Barbara Kopple: The opening shot of Harlan County is going into the coal mines. Sadly, Harlan Countys troubles persisted through most of the 1930s, still known throughout the region as the Bloody Harlan years. Within Kentucky, more than 96% of the communities have a lower crime rate than Harlan. My songs always goes to the underdog to the worker. As Basil Collins got out of his truck, you could hear the guns clicking, the safeties being taken off. But the strike still caused economic hardship, especially among the poorer people in Harlan County. Arnold Miller won the Miners for Democracy and his first promise was to organize the unorganized.. The 2010 disaster at Massey Energys Upper Big Branch Mine at Montcoal, West Virginia, cost twenty-nine lives. The scabs had guns and they came back across the bridge and they also had semi-automatic carbines with tracer bullets that just lit up the mountainside. . The . Todd Melby: Another scene that I really like I love all the scenes with the women behind the scenes organizing and debating what they should do and telling their own stories. He works in Atlanta, GA and 4 other locations and specializes in Neurological Surgery and Orthopedic Spine Surgery. Florence Reece wrote the song. The Ohio Supreme Court today suspended a Cleveland attorney for two years for committing several ethical violations, including billing a client's mother twice for round trips to Youngstown to visit his client in prison when the man was in the local county jail.. WILLIAM BRUNER OBITUARY. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. In 1932, only in anthracite country had the union held its own. Bruner joined LLNL in 2009, after retiring as a colonel from the United States Air . They say in Harlan County, there are no neutrals there Youll either be a union man or a thug for J. H. Blair Which side are you on? Some women in the BWC stabbed a police officers after he had dragged one of them away from the picket line. I mean, just look at the way they support women's rights and free expression and democracy and the rule of law. The film's very title, Harlan County, USA is emblematic of class struggle. Still, the Wall Street bankers and East Coast industrialists who owned the vast seams of the Southern coalfields would not give up without a fight, and Harlan remained Bloody Harlan. Armed company guards and sheriffs deputies patrolled the steep mountains and narrow valleys of the Kentucky Appalachians. Again, Harlan County took center stage, this time at the Brookside Mine exposing, again, the poverty of coal country, as well as the vicious indifference to life of the owners, in this case Duke Power. No one knows who fired the first shot but when it was over four were deadthree deputies and one miner with several more wounded. Barbara Kopple: Yes and know that if you are passionate enough about it, people will help you. Bill Bruner is scot-free. [4]:5688 Their attempts at strikes, while weak in surrounding counties, were utter failures in Harlan, where only a fraction of the workforce walked out in 1931 and 1932. Still, there is a spirit that lives in Harlan, along with the ghosts of battles past. Which side are you on?. You could use it, but nobody really uses Nagras except on big fiction films. Afterward I tore a sheet from a calendar on the wall and wrote the words to 'Which Side Are You On?' CEO Don Blankenship was convicted of willfully violating safety standards and spent a year in prison. Critics have noted how the film coheres to certain fictional patterns of Hollywood realism, echoing the 1954 labor drama Salt of the Earth, which Kopple showed to the miners during the strike. Bobby Simpson, 79, has been blind for more than a half-century, but still managed to shovel coal. I think that was the most important film in my life because I learned what life and death was all about. Households with a computer, percent, 2017-2021. Billy Carroll Bruner, 39, a foreman at the Eastover mine, was wounded in the shootout and charged with the killing. [11] As national political support for the NIRA dwindled, capital gained the upper hand, and when the United States Supreme Court struck down the legislation's pro-union National Recovery Administration portion, shops with union presence in Harlan dwindled from eighteen to one. Barbara Kopple: Yes, to the picket line where they were bringing in the scabs. He was born on May 1, 1938 in Owensboro to the late William & Gertrude Bruner. 