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The Columbine Mine massacre, sometimes called the first Columbine massacre[a], occurred in 1927, in the town of Serene, Colorado. A fight broke out between Colorado state militia and a group of striking coal miners, during which the unarmed miners were attacked with firearms. The miners testified that machine guns were fired at them, which the state police disputed. Six strikers were killed, and dozens were injured.
The company town of Serene, Colorado, nestled on a rolling hillside, was the home of the Columbine mine. The strike was five weeks old, and strikers had been conducting morning rallies at Serene for two weeks, for the Columbine was one of the few coal mines in the state to remain in operation. On November 21, 1927, five hundred miners, some accompanied by their wives and children, arrived at the north gate just before dawn. They carried three United States flags. At the direction of Josephine Roche, daughter of the recently deceased owner of the Rocky Mountain Fuel Company, the picketers had been served coffee and doughnuts on previous mornings.
That morning, the recently disbanded state police known as the Colorado Rangers were recalled to duty and would meet the picketers and bar their path.[2] The miners were surprised to see men dressed in civilian clothes but armed with pistols, rifles, riot guns and tear gas. The Rangers were backed up by rifle-toting mine guards stationed on the mine dump. The Head of the Rangers, Louis Scherf, shouted to the strikers, "Who are your leaders?" "We're all leaders!" came the reply. Scherf announced that the strikers would not be allowed into the town, and for a few moments, the strikers hesitated outside the fence. There was discussion, with many strikers asserting their right to proceed. They argued that Serene had a public post office, and some of their children were enrolled in the school in Serene. One of the Rangers reportedly taunted, "If you want to come in here, come ahead, but we'll carry you out."
Strike leader Adam Bell stepped forward and asked for the gate to be unlocked. As he put his hand on the gate, one of the Rangers struck him with a club. A sixteen-year-old boy stood nearby and was holding one of the flags. The banner was snatched from him, and in the tug of war that followed, the flagpole broke over the fence. The miners rushed toward the gate, and suddenly the air was filled with tear gas launched by the police. A tear gas grenade hit Mrs. Kubic in the back as she tried to flee. Some of the miners threw the tear gas grenades back.
The miners in the front of the group scaled the gate, led by Adam Bell's call of "Come on!" Three policemen pulled down Bell. Viciously clubbed on the head, he fell unconscious to the ground. A battle raged over his prostrate form, the miners shielding him from the Rangers. Mrs. Elizabeth Beranek, the mother of 16 children and one of the flag-bearers, tried to protect him by thrusting her flag in front of his attackers. The police turned on her, bruising her severely. Rangers reportedly seized Mrs. Beranek's flag too.
Police admitted to using clubs in the skirmish. Scherf said, "We knocked them down as fast as they came over the gate." Miners would later say that the clubs were lengths of gas pipe. A striker belted one Ranger in the face, breaking his nose. A pocketknife-wielding miner cut another on the hand while other strikers pelted the Rangers with rocks. Blood gushed from a cut above one Ranger's eye when a rock found its mark. The police then retreated.
Massacre
Enraged, the strikers forced their way through the wooden gate. Jerry Davis grabbed one of the fallen flags as hundreds of angry miners surged through the entrance. Others scaled the fence east of the gate.[citation needed]
The police retreated, forming two lines at the water tank; 120 yards (110 m) inside the fence. Louis Scherf fired two .45 caliber rounds over the heads of the strikers. His men responded with deadly fire directly into the crowd. The miners scattered. Twelve remained on the ground: some dead, some injured.[citation needed]
At least two, and possibly three, machine guns were available at the mine. Miners later claimed that their ranks were decimated by a withering crossfire from the mine tipple – a structure where coal was loaded onto railroad cars – and from a gun on a truck near the water tank. John Eastenes, 34, of Lafayette, married and father of six children, died instantly. Nick Spanudakhis, 34, of Lafayette, lived only a few minutes. Frank Kovich of Erie, Rene Jacques, 26, of Louisville, and 21-year-old Jerry Davis died hours later in the hospital. The Flag of the United States Davis carried was riddled with seventeen bullet holes and stained with blood. Mike Vidovich of Erie, 35, died a week later of his injuries.[citation needed]
Aftermath
The state police later testified that they had not used machine guns in the fight. The miners and some witnesses testified that machine guns were used. Some witnesses identified a mine guard who had climbed the tipple and may have operated the machine gun mounted there, providing one possible explanation for the discrepancy in testimony. However, one of Scherf's men reportedly operated the machine gun near the watertank.[3]
^Schreck, Christopher. "The Strike of 1927". Retrieved 6 November 2019.
