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In reply to the discussion: Now PBS, 'THE MINE WARS', American Experience, MOTHER JONES, WV Union Struggles,*NEW 2016, WETA [View all]appalachiablue
(41,392 posts)3. 'Mother' Mary Harris Jones, The Angel of the Miners (1830-1930)
"Mother" Jones was American Labor's best known "agitator" in the turn of the century era. She was especially close to the coal miners whom she referred to as her "boys," but she went anywhere when called on for help.
written by Mara Lou Hawse
The elderly woman smoothed her black dress and touched the lace at her throat and wrists. Her snow-white hair was gathered into a knot at the nape of her neck, and a black hat, trimmed with lavender ribbons to lend a touch of color, shaded her finely wrinkled face. She was about five feet tall, but she exuded energy and enthusiasm. As she waited to speak, her bright blue eyes scanned the people grouped beyond the platform. Her kindly expression never altered as her voice broke over the audience: "I'm not a humanitarian," she exclaimed. "I'm a hell-raiser."
She was Mary Harris "Mother" Jones, and her size and grandmotherly appearance belied her fiery nature. When she stepped on a stage, she became a dynamic speaker. She projected wide variations in emotion, sometimes striding about the stage in "a towering rage." She could bring her audience to the verge of tears or have them clapping and "bursting with laughter." She was a good story teller, and "she excelled in invective, pathos, and humor ranging from irony to ridicule."
Mother Jones's low, pleasant voice had great carrying power. It was unusual because it "did not become shrill when she became excited but, rather, dropped in pitch so that 'the intensity of it became something you could almost feel physically.' When she rose to speak, Mother Jones 'seemed to explode in all directions' . . . and suddenly everyone sat up alert and listened. No matter what impossible ideas she brought up, she made the miners think she and they together could do anything."
con't http://www.illinoislaborhistory.org/articles/172-mother-jones-the-miners-angel.html
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Now PBS, 'THE MINE WARS', American Experience, MOTHER JONES, WV Union Struggles,*NEW 2016, WETA [View all]
appalachiablue
Jan 2016
OP
Interesting new program. Those were very difficult times in the southern coal fields
appalachiablue
Jan 2016
#2
"Matewan", 1987 movie by director John Sayles. Dramatization of the miners' strike
appalachiablue
Jan 2016
#4
I've learned a lot from this documentary, the best I've ever seen on the subject I know well.
appalachiablue
Jan 2016
#6
Same here, American Experience and Finding Your Roots. Tonight host Henry Gates
appalachiablue
Jan 2016
#8
Best doumentary on the subject I've seen, esp. the rarer film footage & historical evidence.
appalachiablue
Jan 2016
#12
Even the Heavens Weep in West Virginia. Strong, proud people who have endured
appalachiablue
Jan 2016
#14
Got that right! For good or bad. It's not called 'Medieval West Virginia' for nothin' :)
appalachiablue
Jan 2016
#18
That is true, but what other jobs are there? Mainly Walmart and services, teachers, restaurants,
appalachiablue
Jan 2016
#21
That info. is true & miners jobs have actually diminished from automation, explosives
appalachiablue
Jan 2016
#25
That's great you know WV history and people. Most don't realize that joining the Union
appalachiablue
Jan 2016
#19