New Experience...The Tornado Warning

Before coming to Missouri, there are some things that this California girl just hasn’t had to deal with. Some things are great such as how friendly and welcoming most people are and how green everything is for most of the year and even, the lack of constant traffic.

But there are also some bad things that I’ve never dealt with. High humidity is one…sucks the energy right out of you and you better be comfortable with sweating all the time. Air conditioner is my very best friend when the humidity climbs. Tourist season in Branson…the main strip is lined in cars that only move about 30 MPH…if you’re lucky. I’m learning the back roads that, in any other season, would be the long way around but are life savers when the tourists come to town.

One thing that surprised me was the intensity of the storms here. Frightened at first, I am slowly getting used to them. The lightening lights up the sky while the thunder rolls through the Ozark hills, lasting a long time. I remember the first big storm at night. A huge flash that registers somewhere in your brain as you sleep and then BOOOOM! The entire building shook. Dirk put a hand on me and reassuringly said “I’m right here”.

And the rain that accompanies these storms! Torrential rains, or at least seems like that to me. Rain coming down so hard you can see it rolling down the streets in sheets. And hitting your roof so hard there is a constant dull roar with periods of even harder rain that makes you stop and yet once again, get up and look out the window and wonder where all the water is going to go.

But last night I got to “experience” another thing that happens in the mid-west that this California girl has never been around…the tornado warning. I’ve been in Branson when there has been tornado watches and when I first got here, I asked Dirk, “what do I do if there is a tornado?”. He looked at me and, teasing, said “get in a doorway?”…funny guy and I rolled my eyes reminding him that’s what we do in earthquakes.

The Branson area is in the Ozarks and very hilly. When Dirk lived in Hollister, his apartment was lower and he, and others, told me not to worry about tornados. One because tornados tend to like flatter landscape and IF one was to occur here, it would “skip” along the hill tops.

Tornado Siren

Well, our new condo is on a hilltop and one of the tornado sirens is less than 100 feet away. I had noticed the siren before and laughingly told one of my friends that if it went off, I’d probably sh*t myself.

Ok, so now I know I won’t actually do that!

For my California family and friends…the difference between a watch and a warning.... A tornado watch means conditions are favorable for the development of tornados in the area. Stay aware of what is going on and be ready to take action quickly. A warning means a tornado has been sighted or indicated by radar and there is imminent danger to life and property. It means take immediate action to be safe, moving to an inner room on the lowest level of the building you are in.

1st Rotation Sighted

So, back to last night. We’re sound asleep when the siren starts wailing. And let me tell you…it’s LOUD! Dirk gets up and goes out on our balcony and our phones light up with warnings from the National Weather Service. I get up and I’m standing there saying “I don’t know what to do”. What I didn’t know until later was that Dirk saw the sky had a greenish tint to it, something many people describe before a tornado that scientifically has to do with light waves and color spectrum, blah, blah, blah.

The wind was whipping around and Dirk calmly said “get some jeans on” and then he was holding a jacket out for me telling me to put it on. Like any other woman, I grabbed my purse but also his glasses and phone. Dirk closed the doors to our balcony and led me to the front door. Closing it, but leaving it unlocked, he took my hand and we walked downstairs to the main level of the complex that leads to the garages.

Warning Area & Approaching Storm

We stood there for a while. Dirk holding my hand and me whimpering “what are we going to do”. Then the wind really picked up and the lights started to flicker and went out for a moment. Dirk put the hood of my jacket over my head, later telling me it was to protect me from any lightbulbs that might break overhead. And then he buried my head into his chest.

That’s when it got even scarier. Thunder, just a constant boom…rolling through the hills. The lightening was coming one flash right after the other and I could hear the wind howling. Like a little kid, I told Dirk “I don’t want to do this anymore”. And I will admit that I was scared and crying. 

Dirk then led me down to the lowest level in the complex, almost underground and reinforced by brick. I have to say, I felt safer there and Dirk held me until the sirens stopped and the major part of the storm seemed to have passed.

We came back up to our condo and took a deep breath. It was then that Dirk articulated how nervous he had been. Thank god, he didn’t show it. I had been scared we would get separated somehow and he was scared that I would say “The heck with this, I’m going back to California.”

Not that the thought didn’t cross my mind!

Ludlow Tent Colony / Massacre....Ludlow, Colorado

DATE:  04/01/2016

HISTORICAL SITE:  Ludlow Tent Colony

LOCATION:  Del Aqua Canyon Road, Ludlow, Las Animas County, Colorado

MARKER #:  85001328

 DEDICATED:  June 19, 1985

“Ludlow Tent Colony Site has been designated a National Historic Landmark   This site possesses national significance in illustrating the history of the United States of America”

MARKER PLACED BY:  National Park Service United States Department of the Interior

PERSONAL REFLECTIONS: 

I had a tough time with this historical site. I come from a Union family and I understand what Unions have gained for the American worker. That being said, spending 30+ years in State Service, most of those in a supervisory or managerial role, the Union has soured me. While I firmly believe Unions were needed at one time in America, whether they are needed these days is something I really struggle with.

