Big Annie’s Likeness is Coming to Calumet

“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. 

Sara Fletcher with the Keweenaw Community Foundation awards local Calumet Artist Jerome Patryjak with $500 for a conceptual rendering of the "Big Annie" Statue. Photo courtesy the "Big Annie" Statue Committee.

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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Welcome to the Brand New Copper Beacon: What We’re Doing and Why

Today marks the relaunch of a new and improved Copper Beacon. Let me tell you about its history, mission and plans for the future. 

A teleconference between the volunteer relaunch team: Josh Vissers, Laura Smyth, Jennifer Donovan, Juxta Sprague, and Lily Venable.

Just as there is no perfect person, there is no perfect media. We all, mostly, try our best. When I taught media studies, I would start each semester with a lesson on propaganda and faulty logic, because deceit, self-interest, and manipulation are as old as humankind. But so is seeking truth, helping community, and a need to communicate with each other. So, along with propaganda, I would talk (probably a lot) about personal bias—how to recognize it and move past it. One mistake we often make, both as media “consumers” and media “producers” is believing we are without bias. That’s not humanly possible. But recognizing our own biases, our own blind spots and prejudices, is not only possible, it is essential, both in a democracy and in a news outlet.

Joshua Vissers started this online news source, now called Copper Beacon, as an exercise in delivering local news to a rural community without the undue influence that can come from relying on advertising revenue.

(Read a short history of the publication here: https://www.copperbeacon.org/about-us).

It is the ideal of every journalist I have ever met not to be thwarted in what they cover and how it can be covered by the commercial necessities of their news outlet. Investigating stories, writing stories, editing stories, getting good visuals to help bring stories to life…all of this is expensive, and the tried-and-true model in American journalism has been advertising. Subscriptions in this model help, certainly, but primarily to give advertisers a sense of the readership they can reach if they pay for an expensive advertisement. The potential conflicts of interest are ever-present and obvious.

This publication has never sought or accepted advertising. We rely on subscriptions, though we now are seeking other local and national, non-commercial sources of funding. 

Copper Beacon has  been and continues to be hyper-local. We cover four counties: Baraga, Ontonogan, Houghton and Keweenaw. With the view that journalism is a community service and not a product, we value local knowledge. 

As I was working on this article in my Hancock office in late April, I decided to get out and enjoy the sunshine and clear my head. Walking down Quincy St. I found myself in the middle of the setup process for this year’s Puppy Parade. How perfect. I leave my office to clear my thoughts and immediately am immersed in an important and lovely community project. Students from Hancock High School were creating the route all along the sidewalk with chalk, leaving inspiring messages and colorful pawprints. The coordinator for the Puppy Parade, Rachel Lamppa from Copper Shores Community Health, chatted with me about the artwork the students were making and her passion for helping survivors of sexual violence. Officer Olsen was on hand, helping with the artwork and looking after the students. I had walked out of my head and into a community event outside my door. I encouraged the students to consider writing an article for the Copper Beacon about their experience on this project. Citizen journalism recruitment on the fly.

Victim advocate Rachel Lamppa with Hancock Police Officer Olsen at the Copper Shores Puppy Parade.

Rather than attempting to cover the entire U.P., Copper Beacon chose a deeper focus on truly local issues, and our plan is to grow through the development of local journalists and citizen journalists. 

One big accomplishment that the publication has achieved so far is obtaining a 501(c)3 status. Being a non-profit will help us with our mission: Copper Beacon will deliver high-quality journalism featuring diverse voices and deep research to the residents of Houghton County and the surrounding area. With ethics, accessibility, and media education held as core values, we will lead the way for the modernization of news production in the Upper Peninsula.

Yes, that’s a big mission, but what’s the point in a small one? Together, we don’t need to do this instantly but rather can build on past achievements and develop new local talent. We have a dedicated local board to help guide the way. We are actively seeking input from residents for stories that could use greater coverage, and we will be training local writers to take a leap into this important project: local news.

We’re currently an all-volunteer staff, although freelance writers are paid contributors, but one of the goals we have as a non-profit is to develop foundational funding sources from both inside and outside the region that will allow us to develop more opportunities for paid writers and also to engage and educate local communities on the importance of local news coverage. Money coming into our non-profit organization brings funds into the local economy rather than sending money out of the area through advertising revenue to a national or international corporate parent company. As Joshua said to me in a recent phone conversation, corporate news ownership is “a straw for sucking money out of the community.” And that straw seems to get bigger with each passing day. 

So, moving forward, we will keep the community events calendar going on a weekly basis along with smaller news items as they arise. The primary change will be to take a monthly deep dive into one specific topic of importance in the community and cover it in-depth. Look for story topics to be announced in the next few weeks and contact the editor if you would like more information about writing for (or learning to write for) the Copper Beacon. We’re excited about the future of this news outlet. Taking my cue from the students who were enthusiastically chalking up Quincy St. before the parade, I can tell you that we do this work with a deep commitment to the well-being of the whole community, and also an appreciation of good chalk. 

Edit: This article was corrected for typos after posting. “Office” was changed to Officer and “conversion” changed to “conversation”.

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Superior Maker Fest empowers youth to create

Despite heavy snow, Fab Lab’s inaugural Superior Maker Fest opened to overwhelming support.

Makers, vendors, and attendees filled Houghton High School on March 18 to work with wood, plastic, metal, circuits, and fabric. People of all ages were encouraged to interact with creation stations that ranged from assembling a computer to sculpting clay on a pottery wheel.

High school volunteer Yamato Tajiri watched over the First Robotics station, where children controlled the cup-grabbing-creations used in a previous robotics competition.

“I like this event because lots of people come together to do something they couldn’t do themselves,” said Tajiri.

Throughout the event, makers of all types gave words of wisdom to those beginning a hobby.

Ben Keppers, event volunteer, helps two interested kids assemble a computer. Photo by Henry Snapp

Ben Keppers, Ben Boelnes, and Brandon Finley ran a station that helped attendees disassemble and reassemble working computers.

“Putting computers together is just like putting Legos together,” Keppers explained.

“Don’t get intimidated, it’s way easier than it looks,” Boelnes added.

Kris Southerland, event team manager and owner of the Copper Island Forge, sold a variety of hooks, horseshoes, and hangars at his booth. He gave this advice on beginning blacksmithing. 

“Be patient. Don’t expect perfect results. There are no mistakes in blacksmithing, just roll the metal out and try again,” he said.

Kirstin Hensley, event team manager and artist, sold laser cut wood works at her booth. She said beginning woodworking isn’t about being perfect.

“Prepare to make lots of mistakes. Mistakes are good.”

Shane Oberloier, event team manager, attributes the success of the event to early advertising, clear communication, and an ounce of charisma.

“63 people signed up for competitions, the vendors sold out, and it’s full,” Oberloier said.

Oberloier says to look forward to more Maker Fests in the future, possibly in a new location to accommodate larger crowds.

If you are interested in connecting with makers in the Copper Country area, Jason Mack, event team manager, suggests joining the Superior Fab Lab Discord server, where makers in the area can help you find the materials, tools, and knowledge needed to start making.