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Columbine Mine massacre

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Louis Scherf, shouted to the strikers, "Who are your leaders?" "We're all leaders!" came the reply. Scherf announced that the strikers would not be allowed into the town, and for a few moments, the strikers hesitated outside the fence. There was discussion, with many strikers asserting their right to proceed. They argued that Serene had a public post office, and some of their children were enrolled in the school in Serene. One of the Rangers reportedly taunted, "If you want to come in here, come ahead, but we'll carry you out".
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were recalled to duty and would meet the picketers and bar their path. The miners were surprised to see men dressed in civilian clothes but armed with pistols, rifles, riot guns and tear gas. The Rangers were backed up by rifle-toting mine guards stationed on the mine dump. The Head of the Rangers,
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Five died initially, on the day of the massacre. John Eastenes, 34, of Lafayette, married and father of six children, died instantly. Nick Spanudakhis, 34, of Lafayette, lived only a few minutes. Frank Kovich of Erie, Rene Jacques, 26, of Louisville, and 21-year-old Jerry Davis died hours later in
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The miners in the front of the group scaled the gate, led by Adam Bell's call of "Come on!" Three policemen pulled Bell down, viciously clubbed on the head, he fell unconscious to the ground. A battle raged over his prostrate form, the miners shielding him from the Rangers. Mrs. Elizabeth Beranek,
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Strike leader Adam Bell stepped forward and asked for the gate to be unlocked. As he put his hand on the gate, one of the Rangers struck him with a club. A sixteen-year-old boy stood nearby and was holding one of the flags. The banner was snatched from him, and in the tug of war that followed, the
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The police retreated, forming two lines at the water tank; 120 yards (110 m) inside the fence. Louis Scherf fired two .45 caliber rounds over the heads of the strikers. His men responded with deadly fire directly into the crowd. The miners scattered, twelve remained on the ground, some dead,
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across the state, workers had been picketing one of the few remaining operating mines, in Serene. A fight broke out between Colorado state militia and a group of striking coal miners, during which the unarmed miners were attacked with firearms. The miners testified that machine guns were fired at
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Police admitted to using clubs in the skirmish. Scherf said, "We knocked them down as fast as they came over the gate". Miners would later say that the clubs were lengths of gas pipe. A striker belted one Ranger in the face, breaking his nose. A pocketknife-wielding miner cut another on the hand
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The state police later testified that they had not used machine guns in the fight. The miners and some witnesses testified that machine guns were used. Some witnesses identified a mine guard who had climbed the tipple and may have operated the machine gun mounted there, providing one possible
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At least two, and possibly three, machine guns were available at the mine. Miners later claimed that their ranks were decimated by a withering crossfire from the mine tipple – a structure where coal was loaded onto railroad cars – and from a gun on a truck near the water tank.
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flagpole broke over the fence. The miners rushed toward the gate, and suddenly the air was filled with tear gas launched by the police. A tear gas grenade hit Mrs. Kubic in the back as she tried to flee. Some of the miners threw the tear gas grenades back.
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the mother of 16 children and one of the flag-bearers, tried to protect him by thrusting her flag in front of his attackers. The police turned on her, bruising her severely. Rangers reportedly seized Mrs. Beranek's flag too.
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Enraged, the strikers forced their way through the wooden gate. Jerry Davis grabbed one of the fallen flags as hundreds of angry miners surged through the entrance, others scaled the fence east of the gate.
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the hospital. The Flag of the United States Davis carried was riddled with seventeen bullet holes and stained with blood. Mike Vidovich of Erie, 35, died a week later of his injuries.
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On November 21, 1927, five hundred miners, some accompanied by their wives and children, arrived at the north gate just before dawn. They carried three United States flags.
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Hundreds of strikers & Wobblies standing outside the doctor’s office awaiting word on wounded fellow workers. 13 strikers in total were taken to the office.
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while other strikers pelted the Rangers with rocks. Blood gushed from a cut above one Ranger's eye when a rock found its mark, the police then retreated.
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explanation for the discrepancy in testimony. However, one of Scherf's men reportedly operated the machine gun near the water tank.