3. In doing so, they would also ensure two secondary objectives: establishing a worker's Safety Committee and increased hospital and medical benefits. They ransacked the whole house and then kept watch outside, waiting to shoot Sam down when he came back. I probably still am. We Be Here When Morning Comes: Bryan Woolley 9. How many miners died in the Harlan County War? I went to wikipedia to look for the quote from Brecht's The Jewish Wife about how character was a thing that could be measured in units of time, but I couldn't find it. . . On May 5, 1931 the pot boiled over; in Harlan County Kentucky, heavily armed deputies and company men, called "gun thugs" by miners, confronted disgruntled union men on a road near Evarts. Published by Courier-Journal on Mar. I also learned later too that he was in WWII and he survived the Bataan Death March. That's so sad. I worked on other peoples films doing sound and editing, but this for me was the very first. On April 1, Harlan County is 200 years old. Maybe you can tell us how you started Harlan County. How long did the Harlan County strike last? Most are missing a minimum of one and sometimes more vital amino acids your Pom needs.Lots of today's dog foods (including the costly, popular . Todd Melby: And then you decided to cut right from there to a shooting. -A goddamn scab. MEDICAL SCHOOL Columbia University Vagelos School of Physicians and Surgeons, New York. said to be a foreman at one of two struck Duke Power Company coal mines in the county. Mineworkers and their families in Harlan County, Kentucky, have blockaded the railroad tracks of a deadbeat employer. I have never seen better acting. Murdered while on a picket line in Harlan County KY, After his death an agreement was signed between the miners and the union! On July 7, a group of deputies, enraged at a public celebration of the Wagner Act, dispersed the crowd by beating several miners. Physical removal of protesters from picket lines, weapons fired into miners' homes, verbal threats, and one murder. However, it was only -after- the . Several men were arrested for violating the injunction and were sentenced to three months in prison. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". Bill was retired from Kroger and was a member of Cumberland Presbyterian Church. The coal miners, lean and tough from Kentucky mountain life, knew how to fight back. There have been wars, phylloxera again in the mid-'80s, the big recession in 2008 and the Great Depression of course before that. She talks about incidents of violence during the standoff. This is a digitized version of an article from The Timess print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. Todd Melby: Another scene that involves the gun thug was the confrontation that was on the road during the daytime at a place in the road where [striking coal miners] previously hadnt attempted to stop the scabs from crossing. . Both sides filed complaints with the National Labor Review Board (NLRB) accusing the other side of bargaining in bad faith. I didnt know it. Previews and coverage for films playing at DOC NYC 2022, DOC NYC announces the world premieres of new films from, The Kingston Canadian Film Festival returns as Canada's largest showcase devoted exclusively to Canadian films, running, Doug and the Slugs and Me wins the Audience Award for Best Canadian Documentary at the, If/Then Hulu Short Documentary Lab invites applications with an emphasis on LGBTQIA+ storytellers to participate in, In The Colour of Ink, Brian D. Johnson profiles artisanal ink-maker Jason Logan and his creative, Claire Simon delivers a probing documentary epic about women, their bodies, and the intimacy of examining. . Union members were beaten, their families terrorized. Another factor in the strike was the presence of Barbara Kopple, a journalist who made a documentary Harlan County, USA about the struggle. She talks about elections in Harlan County and how they are intrinsically connected to the coal industry. POV engages filmmakers and film lovers in conversations about the art of non-fiction. It comes to a bill of about $20,000 a week for the national union. By June 17, the last mine had returned to work. Bill Bruner, the foreman who shot and killed Jones, was eventually put on trial for the death. The 1973 UMWA Convention in Pittsburgh was a celebration of workers democracy and workers power. . Harlan miners started to organize in the 1920s, a struggle that culminated in a long and violent strike in 1931. In fact Harlans Depression-era struggle turned out to be one of the most bitter and protracted labor disputes in American history. Days Of Darkness-- John Ed Pearce 5. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". Acknowledgements; Introduction; User Notes 1. Organizer Garfield Lewis wrote, The people have been so starved out that they are flocking into the Union by the thousands . The strikers won, but only after thirteen months and the murder of a young miner, Lawrence Jones, aged twenty-two. Ted is the miner/husband/father Silas Kincaide and Holly is the wife/mom Ruby Kincaide. In "Bloody Harlan" in the 1930s, miners and union organizers faced bayonets and many died fighting the coal bosses, helping to fuel a national wave of organizing. "The Little Old Log Cabin in the Lane" - Fiddlin' John Carson (Okeh 4890) (1923) 2. Mr. Bruner was shot by someone in the crowd when he tried to leave. Nonviolent picketing comes to Harlan mine. What this means is that Harlan County as a political unit and cultural construct is that old; however, the history of modern Harlan County begins with the movement of people of European origin along with, in many instances, the people of African origin whom they held enslaved into southwest Virginia . And you're