COLLECTION NAME:
Colorado Coal Project
Record
Collection Name:
Colorado Coal Project
Title:
Interview with Lee Scamehorn
Creator:
Margolis, Eric, 1947-
Creator:
McMahan, Ronald L.
Subject:
Colorado Fuel and Iron Corporation
Subject:
Labor disputes--Colorado
Subject:
Strikes and lockouts--Coal mining--Colorado
Subject:
Coal Strike (Colorado : 1913-1914)
Subject:
Coal mines and mining
Subject:
Coal mines and mining--Colorado
Subject:
Denver and Rio Grande Railroad Company
Subject:
Interviews
Description:
Scamehorn was an archivist for the Colorado State Historical Society and a history professor at CU-Boulder. He grew up in Taylorville, Illinois (site of a struggle between progressives and the U.M.W.A), and wrote his master's thesis on the Illinois coal industry. When he first came West in 1956, one saw numerous coal-waste piles near Boulder. The last Boulder County coal mine closed in the 1950s. CF&I wanted a company history written, which led to the development of a business history research center at CU-Boulder. Coal mining in this area began with the coal survey conducted by Hayden for the USGS in the 1860s. A brief discussion of the Ludlow Massacre follows: they contend that there are contradictory stories about what really happened at Ludlow and that the company's viewpoint has never been well expressed. Scamehorn details the development of CF&I: the mill was sited at Pueblo to be close to resources. He elaborates on the close relationship between railroad development and coal mining: coal was often the first objective and constituted much of the traffic once the line was developed. Because of the isolation and lack of development, the company often ended up creating a town. He relates John Osgood's role in expanding steel production at CF&I. Osgood died in 1926, as head of Victor American. CF&I was taken over by John Rockefeller, Sr. and George Shay Gould, with John D. Rockefeller Jr. involved after 1905. The Panama Canal shifted some business away from CF&I. Unlike other railroads, the Denver & Rio Grande and CF&I produced their own rails. They compare eastern vs. western coal mining: western coal featured more "company towns" while eastern coal towns were more diversified; similar ethnic groups were found in both areas (especially Italians and Slavs); eastern coal mines used machines earlier; western mines included more small mines, which eventually offered immigrants a path into managerial positions. They discuss the future of coal and industrial production in the Front Range, as well as efforts to tell business's history. Images of coal mining areas are described, which were often produced for the coal companies. The "sociological department" was a pet project of John Osgood, initially at CF&I and later at the Redstone mine. He favored "welfare capitalism" as an effort to head off unionization, and he promoted an educated, healthy workforce as a business model. In 1917, he controlled Victor American and was always a fervent temperance advocate. He sponsored club activities in coal towns, as alternatives to saloons, which leads to a broader discussion of alcohol problems in coal mining. They discuss coalfield photos, which often appeared staged, to present the company in a positive light. Sometimes mine fatalities were photographed propped up, eyes stuck open, as the only photo a family might have of the miner. They discuss photos of or about the Farr brothers and Ludlow; photos sponsored by the company (which often focused on the physical plant and ignored the people); and company commissions for photographer Glenn Aultman.
Description Type:
summary
Publisher:
University of Colorado Boulder Archives
Contributor:
Scamehorn, H. Lee, (Howard Lee), 1926-
Date:
1978-06-06
Type:
Text
Format:
application/pdf
Identifier:
narv_coloradoCoal_transScamehorn.pdf
Language:
English
Relation:
Title: Interview with Lee Scamehorn (part 1 of 2)
Relation Type:
isFormatOf
Relation:
Title: Interview with Lee Scamehorn (part 2 of 2)
Relation Type:
isFormatOf
Coverage (Spatial):
Pueblo (Pueblo, Colorado, United States, North America) (populated place)
Coverage (Temporal):
1867/1978
Coverage (Spatial):
Colorado (United States, North America) (first order administrative divisions)
Rights:
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