^Murfin, Patrick. "Blood on the Coal – Colorado Strike of 1927". Heretic, Rebel, a Thing to Flout.
^Once A Coalminer... The Story of Colorado's Northern Coal Field, Phyllis Smith, pp. 182
"The Industrial Workers of the World: Its first 100 years". Thompson, F. and Bekken, J. p 145
Further reading
Myers, Richard; Eric Margolis; Joanna Sampson; Phil Goodstein (2005). May, Lowell (ed.). Slaughter in Serene: the Columbine Coal Strike Reader. Bread and Roses Workers' Cultural Center & Industrial Workers of the World. ISBN0-917124-01-4.
Hinkemeyer, Joan (November 4, 2005). . Rocky Mountain News: 30D. Archived from the original on October 20, 2006. Book Review
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This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages The citations in this article lack sufficient bibliographical information e g author title date of publication publisher ISBN OCLC number pages cited etc Specific concerns can be found on the talk page See Help Referencing for beginners with citation templates for guidance about writing citations March 2018 Learn how and when to remove this template message This article s lead section may be too short to adequately summarize the key points Please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of all important aspects of the article November 2018 This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Columbine Mine massacre news newspapers books scholar JSTOR February 2011 Learn how and when to remove this template message Learn how and when to remove this template message The Columbine Mine massacre sometimes called the first Columbine massacre a occurred in 1927 in the town of Serene Colorado A fight broke out between Colorado state militia and a group of striking coal miners during which the unarmed miners were attacked with firearms The miners testified that machine guns were fired at them which the state police disputed Six strikers were killed and dozens were injured Columbine MassacrePart of the Coal WarsDateNovember 21 1927LocationSerene Colorado United States40 01 31 N 105 01 38 W 40 02528 N 105 02722 W 40 02528 105 02722 Coordinates 40 01 31 N 105 01 38 W 40 02528 N 105 02722 W 40 02528 105 02722Parties to the civil conflictIndustrial Workers of the World Rocky Mountain Fuel Company Colorado Rangers 1 Colorado state policeLead figuresAdam Bell Amelia Milka Sablich Jesse F Welborn Louis ScherfCasualties and lossesDeaths 6 killedArrests Deaths Contents 1 Background 2 Massacre 3 Aftermath 4 See also 5 Notes 6 References 7 Further reading 8 External linksBackground EditThe company town of Serene Colorado nestled on a rolling hillside was the home of the Columbine mine The strike was five weeks old and strikers had been conducting morning rallies at Serene for two weeks for the Columbine was one of the few coal mines in the state to remain in operation On November 21 1927 five hundred miners some accompanied by their wives and children arrived at the north gate just before dawn They carried three United States flags At the direction of Josephine Roche daughter of the recently deceased owner of the Rocky Mountain Fuel Company the picketers had been served coffee and doughnuts on previous mornings That morning the recently disbanded state police known as the Colorado Rangers were recalled to duty and would meet the picketers and bar their path 2 The miners were surprised to see men dressed in civilian clothes but armed with pistols rifles riot guns and tear gas The Rangers were backed up by rifle toting mine guards stationed on the mine dump The Head of the Rangers Louis Scherf shouted to the strikers Who are your leaders We re all leaders came the reply Scherf announced that the strikers would not be allowed into the town and for a few moments the strikers hesitated outside the fence There was discussion with many strikers asserting their right to proceed They argued that Serene had a public post office and some of their children were enrolled in the school in Serene One of the Rangers reportedly taunted If you want to come in here come ahead but we ll carry you out Strike leader Adam Bell stepped forward and asked for the gate to be unlocked As he put his hand on the gate one of the Rangers struck him with a club A sixteen year old boy stood nearby and was holding one