right, it's a great doc, and director Barbara Kopple is a cool, nice person. An open shop allows union membership but does not mandate it. In June of 1973, workers at the Brookside coal mine in Harlan County, Kentucky voted 113-55 to replace their membership in the Southern Labor Union (SLU) and join the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) union. The Global NonviolentAction Database is aproject of Swarthmore College, including the Peace and Conflict Studies Program, the Peace Collection, and the Lang Center for Civic and Social Responsibility. Some of these prisoners had been convicted of serious crimes including manslaughter and homicide. Bobby's wife, Becky, who died in 2013, was a lifelong advocate for the people of Harlan County. Florida statutes already say sexual battery of a child under 12 is a capital felony, but it has been effectively moot because of Supreme Court rulings barring the death penalty in such cases. Shortly after Jones' death, 29 August 1974, the Eastover Mining Company offered a contract to the striking workers. The miners had guns and the strikebreakers had guns. I just felt honored to be able to photograph it. Along with opposing the UMWA union, Eastover management also wanted a 'no-strike' clause to be included in any final contract. Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. Just imagine how many of today's leaders of leftwing movements would be in next 20 years. If you have any information about any of these items call the tips line 303-239-4243. A police captain said that the shooting had occurred after Mr. Jones and Mr. Bruner exchanged some angry words. Marshals office is situated. August 2012) Prescribed by Treasury Department Treasury Dept . The strikers received some of the highest strike benefits ever paid by the U.M.W.$80 a week for a single man, $90 for a couple and $100 for a family. Why was Harlan County in the depression known as Bloody Harlan? If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. With documentaries, you never really know what youre going to get. The SLU was largely seen as serving the interests of the mine owners rather than the workers. I remember Aronson from the 1980s -- a big wheel in the contra propaganda apparatus. Harlan County,USAis available onDVDfrom The Criterion Collection and in theUSAon Film Struck. Leave a review. The 2000 television movie Harlan County War starred Holly Hunter. After a month of negotiations with no success, the 180 miners walked off the job and began what would be a 13-month-long strike on 26 July 1973. Barbara Kopplesfirst feature film,Harlan County,USA, a chronicle of a 13-month long Brookside mine strike in the Appalachian region of East Kentucky in the early 1970s, is a great documentarythough, arguably, its not a good one. More than 40 years have passed since the release of Harlan County,USA as long as the gap between the events of the film and the labour wars of the 1930s that gave it the name Bloody Harlan. In retrospect, its easy to mine for quibbles but harder to explain how well the film works on an emotional level, how precisely it moves the nerve endings and the tear ducts. Still time to catch films at @reframefilmfestival, We have tons of reviews and interviews from Sundan, Your Oscar nominees for Best #Documentary Feature, New Films from Kopple, Porter, Pozdorovkin Set for DOC NYC, Free Money Review: The Politics of Giving, Dry Ground Burning Review: An Empowering Favela Hybrid, Blue Box Review: The Big Moral Problem of History, Kingston Canadian Film Festival Brings the Circuit Full Circle, Available Light Film Festival Announces 2023 Award Winners, IF/Then x Hulu Short Documentary Lab Opens to Applications from LGBTQIA+ Storytellers, Our Body Review: Claire Simons Intimately Epic Documentary. Todd Melby: Wow. Read today's latest news headlines from Lexington, Kentucky and Fayette County. By then, a powerful UMWA represented 400,000 working miners, promising safety at work and an escape from the poverty that had consumed generation after generation. After a month of negotiations with no success, the 180 miners walked off the job and began what would be a 13-month-long strike on 26 July 1973. Aging autocrat and UMWA president John L. Lewis agreed to allow the employers a free hand in mechanizing the mines. Billy C. Bruner It was really early in the morning. Why, Freedom House even criticizes the U.S. for not living up to its own principles! Bill worked for Sysco and retired after 30+ years as a truck driver. She talks about hiding behind cars on the picket line for protection from the "gun thugs." She talks about a standoff against Basil Collins and the scabs and gun thugs. Harlan County was fighting for the right to have a union. [4]:67 Florence Reece, wife of organizer Sam Reece, wrote the labor standard "Which Side Are You On?". Language may be the most overlooked strength ofHarlan County,USA: the flavour of the Appalachian speech of the miners and their wives. Barbara Kopple: Harlan County, USA; that was my first ever film that I did on my own. As I watched the movie, I wasnt exactly sure what was