Detail View: Colorado Coal Project: Interview with Mike Livoda (part 3 of 4), including his wife, Kate

Colorado Coal Project

Interview with Mike Livoda (part 3 of 4), including his wife, Kate

Margolis, Eric, 1947-

http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n00101170

McMahan, Ronald L.

http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no94033808

Coal mines and mining--Colorado--Huerfano County

Colorado Fuel and Iron Corporation

http://id.worldcat.org/fast/572994

Germer, Adolph

http://id.worldcat.org/fast/233313

Jones, Mother, 1837-1930

http://id.worldcat.org/fast/1730605

Labor disputes--Colorado

Lawson, John R., 1871-1945

http://id.worldcat.org/fast/372494

Interviews

http://id.worldcat.org/fast/1423832

Coal Strike, Colo., 1913-1914

http://id.worldcat.org/fast/1404237

Coal miners--Personal narratives

Coal mines and mining

http://id.worldcat.org/fast/865355

United Mine Workers of America

http://id.worldcat.org/fast/515758

Coal mines and mining--Colorado--Las Animas County

Mike Livoda discusses his tenure as superintendent of CCC camps at Walden and Craig, Colo., during the Depression. He also talks about Barron Beshoar (author of "Out of the Depths" and the son of a local doctor). Prior to the strike, Huerfano County Sheriff Jeff Farr swore in 259 deputies (paid by the operators). Livoda claims that Farr was illegally elected, with even non-citizens voting for him. (Farr died about a year after the massacre; CF&I later named a camp for Sheriff Farr, at the Cameron mine.) Mother Jones came to speak ~15 Sept. 1913 -- before the strike began. Livoda reads the 1913 list of 7 demands on the "strike call"; these were unanimously approved by the convention. Coal company operators (Rocky Mountain Fuel, CF&I, and Victor American Fuel Co.) were given 48 hours to consider, but they refused to negotiate at all. Livoda was elected vice-president of the union district, during the strike. On 23 Sept. 1913, he, John Lawson, Bernardo Verna, and another were at Ludlow when striking families began to arrive after eviction from company housing -- as it began to snow heavily. The coal operators had coerced the railroads, which failed to deliver tents for about 1200-1500 people. Other tent colonies were at Aguilar, Walsenburg, Sopris, Forbes, and eventually Trinidad. The miners and union bought guns for self-protection. In order to save money, the operators wanted the state to send in the militia (who arrived on 28 Oct. 1913). Gen. Chase was in charge. Eventually, the original guardsmen were mustered out and often replaced by company guards who enlisted. Livoda declares, "Linderfelt was the biggest murderer that ever lived." Additional guardsmen would approach Ludlow by train; the strikers had been warned and would take positions to keep the troops at a distance from the tent colony. Mike Livoda describes the "death special" armored car, which fired into the tent colonies (including killing a boy at Forbes). During the women's march in Trinidad, they marched on the hospital to free Mother Jones from detention there. Livoda was watching on the post office steps, when the militia on horseback ran into the marchers. He speaks about "Don", a reporter for the Denver Express (which gave fair coverage to the strikers). Livoda felt that the Denver Post, Rocky Mountain News, Chronicle News, and the Picket Wire were biased in favor of the operators. Strikers bought the Trinidad Free Press. On 10 March 1914, the tent colony at Forbes was burned. Livoda talks about Louis Tikas: after fighting began at Ludlow, Tikas crossed to negotiate with the militia, was hit over the head and killed. Livoda says Linderfelt broke a gun over Louis's head. Mike Livoda and Lawson received a phone call that fighting had erupted at Ludlow; they sped out there in a car; Livoda got out at Suffield, trying to round up guns and men. During "the 10-days war," he organized about 450 men to stay in the area (though Ludlow was already destroyed by that time); the men in the field had no hot food or even coffee, as they didn't dare start a fire. After the Ludlow massacre, at Forbes tent colony, the strikers "started to get even" before the Federal troops arrived. Livoda sent about 175 men from Trinidad with orders to confront miners breaking the strike -- but to leave women and children alone. He saw the Ludlow efforts as part of a larger, nationwide movement to improve life for workers. They talk about several individuals active in the local and national labor struggles. After WWI, Livoda was sent to Youngstown, Ohio to help organize steelworkers there. (Mrs. Kate