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Anna "Big Annie" Klobuchar Clemenc (March 2, 1888 – July 27, 1956; pronounced "Clements") was an American labor activist. Born in
Calumet, Michigan Calumet ( or ) is a village in Calumet Township, Houghton County, in the U.S. state of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, that was once at the center of the mining industry of the Upper Peninsula. Also known as Red Jacket, the village includes the C ...
, she founded and served as president of the local Women's Auxiliary No. 15 of the
Western Federation of Miners The Western Federation of Miners (WFM) was a trade union, labor union that gained a reputation for militancy in the mining#Human Rights, mines of the western United States and British Columbia. Its efforts to organize both hard rock miners and ...
and was an active participant in the
Copper Country Strike of 1913–1914 Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish- ...
. She is an inducted member of the
Michigan Women's Hall of Fame The Michigan Women's Hall of Fame (MWHOF) honors distinguished women, both historical and contemporary, who have been associated with the U.S. state of Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regi ...
.


Biography

Clemenc was born in 1888 in Calumet, Michigan, to George and Mary (née Adam) Klobuchar, the eldest of five children. In 1890 or 1891, the family returned to Slovenia, where the youngest Klobuchar sibling, Mary, was born on February 2, 1892. They lived in George Klobuchar's home village of
Dobliče Dobliče (; german: Döblitsch''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 4.Rajšp, Vincenc. 1995. ''Slovenija na vojaškem zemljevidu 1763-1787' ...
near
Črnomelj Črnomelj (; in older sources also ''Černomelj'', german: Tschernembl''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 4.) is a town in southeastern S ...
. Mary Adam Klobuchar was from Dolnja Paka, also near
Črnomelj Črnomelj (; in older sources also ''Černomelj'', german: Tschernembl''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 4.) is a town in southeastern S ...
. In the United States, George was employed in one of the
Calumet and Hecla The Calumet and Hecla Mining Company was a major copper-mining company based within Michigan's Copper Country. In the 19th century, the company paid out more than $72 million in shareholder dividends, more than any other mining company in the Uni ...
mines and Mary was a
domestic worker A domestic worker or domestic servant is a person who works within the scope of a residence. The term "domestic service" applies to the equivalent occupational category. In traditional English contexts, such a person was said to be "in service ...
.


Education

Annie Klobuchar graduated from the eighth grade at a school operated by the Calumet and Hecla Mining Company. She then began working with a local church giving aid to crippled miners and assisted her family financially by doing laundry. Because of her height, Clemenc was commonly known as "Big Annie" and less commonly as "Tall Annie".


First marriage

At age eighteen, Anna married a Slovene miner, Joseph Clemenc. The only description of Joseph came from Anna's brother Frank, who stated that Clemenc was tall and "quiet and mild-mannered." Following Joseph's repeated physical abuse of Anna and marital discord related to Joseph's alcoholism, the couple divorced around 1914.


Labor activism

In February 1913, Clemenc spearheaded the formation of the Women's Auxiliary No. 15 of the
Western Federation of Miners The Western Federation of Miners (WFM) was a trade union, labor union that gained a reputation for militancy in the mining#Human Rights, mines of the western United States and British Columbia. Its efforts to organize both hard rock miners and ...
in Calumet. On July 23, a
miners' strike Miners' strikes are when miners conduct strike actions. See also * List of strikes References {{Reflist Miners A miner is a person who extracts ore, coal, chalk, clay, or other minerals from the earth through mining. There are tw ...
was called in Michigan's
Copper Country The Copper Country is an area in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in the United States, including Keweenaw County, Michigan, Houghton, Baraga and Ontonagon counties as well as part of Marquette County. The area is so named as copper mining was ...
. Clemenc frequently led marches in support of the miners wearing a plain
gingham Gingham, also called Vichy check, is a medium-weight balanced plain-woven fabric typically with striped, check or plaid duotone patterns, in bright colour and in white made from dyed cotton or cotton-blend yarns. It is made of carded, medium or ...
dress and carrying a large American flag on a ten-foot pole. In August, Clemenc led the funeral procession for Alois Tijan and Steve Putrich who died in the Seeberville Affair. On September 10, Clemenc and five other women stopped a man from going to work, whom they mistakenly believed to be a non-striker, and were arrested after fighting with deputies. Clemenc was elected president of the auxiliary by December 1913.


