Ludlow 102nd
Memorial
Celebration
Vice-President Mike Dalpaiz, UMWA Region
4 Director Bob Butero, University of Denver
historian Joe Drexler, Las Animas County
Sheriff Jim Casias, and keynote speaker
UMWA International Secretary-Treasure Dan
critical tipping point. “This is sacred ground,”
Justice reflects, speaking in a near whisper at
the solemn Historic Ludlow Memorial where
the faces of the lost men are etched in stone:
Other miners names join those of the 19 coal
by Jean Di Lisio
A one hundred and two year
old memory recounted by Linda Linville,
descendant of a Ludlow family, recalled the
fateful destiny of the Charlie Costa family at the
Ludlow Massacre of 1914. Over 1,200 miners
were trapped in a form of “industrial slavery”
under the Rockefeller family-owned Colorado
Fuel and Iron Company and Costa’s entire
family of five lost their lives. On Sunday, June
5, 2016, the Colorado United Mine Workers
of America and the National AFLCIO unions
gathered in remembrance of the striking coal
miners and families whose “rights were not
given, but won by people who sacrificed their
lives.”
Kane and special music feature with guitar,
violin and vocal duets by Jeff Montoya’s Coal
Town Reunion Band.
“Somebody should do something. Then
I realized I am somebody.”
miners killed on 102nd anniversary of the April
20, 1914 attack by the Colorado National
-Anonymous Guard and coal company gunmen when they
Dignitaries leading the memorial service were
launched the attack against the tent colony.
Marie Justice, Navajo Nation, Mike and Yolanda Coal has been a part of the fabric of Colorado Memorialized by a family of three, the Ludlow
Romero from Southern Colorado Coal Miners for over 160 years. But its future as a key energy statues honor their sacrifice forever.
Memorial Museum, International District 22 resource is in question and may have reached a
intrigued by the lives of the miners
and their families,” she says, “and
their courage to live in tents during
the winter and to stand for their
basic rights, potentially sacrificing
their lives.”
tribute to the 11 children who were among
the casualties. The completed works now
serve as a dramatic backdrop to Trinidad’s
Coal Miners Memorial Museum helping
us to recall Memories of the Massacre:
Perspectives on Ludlow.
Hand chose to focus her work on the personal
stories, rather than the overarching political
turbulence. Her signature use of yellows and
browns, and suggestive brush strokes, illustrate
the hardscrabble life of the era, as well as an
undercurrent of deep-seated tension. “I was
Artist Lindsay Hand’s exhibit
reinvigorated the community with key regional
leaders and the City of Trinidad officially
purchasing the 11 super-sized portraits of
the Ludlow Massacre. “Coal mining was our
way of life,” recounts Frank Colangelo. If
there were not coal in these mountains, our
community would not be here the way it is
today,” he says. “It’s our history, our lifeblood,
and we hope to preserve this legacy for our
grandchildren and future generations.”
The Southern Colorado Coal Miners
Museum plans to open from 10am to 8 pm
after the grand opening on June 25, 2016.
Days to be announced. Directors hope to
enhance the museum by creating experiential
hands on learning activities and exhibits,
murals of the regional coal camps, mule barn
replicas, and tours of the local mines. Gift
store sales of tee-shirts, mugs and coal samples
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help sustain the endeavor. Memberships and
donors to the museum are welcome. For
inquiries or to make a donation contact:
Mike or Yolanda Romero at (719) 846-8234 or
email: [email protected]
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