Livoda joins in.) If the American miners were restless and making demands, coal companies would import new immigrants as strikebreakers. Companies would also recruit foreigners as saloon keepers. Mike credits John L. Lewis and the CIO with organizing labor across craft lines, so they were more unified. He sees Nelson Rockefeller (then Vice-President of the U. S., under Gerald Ford) as a different sort of man than his earlier relatives. Discussing black lung, Livoda feels that these problems need legislative action and that labor needs to make the case to legislators. Mrs. Livoda adds that some miners with the disease haven't received benefits because they can't prove their work in the mines for a minimum period of time (usually 10-15 years). Mike didn't qualify for a miner's pension, tho he did receive one from the AFL-CIO; he was vice-president of the U.M.W.A District 15 from 1914-1938. His work supervising a CCC camp ended with WWII. Mrs. L. connected him with Adolph Germer and a job with the CIO. Livoda describes strip mining and unions -- if organized at all, many chose craft unions such as mechanics. They may need better union organizers; it also helps to speak their language, if the miners are new immigrants. The couple discusses the experiences of immigrants to America, who have prospered and created higher qualities of life for their children. The immigrants may qualify for pensions and Social Security benefits. Mike feels that this country needs both workers and investors to create good jobs. The couple looks at old pictures of Colorado coal towns. They mention that some black miners were brought in as strikebreakers, but later joined the union. During the 1927 IWW strike, Mike Livoda signed for arrested strikers to release them from jail (tho he was not part of that union).Kate Livoda's father immigrated from the Austrian Tyrol, spoke German, and mined in Pennsylvania and Colorado. By 1913, she was in Trinidad working for the telephone company. Since the militia was in the streets, women phone operators stayed in town in a boarding house: "...we slept with our clothes on." Mother Jones confronted the armed militia there: she placed her hand over their guns and dared them to shoot. Kate met Mike when helping him place a phone call, just after the shooting of Belcher. The authorities heard that Mother Jones was coming to Trinidad, grabbed her off the train, and detained her in Mt. San Rafael Hospital. Kate recalls that Mother Jones would protect the rights of women and children, but would rather be with the men. Kate was at work when Lippiatt was shot in the street and when Belcher was later shot for that crime. She recalls earlier, happier times when the coal camps were active and people gathered for baseball games and holiday parties. She reads aloud a couple of excerpts from Mother Jones's speeches (one to striking miners, another to Gen. Chase, commander of the Colo. National Guard). Kate claims that the gun used to kill Belcher belonged to her boyfriend at the time. She also identifies the young man who brought torches to Ludlow to burn the tents as Chitsworth, a boss's son; he bragged about his role afterward. Mr. and Mrs. Livoda discuss the prelude to the Ludlow Massacre: by 19 April 1914, Hamrock was in the militia camp, and Linderfelt had brought in his men. Mike thinks the attack was planned. He reads the names of those who died during the Colorado Coal Strike. Kate Livoda speaks of the early miners and their families: "they just gave of themselves. They just gave of themselves."

summary

University of Colorado Boulder Archives

Livoda, Kate

Livoda, Mike, 1886-1984

1978-06-01

Text

application/pdf

narv_coloradoCoal_transLivoda3.pdf

https://ark.colorado.edu/ark:/47540/q6406299s277

English

Title: Interview with Mike Livoda (part 2 of 4), including his wife, Kate

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https://ark.colorado.edu/ark:/47540/ts4x3314z0rh

Title: Interview with Mike Livoda (part 4 of 4)

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Title: Interview with Mike Livoda (part 1 of 4)

isPartOf

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Aguilar (Las Animas, Colorado, United States, North America) (populated place)

1887/1974

Huerfano County (Colorado, United States, North America) (civil)

Las Animas County (Colorado, United States, North America) (civil)

Ludlow (Las Animas, Colorado, United States, North America) (populated place)

Trinidad (Las Animas, Colorado, United States, North America) (populated place)

Walsenburg (Huerfano, Colorado, United States, North America) (populated place)