2010 Minnesota Girls State….

I really thought it would be harder on me to leave me kids for the week I was at my conference. It was pure coincidence that my kids had stuff scheduled that same week. My daughter had been accepted at the American Legion Auxiliary’s Girls State. The program is a week long exercise in state government for girls who have just completed their junior year in high school. The American Legion holds a similar, though not identical, program for junior boys held at Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall. Eash program chooses one candidate to attend Girls and Boys Nation. Campaigning, voting and learning how the state runs was a great experience. I had really worried that there would be partisan bias and she would be uncomfortable, but it went reasonably well.

She learned a lot during the week long event that was held at Bethel University in a St. Paul suburb. She did notice that many of the volunteers were older women, which didn’t really surprise either of us. Through my numerous experiences with the Legion and the Auxiliary--I have noticed that many are stuck in the thought that few women are veterans. I was proud of my daughter for trying to point out that not all of our “servicemen” are indeed, male. She told me that she was rudely informed that servicemen is inclusive, means all service members and that women in the military know and appreciate that. While my daughter took her scolding quietly, I was very disappointed in them.

The American Legion recently wrote that they needed to work harder at being inclusive and reaching out to our servicewomen. Women, not men. It is a distinction that is made within and outside the military, the Department of Veteran’s Affairs and service organizations. As a disabled Gulf Era veteran who has witnessed the discrimination and violence against female service members, I assure you, I do mind being called a serviceman. I was a service member. Ironically, just a week or so before Girls’ State event the Legion had been on Capital Hill demanding that the Department of Veteran’s Affairs be more responsive to female veterans. It was a statement that the organization really needs to take to heart and apply to their own ranks. Other than a couple incidents, the week went well.

My daughter befriended a niece of a woman I went to college with. Neither of us made the connection until my friend noticed it on Facebook. What a small world. Despite a few bad apples, my daughter was pleased with the experience. Maybe as children of female veterans become involved the stereotypes of women in the military will finally begin to change--at least I hope so. I also hope as the next generation comes into play, the program can adapt in positive ways. No matter what, it was an experience that my daughter will always remember. Anyone interested in the program for girls entering their senior year should contact either their local Legion Auxiliary or the state office.

Seeing the mines and understanding the people who worked them

The mines of the iron range have shaped our world. Without the ore, America would have been unable to provide the steel necessary for building the skyscrapers or factories of early industrialization. The ore provided the steel needed for the military during both world wars. Great places to visit are the Hull Rust Mahoning Mine--the largest strip mine in the world and Mineview in the sky are great places to visit. The Hull Rust mine is still active and people can watch the trucks. It is fun to be able to stand by the trucks in the yard and to see a small pick up truck drive by an ore hauler. Wow! What a size difference. To understand the historic operations and the people who worked in the mine people can visit the Hill Annex State Park, Soudan Underground Mine State Park and the Minnesota Discovery Center.

Men working the mines came from all over the world. Mining companies, primarily controlled by other men back east, cared about profits--not safety. Companies intentionally plotted to keep men from organizing, made sure miners working together did not speak the same language. Ironically, this forced men to find ways to communicate; their lives depended on it. Companies cared little about their workers. Injuries and death were not uncommon and the mines tried to ensure that both were explained by falsifying documents and hiding incidents. Mules and horses fared little better with their working conditions in the mines. In the underground mines, the animals would work twelve hour days for six months. When the time came up for the animals to return to the surface, they would be blind. If an animal died beneath the surface, their bodies would be dropped in the waste holes that filled in previously mines areas. If a man who didn’t have family or relationships that would question where he was, often his body was disposed of in a similar manner. True numbers for injured and killed workers are almost impossible to ascertain.

Mining companies attempted to control every aspect of the lives of their employees; US Steel operated an immense industrial espionage program that was directed within. Employees learned to distrust many--trusting the wrong person could get them black listed and unable to find work at any of the mines. Blacklisted miners often eked out a living on marginal farms. It was heart wrenching to think the poverty that these blackballed miners lived in, but I absolutely loved and admired that so many refused to leave the iron range in hopes of finding better lives elsewhere and to continue the agitation of miners still employed. Without the people who were willing to take the beatings and keep standing back up--the workers on the range would never have been able to finally organize and demand better conditions and pay to bring themselves out of the abject poverty that was absolutely forced on them while the mining companies became immensely wealthy.

I read a book in college about working conditions in industrializing America. I would recommend Out of This Furnace to anyone interested. I find it interesting that so many people find unions and regulations evil, but don’t understand that without them, so many of the horrendous working conditions that lead to their formation would still exist. 16 hour days, 6 days a week, yet still not having money to properly feed, clothe or house your family; not only paying for your own equipment that you use to make them money--but being forced to buy the stuff at the company store at exorbitant prices and absolutely NO protection for workers who are hurt or killed and without any regulations, companies had NO motivation to spend the pennies to protect their workers.

More on the Minnesota Humanities Center

After spending a week on this bus, most of us were ready to head home. Many of us were Minnesota natives or transplants--many were not. For the non-Minnesotan's the warm weather that greeted us in St.Paul was a surprise. Many had really believed the notion that Minnesota is always in a state of permafrost in the tundra. It was funny to see their disbelief begin to crumble.

It was great to get home and share so much with my kids. However, I also realized that there were some wonderful resources available to anyone with an internet connection--much that even public school teachers lacked awareness about--let alone homeschooling parents. An incredible video on the importance of the historic mines is there. If you have a slow internet connection, directions are listed where you can order a copy for a nominal fee. There are some great resources for teachers--lesson plans and back ground information. Besides opportunities for teachers to become better at what they do, the Humanities Center also has lunch lectures that are open to the public for a relatively small fee. I have wanted to bring my senior to a couple of them, but timing is everything. The older my kids get, the more they seem to really need flexibility. I just need to be patient.

With some time, there are fabulous links to additional resources including Native American culture and history. Chicano, Asian and Black cultural resources are also availble.