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Three men pictured (presumably state militia), the only one identified is tall "Shorty" Martinez wielding a Tommy gun.
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McClurg, Donald J. (January 1963). "The Colorado coal strike of 1927 — tactical leadership of the IWW".
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Myers, Richard; Eric Margolis; Joanna Sampson; Phil Goodstein (2005). May, Lowell A. (ed.).
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them, which the state police disputed. Six strikers were killed, and dozens were injured.
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Remembering Ludlow but Forgetting the Columbine: The 1927-1928 Colorado Coal Strike
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Remembering Ludlow but Forgetting the Columbine: The 1927-1928 Colorado Coal Strike
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1927 police shooting of striking miners in Serene, Colorado, United States
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People shot dead by law enforcement officers in the United States
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Once A Coalminer... The Story of Colorado's Northern Coal Field
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That morning, the recently disbanded state police known as the
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Striking workers and family marching earlier on November 3
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The Industrial Workers of the World: Its first 100 years
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Murder of workers in labor disputes in the United States
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List of incidents of civil unrest in the United States
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List of incidents of civil unrest in the United States
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List of worker deaths in United States labor disputes
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Slaughter in Serene: the Columbine Coal Strike Reader
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Funeral of Nick Spanudakhis and an unidentified miner
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Charity Organization Society of the City of New York
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Boulder: University Press of Colorado, 2023. 578:graveyard for the funeral of Nick Spanudakhis. 1414:20th-century mass murder in the United States 975: 816:"Blood on the Coal – Colorado Strike of 1927" 216: 8: 1131:Westmoreland County coal strike of 1910–1911 1354:Industrial Workers of the World in Colorado 1285: 982: 968: 960: 223: 209: 201: 29: 1324:November 1927 events in the United States 1053:Coeur d'Alene, Idaho labor strike of 1892 1394:Massacres of protesters in North America 1379:Massacres committed by the United States 1299:Anti-union violence in the United States 1253:Anti-union violence in the United States 524: 485: 663: 1136:Paint Creek–Cabin Creek strike of 1912 1104:Streetcar strikes in the United States 1064:Streetcar strikes in the United States 919:"Brutal days of coal strikes depicted" 833:Weinberg, Rachel (December 18, 2020). 917:Hinkemeyer, Joan (November 4, 2005). 747:Meyer, Irwin F. (February 15, 1928). 7: 1399:Riots and civil disorder in Colorado 742: 740: 738: 736: 734: 732: 697: 695: 693: 691: 689: 1309:1927 disasters in the United States 1248:Union violence in the United States 1121:1907 San Francisco streetcar strike 814:Murfin, Patrick (18 October 2013). 1156:Copper Country strike of 1913–1914 647:List of battles fought in Colorado 25: 1319:1927 murders in the United States 896:Thompson, F.; Bekken, J. (2006). 