of the flags The banner was snatched from him and in the tug of war that followed the flagpole broke over the fence The miners rushed toward the gate and suddenly the air was filled with tear gas launched by the police A tear gas grenade hit Mrs Kubic in the back as she tried to flee Some of the miners threw the tear gas grenades back The miners in the front of the group scaled the gate led by Adam Bell s call of Come on Three policemen pulled down Bell Viciously clubbed on the head he fell unconscious to the ground A battle raged over his prostrate form the miners shielding him from the Rangers Mrs Elizabeth Beranek the mother of 16 children and one of the flag bearers tried to protect him by thrusting her flag in front of his attackers The police turned on her bruising her severely Rangers reportedly seized Mrs Beranek s flag too Police admitted to using clubs in the skirmish Scherf said We knocked them down as fast as they came over the gate Miners would later say that the clubs were lengths of gas pipe A striker belted one Ranger in the face breaking his nose A pocketknife wielding miner cut another on the hand while other strikers pelted the Rangers with rocks Blood gushed from a cut above one Ranger s eye when a rock found its mark The police then retreated Massacre EditEnraged the strikers forced their way through the wooden gate Jerry Davis grabbed one of the fallen flags as hundreds of angry miners surged through the entrance Others scaled the fence east of the gate citation needed The police retreated forming two lines at the water tank 120 yards 110 m inside the fence Louis Scherf fired two 45 caliber rounds over the heads of the strikers His men responded with deadly fire directly into the crowd The miners scattered Twelve remained on the ground some dead some injured citation needed At least two and possibly three machine guns were available at the mine Miners later claimed that their ranks were decimated by a withering crossfire from the mine tipple a structure where coal was loaded onto railroad cars and from a gun on a truck near the water tank John Eastenes 34 of Lafayette married and father of six children died instantly Nick Spanudakhis 34 of Lafayette lived only a few minutes Frank Kovich of Erie Rene Jacques 26 of Louisville and 21 year old Jerry Davis died hours later in the hospital The Flag of the United States Davis carried was riddled with seventeen bullet holes and stained with blood Mike Vidovich of Erie 35 died a week later of his injuries citation needed Aftermath EditThe state police later testified that they had not used machine guns in the fight The miners and some witnesses testified that machine guns were used Some witnesses identified a mine guard who had climbed the tipple and may have operated the machine gun mounted there providing one possible explanation for the discrepancy in testimony However one of Scherf s men reportedly operated the machine gun near the watertank 3 See also Edit Organized labour portalAnti union violence Ludlow massacre Herrin massacre Lattimer massacre Bay View Massacre Murder of workers in labor disputes in the United States List of incidents of civil unrest in the United States List of battles fought in ColoradoNotes Edit to distinguish it from the Columbine High School massacre in 1999References Edit Schreck Christopher The Strike of 1927 Retrieved 6 November 2019 Murfin Patrick Blood on the Coal Colorado Strike of 1927 Heretic Rebel a Thing to Flout Once A Coalminer The Story of Colorado s Northern Coal Field Phyllis Smith pp 182 The Industrial Workers of the World Its first 100 years Thompson F and Bekken J p 145Further reading EditMyers Richard Eric Margolis Joanna Sampson Phil Goodstein 2005 May Lowell ed Slaughter in Serene the Columbine Coal Strike Reader Bread and Roses Workers Cultural Center amp Industrial Workers of the World ISBN 0 917124 01 4 Hinkemeyer Joan November 4 2005 Brutal days of coal strikes depicted Rocky Mountain News 30D Archived from the original on October 20 2006 Book ReviewExternal links EditErie Historical Society official website Columbine Mine Colorado Historical Society Retrieved 2006 07 30 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Columbine Mine massacre amp oldid 1136770171, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
