"Mildred Allen Beik, a Windber native whose father entered the coal mines at age eleven in 1914, explores the struggle of miners and their families against the company, whose repressive policies encroached on every part of their lives. That Windber's population represented twenty-five different nationalities, including Slovaks, Hungarians, Poles, Italians, and Carpatho-Russians, was a potential obstacle to the solidarity of miners. Beik, however, shows how the immigrants overcame ethnic fragmentation by banding together as a class to unionize the mines. Work, family, church, fraternal societies, and civic institutions all proved critical as men and women alike adapted to new working conditions and to a new culture."--BOOK JACKET.
In 1897 the Berwind-White Coal Mining Company founded Windber as a company town for its miners in the bituminous coal country of Pennsylvania. The Miners of Windber chronicles the coming of unionization to Windber, from the 1890s, when thousands of new immigrants flooded Pennsylvania in search of work, through the New Deal era of the 1930s, when the miners' rights to organize, join the United Mine Workers of America, and bargain collectively were recognized after years of bitter struggle. Mildred Allen Beik, a Windber native whose father entered the coal mines at age eleven in 1914, explores the struggle of miners and their families against the company, whose repressive policies encroached on every part of their lives. That Windber's population represented twenty-five different nationalities, including Slovaks, Hungarians, Poles, Italians, and Carpatho-Russians, was a potential obstacle to the solidarity of miners. Beik, however, shows how the immigrants overcame ethnic fragmentation by banding together as a class to unionize the mines. Work, family, church, fraternal societies, and civic institutions all proved critical as men and women alike adapted to new working conditions and to a new culture. Circumstance, if not principle, forced miners to embrace cultural pluralism in their fight for greater democracy, reforms of capitalism, and an inclusive, working-class, definition of what it meant to be an American. Beik draws on a wide variety of sources, including oral histories gathered from thirty-five of the oldest living immigrants in Windber, foreign-language newspapers, fraternal society collections, church manuscripts, public documents, union records, and census materials. The struggles of Windber's diverse working class undeniably mirror the efforts of working people everywhere to democratize the undemocratic America they knew. Their history suggests some of the possibilities and limitations, strengths and weaknesses, of worker protest in the early twentieth century.
This work provides a sweeping history of enterprise in Mesopotamia and Neo-Babylon; carries the reader through the Islamic Middle East; offers insights into the entrepreneurial history of China, Japan, and colonial India; and describes the crucial role of the entrepreneur in innovation activity in the Western world.
Ridgefield has long been a destination-for tourists seeking a picturesque country village, for city dwellers looking for a weekend and summer retreat, and for immigrants in search of a new life. In the first half of the twentieth century, a period that corresponded to the heyday of the picture postcard, hundreds of views were published, depicting the beautiful Main Street, the many inns and resorts, the mansions, estates, village shops, churches, and scenic hills and lakes. Ridgefield: 1900-1950 offers more than two hundred of these glimpses of a bygone time of affluence and change-what one historian has called Ridgefield's golden era.
Seated majestically upon a hill overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, Highlands, one of New Jersey's most famous and romantic coastal towns, has served, in turns, as sanctuary, battlefield, resort destination, and home to generations of Americans, both immigrant and native. Its history, in many ways, mirrors the epic tale of America's evolution: an untamed wilderness yielding under the determination and sacrifice of a people laboring to create an enduring community--and in Highlands, they succeeded. Highlands, Ney Jersey chronicles this town's remarkable journey across four centuries of adventure, adversity, and prosperity, from the first New World explorers, such as Verrazano and Henry Hudson, to the present-day men and women who work, live, and play along these picturesque shores. This illustrated volume provides a rare glimpse into the Highlands of yesteryear and introduces readers to a cast of unique characters against a backdrop of major local and nation events, such as the Revolutionary War, the luxury era of Highlands in the nineteenth century, its incorporation in 1900, and the gold rush of 1948. Through these stories and their vivid images, the personality and charm of Highlands come to life, reminding today's residents and visitors why this setting has served as a source of inspiration for scores of writers, artists, and businessmen over the years.
Walworth County is unique in South Dakota. There are few places in the United States that can boast of the heritage of the land and people like this county. As early as 1823, hunters, trappers, and later Gen. William Ashley came up the Missouri River with the intent to establish a post. By 1869, some of the Sioux tribes signed a treaty with the US government, giving up a defined land district that included what became Walworth County.
Over 6000 citations (printed before 1976) about North Dakota history. Includes citations on geology, geography, natural history, conservation, climate, forts, Indians, military, exploration, fur trade, Dakota Territory, government, politics, wars, the counties and cities, education, religion, sports, women, health, agriculture, business, transportation, etc.
Here, in a single convenient volume, is the essential reference book for anyone with an interest in British history. First published in 1997, under the editorship of the late John Cannon and in consultation with over 100 distinguished contributors, this Companion has now been updated by Robert Crowcroft to include the very latest scholarship and research. It describes and analyses the people and events that have shaped and defined life in Britain over more than 2,000 years of political, social, and cultural change, encompassing topics as diverse as the War of the Roses, the Blitz, Stonehenge, Henry VIII, the suffragettes, the industrial revolution, the NHS, the Suez Crisis, the TUC, and the Afghan campaign. Over 4,500 entries provide a wealth of fact and insight on all aspects of the subject and from a variety of perspectives, including social, political, military, cultural, economic, scientific, and feminist. Entries cover not only monarchs, battles, and political events, but also the wider aspects of British history over the centuries. New entries on topics such as alternative vote, the 2008 financial crisis, Olympics in Britain, and the Scottish Independence Referendum, and UKIP ensure that the Companion remains relevant and current. Useful appendices include maps and genealogies, as well as a subject index. Coverage includes authors, composers and musicians, legal and technical terms, newspapers and periodicals, ranks and orders, sport and leisure, and scholarship and education. For those who like to explore history on the ground, there are also entries on individual counties, cathedrals, and churches, palaces and royal residences, and a range of other sites of historical significance. As well as providing reliable factual information, the Companion also offers detailed interpretation and analysis, giving readers a sense of how events and personalities relate to each other, whilst its multi-disciplinary approach places topics in a wide context. Whether you need to check the date of the Peasants' Revolt, understand what happened at the Battle of Imphal, find out about the history of maypoles, or compare the careers of successive Princes of Wales, The Oxford Companion to British History is a book no home reference shelf should be without.
The Highlands has been a lively New Jersey coastal community for nearly 150 years, and approaches with pride its official 1999 centennial. It is thus particularly timely that local author John P. King has brought to life the Highlands' rich past in this wonderful new book. The author has collected over 200 fascinating photographs ranging from the 1850s to the present day. These images carry us back to the Highlands of long ago, bringing us face to face with the people, places, and events which have shaped the Highlands over the decades. As we turn the pages, we will encounter tourists from the last century arriving by trolley, steamer, train, and auto; we will join local residents and visitors alike in enjoying seasons of summer fun over the decades; and we will remain behind with the year-round residents after the last September steamboat has departed, to share their daily experiences, whether at work or at play.