Doing the research on this site, I found myself constantly looking for the “ulterior motive” of the Union. Yet, time and time again, I was reminded that although the Union’s side is certainly going to come down with the company being the “bad guy’…archeological evidence also sides with the Union. That’s not to say the Union did not do things to incite the situation, but maybe that was what was needed.

In 1912, Colorado had a death rate among miners of 7.055 per 1,000 employees compared to a national average of 3.15.

September 1913, miners went on strike against the Colorado Fuel & Iron Corporation, owned by the Rockefeller family and Standard Oil, protesting low pay, dangerous working conditions and the companies interference and influence on every part of their lives. Think “company town”.

The miners and their families were immediately evicted from the company owned shacks. 

The United Mine Workers Union brought in tents and they were raised all over the foothills nearby, and the miners continued to strike. The land had been leased by the union and was a strategic move. Tents were place near the mouths of the canyon where non-union workers, called “scabs”, would have to pass to get to work and were constantly harassed by the striking workers and their families.

The Rockefellers/Standard Oil guys had to escalate the situation since eviction alone didn’t stop the strike.

“Private detectives” were hired to supposedly protect the new workers but also to harass the miners. When they attacked the tent colonies. The miners fought back and some were killed. The detectives would randomly fire into the tents at night or circle the tent colony with a machine gun mounted on the car. They called this the “Death Special”. In order to protect their wives and children, many miners had dug pits under the tents.

The Rockefellers then approached the Governor who approved the use of the National Guard. The strikers thought the National Guard was there to protect them but quickly learned they were brought in to break the strike. As time went on, National Guardsmen left to return to their regular jobs and the State agreed to replace the guards with some of the “private detectives” with the Rockefellers paying the wages.

On April 20, 1914, two companies of the National Guard attacked the largest of the tent colonies, home to about 1,000 men, women and children.

It started with the National Guard shooting directly at the tents early in the morning. The miners fought back and one of the leaders of the strike was killed while negotiating a truce.

It was thought it would be better for the woman and children to go into the pits dug beneath the tents….they would be safe there.

At dusk, the Guard set fire to the tents, shooting at the families as they ran into the hills.

But the real tragedy was found the next day when a pit was uncovered and there was the bodies of 11 children and 2 woman.

The “massacre” outraged Americans but really didn’t do anything for the plight of the miners. Federal troops were brought in and finally the strike was broken without any gains for the miners in December 1914.

In the end, 66 men, women and children died during the “Colorado Coalfield War”. Over 400 miners were arrested with 332 indicted for murder and only 1 man, a leader of the strike was convicted. That conviction was overturned by the Colorado Supreme Court. Twenty-two National Guardsmen, including 10 officers, were court-martialed. All of these were acquitted except one lieutenant convicted of assault. He received a light reprimand. So really, no one was held accountable, on either side, for the violence that lasted over a year.

But, the massacre did cause congress to ask for an investigation and was instrumental in the implementation of child labor laws and the eight hour work day. In addition, Rockefeller had reforms developed, including worker representation and no discrimination against union workers. Did he do this out of the goodness of his heart? Having seen the light? Nah, he did it to rehabilitate his own reputation.

“On April 20, 19114, the State Militia unleased an unwarranted attack on striking coal miners and their families living in a tent colony at this site. Eleven children and two woman suffocated in a cellar beneath a tent when flames engulfed the overhead shelter. Militia rifle and machine gun fire claimed the lives of at least 5 strikers, an 11 year old boy, and an 18 year old passerby.

The unexpected attack was the fateful climax of miners attempting to achieve freedom from oppression at the hands of coal company officials. Miners were forced to live in company owned camps, buy from company owned stores, and educate their children in company dominated schools. Miners worked unduly long hours under hazardous conditions for meager pay.

On Sept. 23, 1913, miners struck in protest of these conditions, calling for recognition of the United Mine Workers Union. Eventually, the alleged peace keeping militia became infiltrated with company gunmen, leading to this – The Ludlow Massacre.   UMWA L.U. 9856, Dist. 15”

 
(Please keep in mind the above was written solely by the UMWA and may or may not take into account accurate descriptions of the siege and attacks…although, as I state before, archeological findings do give credence to their side of the story)

Song written by Woodie Guthrie about the Ludlow Massacre