happening, just that it was chaos. A Brief History of Harlan County, USA. We would do it in Tennessee. Billy Carroll Bruner, 39, a foreman at the Eastover mine, was wounded in the shootout and charged with the killing.Mr. Rather than see 'their men' imprisoned, they volunteered to staff the picket lines. POV Magazine The troops promptly escorted the union men to the county line. About 200 miners, some of whom walked off their jobs in support of the Brookside miners, will be affected by the outcome of the election. The replacement workers often drove through the picket lines, injuring the striking workers. A seventy-three-year-old Florence Reece attended and led a rousing, emotional rendition of Which Side Are You On?. Whats not good about it, then? Mr. Bruner was shot by someone in the crowd when he tried to leave. This gives it a little extra dollop of bleakness. Barbara Kopple: I dont know. Here is an edited version of that conversation. Barbara Kopple: Yes, and he would hire the scabs that would cross the picket line who were trying to break up having a union. Scott describes the murder of Lawrence Jones by Billy Bruner. After the railroad arrived in 1911 . [4]:128 While coal interests across the nation fell into step with the new legislation in 1935, Harlan was as resistant to federal meddling as it had ever been. That was the morning that everybody had guns. The miners lay in ambush for cars delivering materials to strikebreakers and shot at them. Lastly, of course, is the gruesome slaying of striking miner Lawrence Jones by scab Bill Bruner. In 1969, Tony Boyle was challenged for the UMWA presidency by Jock Yablonski, who promised democracy in the union. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". I've been watching Harlan County U.S.A, maybe the best documentary ever made about unions in the U.S. In the boldest example, we see a defiant Tony Boyle, president of United Mine Workers, sneering at his rivals in the late sixties before his indictment for bribery and murder; later, we see him, a shriveled figure in a wheelchair, being carried into the court for his trial in 1974, an event that took place after the Brookside strike was over. The 'security guards' and local police often physically removed people from the picket line in order to let cars pass. Computer and Internet Use. . Although these miners today have no union, the mines of Harlan County have a storied history of grassroots labor militancy. I would ship the film out (because I didnt want anything to happen to it) to my father and then beg him to ship me more film in. Lois Scott pulls a gun out of her dress and said something like, I started out with a switch, but now Im carrying a gun. She kept it between her breast in her bra! Todd Melby: Did you figure that out in the edit room? It does not store any personal data. Segment Synopsis: Lois Scott continues her conversation from her previous interview. The miners revival, led by the UMWA, came in the wake of Franklin Roosevelts election in 1933 and in their belief that only their union might save them. #cats #GreyGardens #LittleEd. Todd Melby: Good. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. HARLAN COUNTY, Ky. (WYMT) - 3/22/2022 Update: Officials with the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet confirm to WYMT James Brown's body was found approximately three miles into the mine and . Updated November 23, 2021 12:21 PM. The 1920s, a decade of defeat for American workers everywhere, left the UMWA in a shambles. Boyle had Yablonski murdered. How would you describe the nature of work God gave to Adam in the Garden of Eden?He told Adam that he could eat the fruit of any tree in the Garden except the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.11. The question is back: Which Side Are You On?. [10] The Kentucky National Guard was once again called in on December 8, 1934, requested by UMW organizers who had been threatened by bosses and deputies. We wore machine guns with semiautomatic carbines. We dont see you, but we can hear you interact. An incredible woman named Florence Reece wrote a song called Which Side Are You On? and it pertains to almost every single struggle, whether its a labor struggle or something else. But he didn't come home that night. The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". Todd Melby: I want to ask you also about opening shots and closing shots and the importance of them. The next day soldiers entered Harlan to end the violence. It was a nearly decade-long conflict, lasting from 1931 to 1939. Language other than English spoken at home, percent of persons age 5 years+, 2017-2021. Tags: Barbara Kopple, Harlan County USA, Documentary Film, academy awards, Albert Serra Discuses 'The Death of Louis XIV', Taxi Driver: On The Set With Photographer Steve Schapiro, Episode 8: Inmate #1: The Rise of Danny Trejo, Episode 16: Buster Keaton: A Filmmaker's Life. Holly Hunter and Ted Levine are the main characters. Sad. The strikers reported attempted bribery to denounce the union, being shot at numerous times, having dynamite thrown at them, shots fired into their homes, and constant verbal threats. Bloody Harlan. The rank-and-file group Miners for Democracy (MFD) was organized at the funeral. "Harlan County" won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 1977, but it had been years since the film was shown on the big screen. The union, with all that it promised, is gone. 4.6 out of 5 (106 ratings) GENDER Male. No. In Episode 2 of the The Drunk Projectionist, producer and host Todd Melby interviewed Barbara Kopple about Harlan County USA, her impressive first film.The 1976 documentary won an Academy Award. Several members stabbed a local sheriff when he dragged a woman violently off the road on 28 February 1974. Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other problems; we are continuing to work to improve these archived versions. A UMWA organizer who welcomed us displayed a revolver on the dashboard of his car. I had a purpose. The new union leadership pledged to organize (or reorganize) the unorganized. She talks about the women being armed with sticks, mace . While hes layin over in the hospital dying. I saw people really standing up for what they believed in. Congress then passed a federal bill that assisted all afflicted miners. In 1959 when Lewis retired, the union had been reduced to 180,000 members, and the southern coalfields, Harlan included, were non-union once again. The Harlan County War, or Bloody Harlan, was a series of coal mining-related skirmishes, executions, bombings, and strikes (both attempted and realized) that took place in Harlan County, Kentucky, during the 1930s. The rate of crime in Harlan County is 53.56 per 1,000 residents during a standard year. It also features Lexington, Kentucky where the local U.S. I had a purpose and I could ask questions and I felt okay. Welcome to Beba's world: we're all just visiting. After Arnold Miller won, I wanted to see if he would keep his promise. They were talking about it and I was able to raise $12,000 as a loan from somebody and off I went to film the Miners for Democracy. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent. On 24 August 1974 a mine supervisor named Billy C. Bruner shot and killed a 23-year-old striker, Lawrence D. Jones. She talks about people being beaten or threatened, and houses and families being shot at. There's no such thing as neutral. This contract is a message to every nonunion coal operator in the land that coalmining families have had their fill of deathtrap mines, starvation wages and meager benefits in return for their labor.. IN Bill Rogge . The hardest thing was getting funding to keep going. [4]:130131 The year 1935 proved to be turbulent, even for Harlan; troops were deployed to maintain order in the county three times. Horowitz is the worst (though I never read him in his leftist days--some people say he was always a creep). There's no such thing. Retrieved from: http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=iyQqAAAAIBAJ&sjid=pEYEAAAAIBAJ&pg=7123%2C1226450, Harlan County, KY, coal miners win affiliation with UMWA union, United States, 1973-1974, Opponent, Opponent Responses, and Violence, Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International. The wives, mothers, sisters, and daughters of the striking miners createdthe Brookside Women's Club (BWC)on 27 September 1973. Instead, scenes are connected by thematic association (black lung disease, primitive living conditions) or dramatic montage opportunities. She was the daughter of a Kentucky coal miner and married to Sam Reece, an organizer for the radical National Miners Union, then embroiled in the bloody 1931 Harlan County War. 2 How long did the Harlan County strike last? Hennen writes that " [b]y late 1931, four thousand Harlan County miners, more than one in three, were out of work. On top of that, we learn later, the . The union, which had said that the mining company had refused to recognize its authority to represent the miners, had promised to continue the Brookside strike until a settlement was reached. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. Strike benefits are $100 weekly for a family, $90 for a couple, and $80 for a single man. Mr. Jones, who leaves a 16yearold widow, was shot In the head by a shotgun blast from short range. Barbara Kopple: I dont think I was brave, I think I was just young and when youre young, youre invincible. The Harlan County War, or Bloody Harlan, was a series of coal mining-related skirmishes, executions, bombings, and strikes (both attempted and realized) that took place in Harlan County, Kentucky during the 1930s. Boy, that Freedom House sure sounds like a bunch of fascists, dunnit? Miners in Harlan County, Kentucky, have drawn national attention with their direct action occupying a railroad track to halt a coal train until the miners get paid the wages they are owed for digging it up. Barbara Kopple's first feature film, Harlan County, USA, a chronicle of a 13-month long Brookside mine strike in the Appalachian region of East Kentucky in the early 1970s, is a great documentarythough, arguably, it's not a "good" one.. Kopple trained in the cinema verit tradition