. Copies are also housed at the Indiana University Archives in Herman B Wells Library E460. For other locations housing the interviews from this project, please contact the Center for the Study of History and Memory office. |
Access Status: | Open |
Interviewer: | Ivey, William J. |
Katherine Ilenich discusses the community of Calumet, Michigan, the different ethnic groups who live there, and its origin as a company town of copper miners. She speaks of the impact of the disaster at the Italian Hall, the children who were killed, and how it brought the community closer together after the divisive strike of 1913. In addition, she comments on local schools and the apparent decline of the town.
teacher
1913 mining strike
community life
company towns
copper mines
ethnic diversity
local economy
local history
local schools
Interviewee: | Kitti, Walter I. |
Call number: | 71-028 |
Date(s) of Interview: | May 03, 1971 |
Physical Description: | 32 pages; 1 reel, 3 3/4 ips, 75 minutes; no index |
Physical Location: | Interviews are housed in Weatherly Hall North, Room 122. Copies are also housed at the Indiana University Archives in Herman B Wells Library E460. For other locations housing the interviews from this project, please contact the Center for the Study of History and Memory office. |
Access Status: | Open |
Interviewer: | Ivey, William J. |
Born on April 8, 1918, Walter I. Kitti discusses life during the Great Depression, copper mining, and the community's original status as a company town. He speaks of the negative impact the 1913 strike had on local employment and of his memories of the introduction of automobiles. Mr. Kitti died on March 16, 1992.
Calumet and Hecla Mining Company
1913 mining strike
Finnish culture
Great Depression
automobiles
copper mines
local community
local employment
Interviewee: | MacDonald, James |
Call number: | 71-033 |
Date(s) of Interview: | April 28, 1971 |
Physical Description: | 35 pages; 1 reel, 3 3/4 ips, 75 minutes; no index |
Physical Location: | Interviews are housed in Weatherly Hall North, Room 122. Copies are also housed at the Indiana University Archives in Herman B Wells Library E460. For other locations housing the interviews from this project, please contact the Center for the Study of History and Memory office. |
Access Status: | Open |
Interviewer: | Ivey, William J. |
James MacDonald, born on December 13, 1897, discusses the copper mines of Calumet, Michigan, their peak production during World War II, and the devastating impact of their closure. He speaks of the community's ethnic diversity, and of the saloons and brawling that characterized Calumet's early history as a mining town. In addition, he comments on some of the problems of the current Calumet community, including the lack of strong work ethic and the misuse of welfare funds.
Calumet and Hecla Mining Company, Calumet,
Michigan
World War II
community life
copper mines
ethnic diversity
population decline
saloons
welfare
work ethic
Interviewee: | Mihelic, Lodi |
Call number: | 71-031 |
Date(s) of Interview: | April 28, 1971 |
Physical Description: | 16 pages; 1 reel, 3 3/4 ips, 40 minutes; no index |
Physical Location: | Interviews are housed in Weatherly Hall North, Room 122. Copies are also housed at the Indiana University Archives in Herman B Wells Library E460. For other locations housing the interviews from this project, please contact the Center for the Study of History and Memory office. |
Access Status: | Open |
Interviewer: | Ivey, William J. |
Lodi Mihelic discusses his Yugoslavian parentage, community, and daily life in Calumet, Michigan, and the ethnically diverse population that lived in this mining town. In addition, Mr. Mihelic predicts that the copper mines will be re-opened at some point in the future.
1913 mining strike
Yugoslavian immigrants
community life
copper mines
ethnic diversity
Interviewee: | Steck, Alden |
Call number: | 71-032 |
Date(s) of Interview: | April 29, 1971 |
Physical Description: | 17 pages; 1 reel, 3 3/4 ips, 40 minutes; no index |
Physical Location: | Interviews are housed in Weatherly Hall North, Room 122. Copies are also housed at the Indiana University Archives in Herman B Wells Library E460. For other locations housing the interviews from this project, please contact the Center for the Study of History and Memory office. |
Access Status: | Open |
Interviewer: | Ivey, William J. |
Alden Steck, born on November 15, 1904, discusses his thoughts on the best times in the history of Calumet, Michigan, the town's development, and some local eccentric characters. He comments on the community's ethnic diversity, the social role of Finnish-Americans and how the town weathered the Great Depression and mining strikes.
Calumet and Hecla Mining Company, Calumet
Michigan
Hardy, George
Harrington, Maggie
Finnish-Americans
Great Depression
ethnic diversity
local economy
Interviewee: | Stetter, Charles |
Call number: | 71-029 |
Date(s) of Interview: | May 5, 1971 |
Physical Description: | 53 pages; 2 reels, 3 3/4 ips, 2 hours; no index |
Physical Location: | Interviews are housed in Weatherly Hall North, Room 122. Copies are also housed at the Indiana University Archives in Herman B Wells Library E460. For other locations housing the interviews from this project, please contact the Center for the Study of History and Memory office. |
Access Status: | Open |
Interviewer: | Ivey, William J. |
Charles Stetter discusses the tendency of the Calumet community to nostalgically live in the past. He recalls both the poverty and the good times of the Great Depression, and the swift downturn of this mining town's economy after the 1913 strike. In addition, he describes the local community, and ethnic diversity of Calumet and the negative reputation that prevails with regard to labor relations at the former Calumet and Hecla Mining Company.
Calumet and Hecla Mining Company, Calumet,
Michigan
McNaughton, James
unions
1913 mining strike
Finnish-Americans
Great Depression
copper mines
ethnic diversity
labor relations
local community
local economy
real estate