Break Down the Nature-Culture Divide in Parks

770 The Journal of American History December 2013 (p. 15). The authors respond by offering a litany of fixes: break down the nature-culture divide in parks; highlight the open-ended nature of the past; embrace controversy and dis- parate understandings of history; learn from the public; work more closely with scholars in the academy. These suggestions could, if implemented, usher in a new era for history in the . In the end, however, the agency finds itself in a state of ongoing organizational triage. Like so many other gears of the federal apparatus in recent years, the has faced massive budget cuts. And with the so-called sequester contracting rather than expanding funding, there appears to be little cause for optimism. Given the fiscal realities, one wonders if the has the resources necessary to stem the bleeding and embrace best historical practices— or if the ghost of George Hartzog will enjoy the last laugh. Ari Kelman Downloaded from University of California–Davis Davis, California doi: 10.1093/jahist/jat460 http://jah.oxfordjournals.org/ Keweenaw National Historic Park, Calumet, Mich. http://www.nps.gov/kewe/index.htm. Permanent exhibition. Park established 1992. Permanent exhibition. “Risk and Resilience: Life in a Copper Mining Community” exhibit, opened 2011. 7,000 sq. ft. National Park Service, curatorial director; Krister Olmon, exhibit designer; Harvest Moon Studios, exhibit script. Permanent exhibition. Keweenaw Heritage Site at Quincy Mine no. 2, opened 1994. Quincy Mine Hoist Association, interpretation and mine tours. at Knox College on April 3, 2014 Permanent exhibition. Self-guided tours of downtown and industrial Calumet, opened 1992. Copper is no longer mined on Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula, but the remaining scars of industry are visible reminders of the corporations that once dominated that landscape along Lake Superior. Twentieth-century deindustrialization created hardships for residents and municipalities in funding basic improvements and developing a new economy. When one industry influenced nearly every aspect of community life and then gradually disappeared, the residents were left to recuperate, sort through their historical memories, and create a new direction. Following the demolition of the Italian Hall in Calumet, Michigan, in 1984, where seventy- four people (mostly children) died tragically during the copper miners’ strike of 1913–1914, preservationists recognized the need to heighten awareness of local history. Historians and mining enthusiasts took it upon themselves to preserve the history of copper mining and create a vision that became the Keweenaw Historical National Park (), signed into being by President George H. W. Bush on October 27, 1992. The National Park Service () helped Calumet residents and partnering historic sites preserve the area’s stories and the landscape. In 2011 the opened a multimillion-dollar visitor center inside a refurbished fraternal lodge building. Through the visitor center and formal partnerships the has endorsed twenty Kewee- naw Heritage Sites, each managed by a variety of entities that help visitors explore how copper mining defined people’s lives. This review covers the introductory exhibit in the Calumet Visitor Center, Keweenaw Heritage Site at Quincy Mine no. 2, and the walking tours that explore the industrial and downtown districts of Calumet. Exhibition Reviews 771 Calumet Visitor Center The centerpiece of the is the core exhibit at the visitor center, “Risk and Resilience: Life in a Copper Mining Community,” which opened in 2011. To develop this exhibit, park staff sought input from stakeholders such as public and academic historians, mining enthusiasts, and the community at large. Area residents and tourists contributed ideas via question- naire kiosks, and a hired facilitator gathered information and perspectives at community meetings. The historian Celeste Urion conducted oral histories with long-standing residents to incorporate more fully the voices of those who experienced this history. To extract broader patterns and context, park service staff held a round table with academic historians who had expertise in the copper region or who could provide relevant context on immigration or leisure history. As is increasingly typical for long-term installations, the outsourced Downloaded from the exhibit design to Krister Olmon and had the script written by Harvest Moon Studios. Local firms completed much of the building’s restoration and exhibit construction, which provided training for similar preservation projects in the area. Entering the exhibit on the main floor, visitors first encounter a small gallery that dem- http://jah.oxfordjournals.org/ onstrates why so many people considered copper a good investment. The exhibit narrative explains that Native Americans successfully extracted the area’s copper long before white Americans. The text also reminds visitors that like all mineral mining rushes, many failed explorations and mining attempts predated the boom. By the Civil War, the industry had made successful dis- coveries; its growth was fueled by national and technological influences. Using artifacts as examples, the curators support the narrative by showing the various copper parts used in items from military equipment to home appliances, each believed to be vital to the moderniza- tion of the United States. A listening device for visitors introduces Alexander Agassiz, presi- at Knox College on April 3, 2014 dent of Calumet and Hecla Mining Company until 1910, and transmits his first-person explanation of how his passion for natural history drew him to the peninsula. As the re- cording describes, Agassiz hoped to raise funds to become a “productive naturalist,” but the mine owners recognized his managerial talents and promoted him to company president. Being a staunch antiunionist, Agassiz created a “model settlement” for his employees to dis- courage strikes and create a system to exert company control—an underlying theme through- out the exhibit. A loud factory steam whistle welcomes visitors to the second floor as they step into broad subjects that defined life in Calumet. Divided into themes such as immigration, housing, education, and leisure, each section shows how the company was ever-present through residents’ and miners’ work, rest, and play. Like the management styles of many corporate leaders of the time, Agassiz’sisdefined as paternalism, which is discussed in works by the historians Larry Lankton and Alison K. Hoagland. The curators of “Risk and Resilience” choose not to use this term explicitly, but the scholarship on the concept plays an important role in the exhibit. As the narrative explains, Calumet’s city grid was intermixed with company-owned and employee/public–owned properties and services. For example, employees who lived on company property had a company fire department and a private security firm, while their neighbors may have relied on municipal services. If someone’s house needed to be painted or a resident wanted indoor plumbing, the company delivered this service, but only if the requester lived on company property. Under this arrangement, management controlled the work force by awarding company benefits only to preferred employees who were in good standing. Management could also remove workers from the company’s safety net with a 772 The Journal of American History December 2013 debilitating injury or allegations of poor performance. Nevertheless, the exhibit’s selected evidence and straightforward script provide visitors with an understanding of how the “model settlement” benefited the company and some employees. Large silhouettes of notable architectural features in the community divide each section of the exhibit. This organizational style helps visitors focus on main ideas and clearly demar- cates when they enter a new exhibit theme. Using visual, auditory, and tactile experiences, the curators deliver history via multilayered learning styles. The artifacts selected for each section are ones commonly found in many small historical societies; however, the interpretation successfully links their meaning to the theme of company control. A young child’s crutch is used to explain child labor and how medical services were unevenly distributed in ’ the community. Opening the tops of three school desks reveals Mary Frances Sharpe s Downloaded from Plain Facts for Future Citizens (1914), a book that underscores the efforts to Americanize the children of immigrants. Inside a long display case, visitors view sacred artifacts from a variety of religions, emphasizing the ethnic diversity of Calumet. Further interpretation explains how the mining company determined who could erect churches and where they could be built. http://jah.oxfordjournals.org/ The curators provide occasional examples of men and women who challenged the system. In an oral history Eleanor Buckett recounts a simple form of opposition to strict company rules with her mother’s illegal production of homemade liquor on Calumet and Hecla Mining Com- pany land. Discussion about unionization in the mines, particularly by the Western Federation of Miners (), is mostly limited to activity during the copper workers strike of 1913–1914, despite other efforts to organize. Regrettably, the exhibit’s analysis of the strike is brief, with only a small section dedicated to the violence and the major divisions that defined the event. The script does explain how women such as Mary Harris “Mother” Jones and Anna “Big at Knox College on April 3, 2014 Annie” Clemenc

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