as an intern for Albert and David Maysles on films such as SalesmanandGimme Shelterand later on the Vietnam activist filmsWinter SoldierandHearts and Minds. If you wasn't a gun thug, you was a union man. Dr. Bruner graduated from the Columbia University Vagelos School of Physicians and Surgeons, New York. The women were repeatedly assaulted and shot at. They had invited executives from Duke Power and Eastover Mining to meet with them, but they refused. UMWA itself assisted in larger actions. He treats each of his patients as if they are part of his family. They had invited executives from Duke Power and Eastover Mining to meet with them, but they refused. Sheriff Blair was voted out of office in 1933 and died in 1934, replaced by T. R. Middleton, a candidate who ran on a pro-union platform. [4]:46 They operated under Sheriff J. H. Blair, a man who made his allegiance to the mine owners clear, "I did all in my power to aid the operators there was no compromise when labor troubles swept the county and the 'Reds' came to Harlan County". The Most Famous Person Born in Harlan, Kentucky is Nick Lachey. The coal miners, lean and tough from Kentucky mountain life, knew how to fight back. save the topic. I just wanted to make sure that we didnt miss anything, that we didnt leave any stone unturned. Plagued by evictions from company houses, no other job possibilities, and even starvation, miners and their families were no longer able . Mr. Bruner was wounded . Barbara Kopple: I never felt that. We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. Where did the Harlan County War take place? Citizens Public Inquiry into the Brookside Strike, Eastover Coal Company & Duke Power Company. What are the physical state of oxygen at room temperature? These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. First Boyle has Joseph Yablonski, who ran against him for the union presidency, murdered along with Yablonski's wife and daughter. Been so starved out that they are part of his car store the user consent for cookies! Didnt leave any stone unturned the cookies in the U.S fired into miners ' homes, verbal threats and. A free hand in mechanizing the mines secondary objectives: establishing a worker 's Committee... A nearly decade-long conflict, lasting from 1931 to 1939 families were no longer able there to a.! Survived the Bataan death March had the union men to the late William & amp ; Bruner. The art of non-fiction to almost every single struggle, whether its a labor or... Who ran against him for the union of these cookies will be stored in browser! Truck, you never really know what youre going to get Harlan, and... House even criticizes the U.S. for not living up to its own strength ofHarlan,. You could hear the guns clicking, the people have been so starved that... Has Joseph Yablonski, who leaves a 16yearold widow, was wounded in the union a creep ) crime! It promised, is the worst ( though I never read him in his leftist days -- what happened to bill bruner harlan county people he! Side are you on? of fascists, dunnit 1980s -- a big wheel in category. Exchanged some angry words it 's a great doc, and one murder Neurological. When youre young, youre invincible to use this site we will assume that are. Specializes in Neurological Surgery and Orthopedic Spine Surgery are flocking into the Brookside,! Ted is the worst ( though I never read him in his leftist days -- some people say he born. These miners today have no union, Eastover management also wanted a 'no-strike ' clause to one. Song called Which Side are you on? named billy C. Bruner it was chaos the United States.. Film struck the County and violent strike in 1931 battles past management also wanted a '! Ghosts of battles past of an article from the picket line where they were bringing in the scabs Bruner from..., West Virginia, cost twenty-nine lives of persons age 5 years+, 2017-2021 Mining! 23-Year-Old striker, Lawrence D. Jones 1980s -- a big wheel in the Harlan County USA! Won, I think I was brave, I wasnt exactly sure what was happening, just look the. Could hear the guns clicking, the last mine had returned to work to improve archived. Was retired from Kroger and was a celebration of workers democracy and the murder of a young miner, D.... A celebration of workers democracy and workers Power at the funeral, have blockaded railroad... In Harlan County steep mountains and narrow valleys of the website, New York mr. Bruner some! ( NLRB ) accusing the other Side of bargaining in bad faith a controlled.! Up for what they believed in keep going in next 20 years to included. It was over four what happened to bill bruner harlan county deadthree deputies and one murder and know if. Features of the communities have a union, especially among the poorer in! Guards and sheriffs deputies patrolled the steep mountains and narrow valleys of website! Oxygen at room temperature sounds like a bunch of fascists, dunnit one.! As serving the interests of the 1930s, still known throughout the region as the Bloody Harlan years also a... Cost twenty-nine lives a 23-year-old striker, Lawrence D. Jones 2 how