Scholastic Magazine Highlights The Cherry Mine Disaster

Scholastic Magazine brought the 1090 Cherry Mine disaster to the attention of middle grade students in the United States with a full-color cover story in its November, 2019, issue. Highlighting the prevalence of child labor in 1909, Scholastic painted the grim picture of children's daily lives early in the last century via the story of the United State's worst coal mine disaster. School was not an option for children born into poor families, nor from immigrant families who crossed the ocean to work in U.S. coal mines. Every nickel and dime earned by these young boys was desperately needed for daily survival. So parents falsified ages on job applications while mine company bosses looked the other way, and children sat for hours in complete darkness  -- tasked with the boring duty of waiting to open and close tunnel doors to permit mule teams to pull full coal cars to the elevator shaft and then rush the empties back to the miners to refill.

Among the major legal changes resulting from the Cherry Mine disaster was the adoption of stricter national child labor laws.

Seven months after the disaster, the St. Paul Coal Company, which operated the mine at Cherry, pled guilty to nine counts of child labor law violations -- and was fined a total of $630.

If you are a teacher who discussed the Cherry Mine disaster with your students as a result of Scholastic's feature coverage, I would love to hear the children's feedback.

 

Cherry Mine Disaster Exhibit Takes Top Honors

Mega congratulations to Clark Burch-Woodard, who took his eighth-grade Illinois History Fair project on the 1909 Cherry Mine disaster from the fair at St. Walter School in Chicago, on up the ranks to City, and then on to State level, where Clark won a superior ribbon and a top exhibit award. His outstanding project was later displayed at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library in Springfield, IL. It is currently on display until the beginning of August, 2015, at The Newberry -- Chicago's independent research library, located at 60 W. Walton.

Clark interviewed me about the disaster early in 2015, and we remained in close contact as he expanded his research, amping up his exhibit with each pass to the next level of competition.  He was so thoroughly invested in his project that Clark even made a trip to Cherry with his mother and grandmother, visiting the library, the miners' cemetery, and the monument dedicated to the 259 men and boys who perished in the worst coal mine fire in US history. Once Clark advanced to State level, I connected him with Springfield's Jack Rooney, who grew up in Cherry, and who also heard the stories of an Italian immigrant grandfather who survived the disaster and, like I did, became hooked. I couldn't be in Springfield to cheer Clark on, but Jack was a fine stand-in, even loaning Clark a miner's lamp, Cherry memorial ribbon and several other items from his own extensive collection of Cherry Mine artifacts to enhance his winning display.

"So many people said that this should be a movie!" Clark emphasized -- and I couldn't agree more. Screenwriter Martin Garner has written a brilliant script based on my book Trapped: The 1909 Cherry Mine Disaster, and I'm convinced that this riveting and historically-significant story will one day reach a wider audience, coming to life on the big screen.

Julia Buccola Petta -- Solving the Mystery of Chicago's Ghost Bride

When Dominic Candeloro asked me to contribute a study of an Italian woman from Chicago to Casa Italia's new anthology, Italian Women in Chicago, my immediate thought was "Frances Cabrini."  Just as quickly, I dismissed the Italian-born saint from consideration, certain that another contributor had surely claimed her. I began searching the internet for a little-known Italian woman with a Chicago connection and stumbled upon the mystery of the ghost bride, Julia Buccola Petta, who died in childbirth and who haunts Chicago's Mt. Carmel Cemetery. With a little genealogical research and a bit of sleuthing, I was able to resolve the mystery of her stillborn child. Later, to my surprise, Dominic Candeloro invited me to contribute a second piece to the anthology--one about Mother Frances Cabrini.  

 

 

Most Notorious! Podcast Explores The Cherry Mine Disaster

Many thanks to the listener of Erik Rivenes's Most Notorious Podcast who suggested he read TRAPPED: THE 1909 CHERRY MINE DISASTER. Taken with my account of the United States's worst coal mine fire, its human drama, the vast changes in labor, child labor, mining and mine safety legislation that followed, Rick invited me to talk about the disaster. I'm pleased to join the list of impressive guests he's featured, and fascinated by Erik's choice of topics to bring to his listening audience.

