“Big Annie” Klobuchar Clemenc stands tall in Calumet’s proud history. A labor activist in the early 20th century, she drew women out of their traditional roles and helped shape the labor movement in the U.P.  Soon Calumet will have a life-sized statue downtown honoring her. 

A local artist, Jerome Patryjak, created a piece of art that will be used as inspiration for the sculptor to design the statue. A sculptor will be selected once the Big Annie Statue Committee has reached their fundraising goals.

The Big Annie Statue Committee recently awarded Patryjak a $500 grant funded by the Keweenaw Community Foundation to create a conceptual rendering of the Big Annie statue. The committee is planning a June 22 fundraising gala at the Calumet Theatre, where the artist’s rendering of the statue will be revealed. 

WHO WAS BIG ANNIE?

Anna Klobuchar Clemenc was known as Big Annie because she towered over most other women, standing six foot two inches tall. Although her brother Frank described her as “mild and well-mannered,” she turned out to be a firebrand when it came to supporting the role of women outside the home and fighting for economic and social justice. It made her both a hero and a pariah in her time. 

In 1913, miners on the Keweenaw Peninsula held a labor strike protesting their hazardous working conditions and extremely low wages. During the strike, Clemenc, only 25 years old at the time and herself the wife of a miner, founded a Woman’s Auxiliary of the Western Federation of Miners in support of the miners’ cause. She marched with the strikers daily, often waving an American flag on a 10-foot pole as a reminder of every citizen’s fundamental rights.  

Clemenc was arrested and jailed twice for her activism.  The first time, she and five other women stopped a man from going to work whom they thought was a non-striker. They were arrested after fighting with deputies. She also served a 10-day jail sentence for previously assaulting a non-striking miner. 

Clemenc and the Women’s Auxiliary planned the historic Christmas Eve party at Italian Hall, which turned into a mass disaster after someone falsely shouted “fire” and 500 children and 175 adults stampeded to get out of the building. Seventy-five people died, most of them children. Carrying her flag, Clemenc led the funeral procession for the victims. 

Her legacy was mostly forgotten for decades, until the Michigan legislature declared on June 17, 1980, as Annie Clemenc Day, describing her as “one of Michigan’s most valiant, yet largely forgotten and unrecognized women.” 

ARTIST’S CONNECTION TO CALUMET

Patryjak’s grandmother and grandfather both emigrated to Calumet from the Austrian-Hungarian Empire in the late 19th century. They raised a family there, moving from town to town as he followed work in the mines.  

When the mines started closing, they moved to Detroit, where Patryjak was born and raised. He worked there for most of his life, though his family visited Calumet occasionally, and he has fond memories of the Keweenaw. 

During the isolation of the COVID pandemic, Patryjak realized that he wanted to live in a more beautiful place filled with what he recalled as “wonderful people.”  So he moved to Calumet, opened a studio on 5th Street, began volunteering at the Calumet Art Center and joined the boards of the Copper Country Associated Artists and the Keweenaw Heritage Center.

Patryjak’s interest in Big Annie began when he started looking into the history of the Italian Hall disaster. He learned about Big Annie’s role and wanted to know more about her.

“I was interested in her very human story,” said Patryjak.  “I believe my grandmother knew Annie when she was young.”

Among the items Patryjak’s mother left to him was a crocheted table piece with a note that said it was a gift to her mother from Annie’s mother, Mary Klobuchar.

The artist was also interested in what drove his grandparents to leave a European empire to seek opportunity in America and become citizens instead of subjects. To him, Big Annie personifies their drive.

“She was a leading figure for self-determination, respect and community over corporation,” he said.

Now, Patryjak has brought Big Annie back to life on his drawing table. The Big Annie Statue Committee can’t wait to see what a sculptor does with his rendering.

Edit: Paragraph 2 was edited for wording after this story was posted.

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