COLLECTION NAME:
Colorado Coal Project
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Colorado Coal Project
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Collection Name:
Colorado Coal Project
collection_name
Colorado Coal Project
Collection Name
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Title:
Interview with John and Caroline Tomsic (part 1 of 2)
title
Interview with John and Caroline Tomsic (part 1 of 2)
Title
false
Creator:
Margolis, Eric, 1947-
creator
Margolis, Eric, 1947-
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false
Creator URI:
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http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n00101170
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false
Creator:
McMahan, Ronald L.
creator
McMahan, Ronald L.
Creator
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http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no94033808
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Subject:
Children of coal miners
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Children of coal miners
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Subject URI:
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http://id.worldcat.org/fast/855330
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Subject:
Coal mines and mining--Utah
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Coal mines and mining--Utah
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http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh88003987
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Subject:
Interviews
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Interviews
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Subject:
Labor disputes--Colorado
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Labor disputes--Colorado
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Subject:
Labor disputes -- Utah
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Labor disputes -- Utah
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Subject:
Strikes and lockouts--Coal mining--Colorado
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Strikes and lockouts--Coal mining--Colorado
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false
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http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85128770
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Subject:
Strikes and lockouts--Coal mining--Utah
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Strikes and lockouts--Coal mining--Utah
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Subject:
Coal miners--Personal narratives
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Coal miners--Personal narratives
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Subject:
Coal mines and mining
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Coal mines and mining
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http://id.worldcat.org/fast/865355
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Subject:
Coal mines and mining--Colorado
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Coal mines and mining--Colorado
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Description:
10:00 -- His childhood and early work in mining camps, Ludlow strike in 1913 (pg. 7 of pdf transcript); 20:00 -- Difficulties of early hand mining, strikes of 1913, 1922 (pg. 13 of pdf transcript); 30:00 -- Women's roles during the strike, the militia tries to break up demonstrations (pg. 20 of pdf transcript); 40:00 -- Attempts to free others from jail, labor organizations and strikes before the early 1920s (pg. 26 of pdf transcript); 50:00 -- Union gains in safer working conditions, freer trade, unity in the mines despite ethnic differences (pg. 34 of pdf transcript); 60:00 -- Daily life of a miner's wife, hand-loading coal, struggling to get black lung compensation (pg. 40 of pdf transcript).
description
10:00 -- His childhood and early work in mining camps, Ludlow strike in 1913 (pg. 7 of pdf transcript); 20:00 -- Difficulties of early hand mining, strikes of 1913, 1922 (pg. 13 of pdf transcript); 30:00 -- Women's roles during the strike, the militia tries to break up demonstrations (pg. 20 of pdf transcript); 40:00 -- Attempts to free others from jail, labor organizations and strikes before the early 1920s (pg. 26 of pdf transcript); 50:00 -- Union gains in safer working conditions, freer trade, unity in the mines despite ethnic differences (pg. 34 of pdf transcript); 60:00 -- Daily life of a miner's wife, hand-loading coal, struggling to get black lung compensation (pg. 40 of pdf transcript).
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Description:
John Tomsic's father, a steelworker and coal miner, immigrated from Austrian Italy to Delagua, Colorado where John and Caroline met. John started mining at age 15, after 8th grade. Ethnic groups lived in separate neighborhoods but got along in the same school. As a child, he lived in a tent (among a family of 8) in Ludlow before the massacre. After the massacre, his father was black-balled for 4 years, because he participated in the strike. The 1913 strike eventually led to union recognition by Victor American Fuel Company in 1918. Work conditions were harsh, getting docked for small amounts of rock in the coal car, un-paid non-production work (framing, laying track) -- all handwork with picks. During the 1922 strike in Delagua the militia came in to harass miners, monitor visitors to the town, and break-up the union. Union bands led people to meetings outside the town and union sympathizers ("red necks") wore red bandanas as a gesture of support. The couple moved to Utah after the 1922 strike and a pay dispute. Coal town life included dances, movies, picnics, fishing trips, visiting each other, and enjoying home-made wine. During the 1933 strike in Spring Canyon, Utah he spent about 10 days in a "bullpen" jail. Miners clashed with company enforcers and KKK sympathizers (Mormon youths and other farm kids). A march in Price, Utah was tear-gassed by the militia. Women were fire-hosed by militia when marching to release the men from jail. U.M.W.A and the National Miners Union were trying to organize in the area; the coal companies contracted with U.M.W.A. In Utah, after unionization, he could shop elsewhere, had more regular pay and safety committees. One son works on the tipple, the other in the coal mine. The Tomsics admit the danger in coal mining but love the camaraderie and lack of ethnic tension in the mines and coal towns (which had little crime despite unlocked doors). He now suffers from black lung, takes medication for it, and receives some compensation. Today's non-union miners benefit from the victories of earlier union miners.