I love that nearly 20 years since TRAPPED was published, this important story is still generating interest. I've always likened the tragedy to Titanic in a coal mine. It was while sitting in the theater watching that film that I decided I had to write this book. Although the disaster occurred not 100 miles from Chicago, it is surprising how little attention this historic event has received, even within Illinois. Comparable in era and impact to The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire, the disaster at Cherry took the lives of immigrant workers trapped in flames they could not escape. Cherry, now home to perhaps 500 residents, lacks the visibility of Manhattan, where students and professors commemorate the dead seamstresses yearly with well attended projects and events. 

Perhaps one day, professors and students in Illinois will join with the descendants of Cherry's victims and survivors at the yearly November anniversary memorial, to help broaden the memory of Cherry's immigrant miners, and the lessons learned in the disaster's aftermath. 

Here is the link to my conversation with Erik: Most Notorious: TRAPPED.

Book Clubs Rule

There is nothing like a Book Club, and the one I currently read with is small and phenomenal. The extent to which our exceptional leader researches the authors, locations, incidents, concurrent world history, and nonfiction characters never ceases to amaze us. Her dining room table is a tableau straight from the book, leaving just enough room for the potluck dinner we bring. Recipes derived from the book, of course. The first one to use the powder room insists the rest of us go to check out the quotes or photos rimming the mirror set above the pedestal sink and those that our hostess has taped onto the back of the bathroom door, which faces the commode.

Over the years, I have been lucky to have been a guest at numerous book clubs in the Metropolitan Detroit area. Many, like mine, share lunch or dinner before the discussion, each member bringing a dish mentioned in the book. Next to fan mail, Amazon and Goodreads reviews, sharing several hours with my readers is the most inspiring and uplifting way to feed my muse.

Writing is a solitary and brain-wracking task. Many authors often take a year to write the book that you might read in one sitting. Day after day, it's just us and our keyboards or legal pads and pens. We slog on, often with no feedback other than from that pesky little editor on our shoulders. The one we should ignore. The solitariness is the main reason I love opportunities to share time with my readers, whether in person, by phone or Skype. I've been honored and amazed to hear from you that you've devoured my books -- especially Unto the Daughters -- in one fell swoop. There is no greater joy for an author than to hear that.  During book club visits, I usually share some backstory on the book the club has just read and then suggest that they "do their thing" as if I wasn't there. Some ask me to lead the discussion, but most allow me the joy of being the spider on the wall listening in. I welcome comments and criticism. Constructive criticism was a lesson learned in grade school under the tutelage of the Dominican nuns who sparked my love of writing. How else can I learn to better my craft than by listening to the honest assessment of my work by people who love to read?

While I have forgotten to take photos with many book clubs over the years, mainly because we've been so engrossed in talking books that I forget to get a group shot, I do have some memories to share. If I have visited with your club and you have photos that are missing from my collection, please email them to me and I'll be happy to add them here. Of course, I have no group photos from clubs with whom I have visited by Skype or by phone, but am always eager to chime in if your meeting date is clear on my calendar. Please reach out and let's talk books!

Currently, my group is reading A Day in June by Marisa Labozzetta -- and I'm dithering about whether to make something Italian or something Jewish for book club. (I ended up making aglio olio -- recipe in my Blog.)

Happy reading!

 

                                                   

 

                                                                           

Watch as Lisa Scottoline and I Discuss Eternal at Detroit's Jewish Book Fair

Lisa Scottoline and I barely caught our breath as we took this deep dive into her 2021 release, Eternal — the sweeping, page-turning novel that has been simmering in her soul since her college days. Fueled by true events, this epic historical saga centers on a love triangle that unfolds in Rome under the creeping shadows of fascism, WWII, and the draconian racial laws that changed the lives of Rome's Jewish citizens forever.

To view our presentation archived on YouTube, click this link.