Falls On A Sunday This Year

We mentioned a Christmas CD in a previous post. Some people have it, been meaning to get it to the rest of you who've asked. It's all recorded in the kitchen in between the kid's naps. (That sounds better than saying I done it on my computer- both would be correct)

It's just 5 tracks, 2 of which are instrumentals. There's one new original, "Saying It" and 3 covers; Townes' "Tecumseh Valley, "Holly Jolly Christmas" and Woody Guthrie's "1913 Massacre".

1913 Massacre is a true story of striking miners enjoying a Christmas party in Calumet Michigan. Some union busters (they were never caught nor convicted) yelled "Fire!" into the crowd on the second floor. They then barred the door at the bottom of the stairs and the people who rushed to get out suffocated in the stampede.

There's a question of how many people died. Woody says 73. He based his story on news accounts and some historians say that may well be right. Others say he used that number for the sake of the song or the news accounts of the time may have been inaccurate.

But it is agreed that the true number is likely close to that and not disputed is the fact that most of the dead were children. This link lists their names.

That site links to a better one.

I don't know how much you want to read about such a depressing event. I mean, c'mon, it's Christmas. But tis is one of the most powerful songs I've ever encountered. The song never loses it nerve. And it always seems to force people to listen.

Calumet never recovered from the strike that year. People left in droves in the decades since then and the site, Italian Hall, has been demolished. But they still have the archway of the building where the tragedy occurred.