Hello ,
Last week, with great excitement I sent a copy of FANNIE NEVER FLINCHED to Anthony Slomkoski III, retired member of the United Steel Workers Union in Natrona, Pennsylvania.
In 2010, Tony toured me around the local historic points of New Kensington, Tarentum and
Brackenridge, little towns on the banks of the Allegheny River.
He shared his personal archive of newspaper
articles, photographs and memoriablia documenting Fannie's life and death.
I'd heard the locals knew the rock upon which Fannie had fallen after taking a volley of bullets to the head and back.Tony said he could take me there. After years of research, years of studying black and white photos and trying to piece together what happened, I finally stood looking down the road Fannie had walked that hot afternoon in August, 1919. Quiet and peaceful, there was no evidence of the bloody labor war fought here. Off to the right, the bluff gives away to a steep slope and the river. Below, you can see the stacks of the plant that was once Alleghany
Coal
& Coke.
Turn around here and walk up the road a few paces, and you'll come upon the back yards of woodframe houses. A nondescript garage stands now where once stood a wooden fence and a gate. Weeds grow up around the rock I had come to see. It looks much smaller than I imagined it, much smaller than it appeared in old photos. Maybe earth has piled up around it. Maybe part of it cracked away. I can't say for sure it's the same rock at all. But it helps keep history alive here, where locals refuse to
forget what Fannie died for.
Many of the witnesses to Fannie's killing were immigrants who gave statements to an interpreter and signed them with an X. They were the wives and mothers of men on strike, hoping for a little piece of the American dream, liveable wages and humane
working conditions.
When the men accused of killing Fannie Sellins went to trial, testimony of some sixty immigrants appears to have been dismissed or ignored by jurors. Why?
Prominant citizens stirred up fears that these families from Eastern Europe were enemies of America, called them derogatory names like Hunkies, and were prejudiced against their religion and unfamiliar
culture.
Beginning research on Fannie's story ten years ago, I didn't know if or when it would be published, and I had no idea the book would resonate so profoundly with the times.
Tony Slomkoski has helped keep Fannie's purpose alive for forty years or more.
I'm proud and grateful to add my efforts, and it's extremely rewarding when at long last, I get to send off a package, share a shiny new book
with people vital to the project; people who generously shared their expertise, their knowledge, and their passion; people, whose help I needed to make this book happen.
Thanks for you time! Have you read a great book? Tell me about it. Have a burning
question? Let me know. Until next week.... If you know someone who might enjoy my newsletter or books, please forward this e-mail. I will never spam you or sell your email address, you can unsubscribe below anytime with a single mouse click. To find out more about my books, how I help students, teacher and librarians, visit my website at www.MaryCronkFarrell.com. My best, Mary
Questions? Comments? Contact me at MaryCronkFarrell@gmail.com. Click here to subscribe to this
newsletter. |
|