description
John Tomsic's father, a steelworker and coal miner, immigrated from Austrian Italy to Delagua, Colorado where John and Caroline met. John started mining at age 15, after 8th grade. Ethnic groups lived in separate neighborhoods but got along in the same school. As a child, he lived in a tent (among a family of 8) in Ludlow before the massacre. After the massacre, his father was black-balled for 4 years, because he participated in the strike. The 1913 strike eventually led to union recognition by Victor American Fuel Company in 1918. Work conditions were harsh, getting docked for small amounts of rock in the coal car, un-paid non-production work (framing, laying track) -- all handwork with picks. During the 1922 strike in Delagua the militia came in to harass miners, monitor visitors to the town, and break-up the union. Union bands led people to meetings outside the town and union sympathizers ("red necks") wore red bandanas as a gesture of support. The couple moved to Utah after the 1922 strike and a pay dispute. Coal town life included dances, movies, picnics, fishing trips, visiting each other, and enjoying home-made wine. During the 1933 strike in Spring Canyon, Utah he spent about 10 days in a "bullpen" jail. Miners clashed with company enforcers and KKK sympathizers (Mormon youths and other farm kids). A march in Price, Utah was tear-gassed by the militia. Women were fire-hosed by militia when marching to release the men from jail. U.M.W.A and the National Miners Union were trying to organize in the area; the coal companies contracted with U.M.W.A. In Utah, after unionization, he could shop elsewhere, had more regular pay and safety committees. One son works on the tipple, the other in the coal mine. The Tomsics admit the danger in coal mining but love the camaraderie and lack of ethnic tension in the mines and coal towns (which had little crime despite unlocked doors). He now suffers from black lung, takes medication for it, and receives some compensation. Today's non-union miners benefit from the victories of earlier union miners.
Description
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Description Type:
summary
description_type
summary
Description Type
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Publisher:
University of Colorado Boulder Archives
publisher
University of Colorado Boulder Archives
Publisher
false
Contributor:
Tomsic, Caroline
contributor
Tomsic, Caroline
Contributor
false
Contributor:
Tomsic, John
contributor
Tomsic, John
Contributor
false
Date:
1978-04-28
date
1978-04-28
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Type:
Moving image
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Moving image
Type
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Format:
video/mov
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video/mov
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Identifier:
164-Tomsic.mov
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164-Tomsic.mov
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Identifier ARK:
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https://ark.colorado.edu/ark:/47540/9t4p7s0890p1
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Language:
English
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English
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Relation:
Title: Interview with John and Caroline Tomsic (part 2 of 2)
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Coverage (Spatial):
Ludlow (Las Animas, Colorado, United States, North America) (populated place)
coverage__spatial_
Ludlow (Las Animas, Colorado, United States, North America) (populated place)
Coverage (Spatial)
false
Coverage (Temporal):
1904/1978
coverage__temporal_
1904/1978
Coverage (Temporal)
false
Coverage (Spatial):
Delagua (historical) (Las Animas, Colorado, United States, North America) (populated place)
coverage__spatial_
Delagua (historical) (Las Animas, Colorado, United States, North America) (populated place)
Coverage (Spatial)
false
Coverage (Spatial):
Storrs (Carbon, Utah, United States, North America) (populated place)
coverage__spatial_
Storrs (Carbon, Utah, United States, North America) (populated place)
Coverage (Spatial)
false