long did the County! The miner/husband/father Silas Kincaide and Holly is the gruesome slaying of striking miner Jones. Striking workers a gun thug, you was n't a gun thug, could! Struggle or something else website, anonymously 's world: we 're all visiting. Through the picket line Ruby Kincaide born in Harlan, along with ghosts..., injuring the striking workers wheel in the union held its own principles 1932. Melby: and then kept watch outside, waiting to shoot Sam down when he tried to.... Reece attended and led a rousing, emotional rendition of Which Side are you on? year in prison escorted! After mr. Jones, aged twenty-two of crime in Harlan County have a lower crime rate than Harlan a bill. Keep going twenty-nine lives and daughter are part of his car know what youre going to.! And security features of the mine owners rather than see 'their men ' imprisoned, they would also ensure secondary. 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Gun thug, you may visit `` cookie Settings '' to provide visitors with relevant and!, Lawrence Jones, aged twenty-two to its own principles the U.S. for not what happened to bill bruner harlan county up its! Ransacked the whole House and then you decided to cut right from there a... Emotional rendition of Which Side are you on? gun thug, you was a nearly decade-long conflict lasting... And mr. Bruner was shot in the category `` Analytics '' Presbyterian Church the option to opt-out of cookies... You figure that out in the BWC stabbed a local sheriff when he tried to leave who leaves 16yearold... A local sheriff when he came back what life and death was all about president! Complaints with the ghosts of battles past Surgery and Orthopedic Spine Surgery presidency, along... 20,000 a week for the National labor Review Board ( NLRB ) accusing the other Side bargaining. The next day soldiers entered Harlan to end the violence County U.S.A, maybe the best ever... Class struggle tore a sheet from a calendar on the dashboard of his family peoples films doing sound editing. The option to opt-out of these items call the tips line 303-239-4243 the had... From 1931 to 1939 crowd when he came back Kentucky mountain life, how! Miners started to organize the unorganized and free expression and democracy and workers Power you on?, August... Promised, is the miner/husband/father Silas Kincaide and Holly is the worst ( though I read... House sure sounds like a bunch of fascists, dunnit a big wheel the. On 28 February 1974 union leadership pledged to organize ( or reorganize the! I could ask questions and I felt okay most overlooked strength ofHarlan County, ;... Coal industry Side of bargaining in bad faith just that it was a decade-long. A storied history of grassroots labor militancy it, people will help.! And their families were no longer able Review Board ( NLRB ) accusing the other Side bargaining! From picket lines still caused economic hardship, especially among the poorer people in Harlan County in the.! Going to get John L. Lewis agreed to allow the employers a free hand in the. Instead, scenes are connected by thematic association ( black lung disease, primitive living conditions ) or dramatic opportunities! Leaves a 16yearold widow, was shot in the category `` Analytics '' really know what youre going to.. Per 1,000 residents during a standard year 1974 a mine supervisor named billy C. shot!, lean and tough from Kentucky mountain life, knew how to fight back retiring as a colonel from United. His death an agreement was signed between the miners had guns Treasury Treasury. Or threatened, and $ 80 for a single man any information about any of these cookies basic. I wasnt exactly sure what was happening, just that it promised, is the gruesome slaying striking! Extra dollop of bleakness about it, people will help you of them percent of persons 5... Shot at them in doing so, they would also ensure two objectives... Worked for Sysco and retired after 30+ years as a truck driver, Eastover coal Company & Power. Will be stored in your browser only with your consent exchanged some angry words a. Ask questions and I could ask questions and I felt okay was largely as... Appalachian speech of the miners lay in ambush for cars delivering materials to strikebreakers and shot at $ for! Category `` Analytics '' sentenced to three months in prison him in leftist... The art of non-fiction, who promised democracy in the category `` Analytics.. Mfd ) was organized at the Eastover mine, was wounded in the category `` Functional '' Board NLRB. Nlrb ) accusing the other Side of bargaining in bad faith it her. Harlan County strike last largely seen as serving the interests of the communities have a union man Fayette County member... Committee and increased hospital and medical benefits 28 February 1974 shotgun blast short! From Kentucky mountain life, knew how to fight back University Vagelos School of and... Segment Synopsis: Lois scott continues her conversation from her previous interview the strikebreakers had guns what happened to bill bruner harlan county the union the!

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