Mother Jones through Chicago: Walking Tour Reflection

Me, far right, concluding Sunday's tour. Brigid Gerace, center-left, was the voice of Mother Jones that day. 

This weekend I hosted my first walking tour on the life of Mother Jones. I would call the tour a great personal success! Not only was I able to engage members of ILHS, I was able to attract people from all over the city. Our Facebook and Twitter promotions were very successful. I was also able to garner interest from flyers that I put up in student housing and the public library.

I wish that I had more time in Chicago (and not just because I have fallen in love with this city). I am proud of what I was able to accomplish is little over a month, but if I had the entire summer, I feel that I could have done a lot more. I enjoyed the research the most and it was hard to pull myself out of the reading and the writing to make sure all the important (but to me, tedious) logistics were set.

"Me and Mother Jones"
Brigid Gerace, Autumn Guillotte

On Saturday (7/22/17) I led the tour alone, but made sure that Mother Jones’s words would flow nicely with my background narrative. One of the people who attended on Saturday later told me that it could be improved with some visual aides. I went back to the office and made brochure hand-outs for Sunday’s tour. The visual component paired with supporting facts (a timeline and explanation of May Day) really made a difference.

Sunday (7/23/17) I had a volunteer to play the part of Mother Jones. The history really came alive when someone else was able to speak Mother's words. My only note was that Mother could have been in a more accurate costume. But it was 90 degrees yesterday and insanely humid. I was not going to ask Mother to don a historical black wool costume.

I have some notes about what I would change in the future, but I think the biggest thing I could have done was look to bring someone else onto the project. If I didn't have to worry about logistics, and I could just have researched and wrote, it would have been bliss.

Starting off in Grant Park, in the shade on a hot summers day.

The route is another thing that I would change. I still don't know what I would fix about it, but it wasn't much of a walking tour, since there were so few stops. The tour started in Grant Park, at the "Seated Lincoln" statue. I chose this as a starting place because there is plenty of open space and it also linked the symbolism of Lincoln and Mother's discussion of him and the issue of "wage slavery." Even though I sent out a GPS link to its location, many of the older participants did not know where to go and it was hard to explain. Next, I wanted to go to the Lakefront as we discussed the wealthy in Chicago who lived on Lake Shore Drive. It would also underline the imagery of Mother, knee deep in the water, trying to keep cool during the Great Chicago Fire. The Pokemon Go event this weekend got in the way of that, and so we stayed in the shade at the "Seated Lincoln." We finished at the Auditorium Theater at Roosevelt University, where Mother spoke to the largest assembly of the Socialists of Chicago in 1903. I could not get permission to enter theater or even the lobby, so we finished off our tour speaking over the busy traffic of West Congress Parkway. It worked, and it wasn't too hard to be heard, but next time I either need to persuade them to let me in at the time of my tour or get a mobile microphone.

All in all I think that a physical walking tour is a great format to tell this story. Mother’s words were meant to be spoken. Her persona is so powerful, that one needs to see her portrayed by a talented orator to appreciate the hold she had over audiences over one hundred years ago. This was a great first run, and I wish I could be here to try it again.

Please check out other tours led by ILHS and the labor monuments and sites which they maintain! If you want to support the great work which they do, check out the bookstore, donate, or even better, become a member!!!