US AMERICANS:
THE GOGEBIC LUMBERJACK STRIKE OF 1937
By Bruce K. Cox
A history of the lumberjack strike of 1937,
which took place from 18 May through 29 August of that year. It
began at the Bonifas Lumber Company Camp No. 2 and spread as far
east as Newberry, with as many as 6,000 lumberjacks on strike by
early June. This book includes 54 photographs, three of which
were taken during the strike. This turned out to be a major
event in the history of Gogebic county. The strike turned
violent after lumberjacks stoned logging trucks a few times and
dumped loads of logs in peoples' yards. It led to a "battle" in
Marenisco on 30 June in which lumberjacks and citizens were
chased, beaten and tear-gassed around the town. A truck was
commandeered and loaded with forty-six men, who were taken to
the Michigan State Police post in Wakefield and locked up for
several days. That same evening vigilantes kidnapped and
assaulted three of the union leaders in Ironwood and dropped
them off across the state line in Saxon, Wisconsin. Other groups
of vigilantes armed with pick and axe handles attacked
lumberjacks staying in the Finnish halls in Bessemer and
Ironwood later that night. The following day police stopped a
car near lake Gogebic. Three Finnish-American men later
presented their testimony of being beaten and forced to wade out
into the lake to wash the blood from their clothes. The strike
was put down and the union eventually settled at the end of
August 1937. This book includes original testimony from 1937,
newspaper reports and accounts by witnesses and participants who
were interviewed by the author. Includes footnotes. Appendixes
at the end of the book include a list of people who were
involved in the strike. There is a complete name and subject
index. Anybody interested in the history of this region, the
Great Depression or labor history should have this book.
First printed in 2002.
Please add $3 for postage and insurance, plus $1 for each additional book ordered. Orders of $100 or more are sent postpaid. Agogeebic Press, P. O. Box 131, Wakefield, Michigan 49968
Details: vii + 96 pages, cardboard covers, comb-bound, 8 ½
by 11
Price: $20
Availability:
In Stock. Ships from and sold by Agogeebic Press.