Italian Hall disaster

Five months into the strike, Clemenc and the Women's Auxiliary planned a Christmas party to be held at
Italian Hall Italian Hall was a two-story commercial and recreational building in Calumet, Michigan, built in 1908 and demolished in 1984. Two prior buildings known popularly as "Italian Hall" had stood on the site. The first floor housed commercial space with ...
in Calumet on December 24. About 500 children and 175 parents were in attendance in the second-floor hall when a false cry of "fire" was heard, leading to a stampede down the main staircase in what became known as the Italian Hall disaster. Over 75 died, most of them children. Carrying her flag, Clemenc led the funeral procession for the victims. In January 1914, Clemenc served a ten-day jail sentence for previously assaulting a non-striking miner. In February and March, she went on a lecture tour of the Midwest to raise funds for survivors of the Italian Hall disaster and to encourage workers to unionize.


Later life

After the tour, she moved to Chicago and married Frank Shavs. At the age of 26, she gave birth to her only child, Darwina, who later lost her left arm in an automobile accident. Frank became a "drunkard and a wife-beater"., and the couple was divorced. In 1936, she married Andrew Robleck; two years later, this marriage also ended in divorce. For a time Anna worked two jobs making hats, Little else is known of her later life. She died of cancer in Chicago in 1956, at the age of 68.


Legacy

Contemporary accounts of Clemenc referred to her as an "American
Joan of Arc Joan of Arc (french: link=yes, Jeanne d'Arc, translit= an daʁk} ; 1412 – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the coronati ...
". Her legacy was largely forgotten until the 1970s. The
Michigan House of Representatives The Michigan House of Representatives is the lower house of the Michigan Legislature. There are 110 members, each of whom is elected from constituencies having approximately 77,000 to 91,000 residents, based on population figures from the 2010 ...
described her as "one of Michigan's most valiant, yet largely forgotten and unrecognized, women." June 17, 1980, was declared Annie Clemenc day in Michigan. A portrait of Clemenc with her flag was commissioned by the Michigan Women's Studies Association and painted by Andy Willis. It was unveiled in the
Michigan State Capitol The Michigan State Capitol is the building that houses the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is in the portion of the state capital of Lansing which lies in Ingham County. The present structure, at the interse ...
on June 17, 1980, and later transferred to the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame. She was the first person nominated for the
Michigan Women's Hall of Fame The Michigan Women's Hall of Fame (MWHOF) honors distinguished women, both historical and contemporary, who have been associated with the U.S. state of Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regi ...
, was inducted in 1996, and is one of three women included on the Hall of Fame medallion. A sign commemorating her induction into the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame stood at the site of the now-demolished Italian Hall, but it was removed at some point. Annie Clements is the lead character in a historical novel by
Mary Doria Russell Mary Doria Russell (born August 19, 1950) is an American novelist. Early life and education Russell was born in Elmhurst, Illinois She graduated from Glenbard East High School in Lombard, Illinois, which has registered its chapter of the Nati ...
, ''The Women of the Copper Country'' (Atria Books, 2019), about the Calumet copper miners' strike.


Notes


References


Works cited

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External links


Image of Anna Clemenc
from the Michigan Tech Archives {{DEFAULTSORT:Clemenc, Anna 1888 births 1956 deaths People from Calumet, Michigan American trade unionists American people of Slovenian descent Deaths from cancer in Illinois Trade unionists from Michigan American women trade unionists