Mother Jones Pilgrimage: Mt. Olive, IL

At the museum you can take
a selfie with Mother Jones!

Earlier this week I made a pilgrimage down to Mt. Olive, IL to visit the Mother Jones Museum and Monument. I have to say that it was totally worth the four hour drive from Chicago. The museum is located in Mt. Olive's city hall. Right now it is one room keeping the memory of Mother Jones and "her boys" alive. They are still fundraising and in the early stages of development. I am excited to see how they are planning to expand the public preservation of such a iconic labor hero.

This is my note (one among many others)
to Mother

When you first walk in there is a tall and beautiful painting of Mother marching with young boys, one holding a sign saying "We want Freedom, not Corporation Rulings." All around the room are panels illustrating her life story and the stories of the lives which she effected.

One of my favorite finds was a blown-up print of an article from The Press Democrat (Santa Rosa, California) called "'U.S. Women Too Ladylike,' Prohibition, Nation's Worst Affliction, Mother Jones." This article was written in 1930 when "Mother" was 100 years old. The article opens saying:

If the women of the United States would quit "trying to be so lady-like" they could easily make this the greatest country in the history of the world. Mother Jones said today in revealing her philosophy acquired in 100 years of storm and strife

Family heirloom;
a miner's water bucket

Another family treasure
donated to the museum,
a UMW 8-hour ring

What's wonderful about the museum is that you can take your time investigating each item in the collection. There are miners' artifacts all over, collected from members of the community with mining ancestry. You can feel the community's connection to the museum and to Mother Jones. The museum is a beautiful blend of history and memory. What I loved most was how the museum sought to engage laborers of today. The final stretch had posters and pictures of current union members who visited the museum and seek to honor Mother Jones. There was a board with notes from others who visited and saw Mother's message as a universal one.

After spending some time exploring the museum I made my way down the street to the Union Miners Cemetery where the Mother Jones Monument is located.

It was a beautiful day and I sat in the shade admiring the site. I actually decided to have my lunch next to her grave. Mother Jones died in 1930, just before workers would universally win shorter hours, better pay, and vacation days as a standard. However, now the elaborate grave monument of our favorite labor activist can be glimpsed from Route 66.

Mother Jones is buried in the miners cemetery with the victims of the "Battle of Virden," these were "her boys." Her memorial - by far the largest in the graveyard - is flanked by life-size bronze statues of a miner and a factory. This too is a site of community remembrance. There is evidence everywhere that Mother Jones' great granddaughters and sons regularly visit the site and pay homage.