Saturday, June 13, 2009
Today Dr. Adelman was our tour guide, and I was pleased to see that he was extremely informative and passionate about the subject matter. He certainly knew how to keep a group listening to the presented material. On this lovely rainy morning we visited the Haymarket Square statue at the site of the bombing. The statues had no faces to reflect ethnicity, and the men who were rebuilding the wagon, were symbolizing the rebuilding of free speech. It was somewhat sad to think of all the lives that were ripped a part by the hanging of these men who stood for what they believed, and in the course of history the labor movement was born because of their sacrifice. Viewing the area behind the court house where the gallows once stood, was a moment that even this evening I reflect upon. I think of these husbands who were hung and two of their wives who were thrown naked in jail with their children. They were not even allowed to say goodbye to their husbands.
The mural at Teamster City was very interesting. My father worked for Ford Motor Company for 40 years and he was extremely supportive of the union and proud of the company he worked for.
Next, we went to the cemetery and put red roses on the grave of the martyrs, Lucy Parsons, and some others. Chris pointed out that the tree that was beside Emma Goldman’s grave (who was of Russian descent) grave had a red piece of fabric pinned onto the trunk. I thought that quite symbolic and recently placed. Pretty cool!
In honor of Jourgis the main character in the Jungle, we headed to a delightful little Lithuanian restaurant. Matt talked me into ordering the vegetarian dish, (thank you, thank you) which was an extremely yummy meal of cheese dumplings, fried potato cakes, broccoli, squash, potatoes, and green beans. Very tasty. The chicken noodle soup and the sour kraut soup were excellent. I think you would like the sour kraut soup only if you like sour kraut, which I do. The food and atmosphere was homey and the waitresses were very pleasant. I was glad to have eaten the veggie meal after we went to the Stockyard gate to take pictures, as my nose was assailed by the heavy smell of the kosher meatpacking plants nearby. Ug! I can’t even imagine how bad it would have smelled at the height of the industry. I really liked the comment that Upton Sinclair made about his book the Jungle – “I aimed at the public’s heart and by accident hit its stomach.” Not only did he hit the stomach, he hit the public conscience regarding the terrible conditions that immigrants faced in their jobs and in their private lives, while trying to make a better life for themselves in America. It is good that women like Jane Addams and her friends, were willing to work toward making better lives possible for these people.
Our guide then took us to the Pullman area of Chicago. It seemed that George Pullman created his own little kingdom in Pullman – homes for the foreman’s, workers, doctor’s etc. It also seemed that making money seemed to be the motivation for all of this. What a treat to be able to tour the actual Pullman factory. (Thank you Eileen) If they ever get the money to restore those buildings, I think that would be a money maker for the town. The Florence Hotel, named after Pullman’s daughter, was fun to go through. All of the pictures that I took and this experience will certainly benefit my students when I teach this subject.
After returning to our hotel Melissa, Dana, and I walked down to Grant and Millennium Park. We saw Buckingham fountain and had a great time wondering through the urban gardens in the park and listening to the Blues Festival. We had a great time.
Posted by history591seven 