The State of Michigan has been solicited by a prominent author and historian to correct the sign to eliminate the phrase “… doors that opened inward.” I have examined the evidence that said author has collected which he claims proves without a doubt that the doors in fact opened outward. That evidence is reasonably compelling.

Please keep a few things in mind.

There is evidence that several people initially made it down the stairs, out the front doors and out into the street.

The controversy of the doors is not mentioned once in the coroner’s inquest.

The Iroquois Theater fire of 1903 resulted in sweeping new building codes where doors were concerned. In that disaster, the doors indeed opened inward, preventing masses from getting out. The Italian Hall was built in 1908, after such building codes were instituted.

The story of the Italian Hall doors opening the wrong way is purported to have appeared for the first time in a book authored by C. Harry Benedict, entitled Red Metal: The Calumet & Hecla Story (1952). Before that time, there had never been any stories or reports of the doors opening inward.

There is no mention of the doors opening inward, either in the english language press such as The Calumet News or The Daily Mining Gazette, or Tyomies, the finnish language paper.

And finally, the Woody Guthrie song “1913 Massacre”, long leaned upon as support for the doors theory, is rife with historical inaccuracies.

There is also other evidence I have both examined and accumulated in addition to those mentioned above.

In closing, I will say this. In as much as I believe there is far more evidence to support the notion that the doors opened outward, I confess that I have also found additional evidence which, regardless of how hard I try to dismiss it, keeps the doors opened inward theory alive, even if on a respirator.

On December 24, 1913, area copper miners had been on strike for five months. The miners were fighting for better pay, shortened work days, safer working conditions and union recognition. That day, during a yuletide party for the striking miners and their families, someone yelled, “Fire!” Although there was no fire, seventy-three person died while attempting to escape down a stairwell that had doors that opened inward. Over half of those who died were children between the ages of six and ten. The perpetrator of the tragedy was never identified. The strike ended in April 1914.

It would be great if you would summarize or link to the information that you have that isn’t included above. This story has always held a dark fascination for me as I cannot comprehend the depth of depravity that would cause a man or woman to shout “Fire!” in a room full of families and children.

May I suggest reading a couple of good books covering both The Italian Hall disaster and the strike of 1913? It would go a long way in educating you on the subject. Steve Lehto’s “Death’s Door” is a good place to start, as it covers the events leading up to and including Italian Hall. There are also many other good books by regional authors such as Lankton, the Monette Series, Kaunonen etc.

A visit to Copper World in Calumet will satisfy all of your needs.

farlane,

There is no evidence at all to support that the doors were blocked in any way. Quite the contrary,

I agree that it’s an awful thing that they didn’t calmly act to save their kids, but that’s the problem with crowds.

Point 2- Why is this event called a “massacre?” Other than 426 Adults stampeding THEIR OWN CHILDREN to death … Wait– I guess that is a massacre. If I did that to my own children, maybe I would try to blame somebody else too.

Even if there WAS a fire– first thing they should have done to a man was %%#^$&& SAVE!!lol(hello?) their children first anyway. But there wasn’t even a real fire? And they trampled their own kids. WTF over?

Amazing when it’s such a powerful and moving video.

Thanks for pointing this out – would be nice if you shared a little of that good old-fashioned Christmas cheer in your comments.

You’re so PC you project your biases back a century.