421:occurred in 1927, in the town of 1268: 1214:Gulf Coast longshoremen's strike 1126:Pressed Steel Car strike of 1909 820:Heretic, Rebel, a Thing to Flout 596: 567: 555: 464: 1314:1927 labor disputes and strikes 109:Industrial Workers of the World 1384:Massacres in the United States 1116:1905 Chicago teamsters' strike 1042:Cotton pickers' strike of 1891 492:-Steelworks Center of the West 444:1927–1928 Colorado Coal Strike 431:1927–1928 Colorado Coal Strike 1: 1364:Labor monuments and memorials 1349:Deaths by firearm in Colorado 925:. p. 30D. Archived from 770:Campbell-Hale, Leigh (2013). 1208:West Coast waterfront strike 992:American labor union history 116:Colorado Fuel & Iron Co. 952:Colorado Historical Society 1430: 1359:Labor disputes in Colorado 955:(archived October 2, 2006) 441: 1266: 1141:1913 Ipswich Mills strike 1083: 990:Major armed conflicts in 801:10.1080/00236566308583916 385:Indiana bituminous strike 240: 168: 141: 102: 37: 1178:Battle of Blair Mountain 1167:1920 Alabama coal strike 671:Schreck, Christopher J. 363:Battle of Blair Mountain 1374:Mass murder in Colorado 1275:Portal:Organized Labour 1196:Columbine Mine massacre 942:Erie Historical Society 854:, Phyllis Smith, p. 182 604:Organized labour portal 419:Columbine Mine massacre 395:Columbine Mine massacre 375:UMW General Coal Strike 355:West Virginia coal wars 342:Hartford coal mine riot 120:Rocky Mountain Fuel Co. 33:Columbine Mine massacre 18:Columbine Mine Massacre 1344:Criminal rock-throwing 1146:Colorado Coalfield War 1090: 867:Campbell-Hale, Leigh. 530: 494: 429:. In the midst of the 369:Alabama miners' strike 328:Colorado Coalfield War 297:Anthracite coal strike 267:Bituminous coal strike 250:Mahoning Valley strike 82:40.02528°N 105.02722°W 1404:Weld County, Colorado 1220:Memorial Day massacre 1089: 1012:Rock Springs massacre 1006:Great Railroad Strike 528: 489: 291:Carterville Mine Riot 164:Casualties and losses 127:Colorado state police 1339:Colorado Mining Boom 673:"The Strike of 1927" 391:Colorado Coal Strike 322:Paint Creek mine war 303:Carbon county strike 148:Amelia Milka Sablich 87:40.02528; -105.02722 1110:Colorado Labor Wars 923:Rocky Mountain News 759:. pp. 644–646. 612:Anti-union violence 574:Mourners gather at 316:Westmoreland strike 78: /  1409:Mining in Colorado 1091: 1076:Illinois coal wars 1030:Thibodaux massacre 944:(official website) 929:on April 19, 2006. 709:The New York Times 531: 495: 279:Illinois coal wars 1329:Massacres in 1927 1286: 1282: 1281: 1202:Harlan County War 1190:Hanapepe massacre 1172:Battle of Matewan 1070:Lattimer massacre 1036:Morewood massacre 1018:Bay View massacre 909:978-0-917-12402-0 888:978-0-917-12401-3 632:Bay View Massacre 627:Lattimer massacre 414: 413: 401:Harlan County War 359:Battle of Matewan 273:Lattimer massacre 256:Morewood massacre 199: 198: 195: 194: 154:Jesse F. Welborn; 132: 131: 49:November 21, 1927 16:(Redirected from 1421: 1304:1927 in Colorado 1272: 1236:Related articles 1161:Everett massacre 1148:, including the 1047:Homestead Strike 1024:Haymarket affair 984: 977: 970: 961: 956: 930: 913: 892: 855: 849: 843: 842: 830: 824: 823: 811: 805: 804: 784: 778: 777: 767: 761: 760: 744: 727: 726: 724: 723: 706: 699: 684: 683: 681: 679: 668: 606: 601: 600: 571: 559: 499:Colorado Rangers 468: 454:Serene, Colorado 405:Battle of Evarts 283:Battle of Virden 235: 225: 218: 211: 202: 170: 169: 124:Colorado Rangers 104: 103: 93: 92: 90: 89: 88: 83: 79: 76: 75: 74: 71: 59:Serene, Colorado 30: 21: 1429: 1428: 1424: 1423: 1422: 1420: 1419: 1418: 1289: 1288: 1287: 1283: 1278: 1262: 1231: 1184:Herrin massacre 1150:Ludlow Massacre 1092: 1081: 994: 988: 954: 938: 916: 910: 895: 889: 874: 864: 862:Further reading 859: 858: 850: 846: 832: 831: 827: 813: 812: 808: 786: 785: 781: 769: 768: 764: 746: 745: 730: 721: 719: 701: 700: 687: 677: 675: 670: 669: 665: 660: 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Index

Columbine Mine Massacre
Coal Wars
Serene, Colorado
40°01′31″N 105°01′38″W / 40.02528°N 105.02722°W / 40.02528; -105.02722
Industrial Workers of the World
Colorado Fuel & Iron Co.
Rocky Mountain Fuel Co.
Colorado Rangers
Amelia Milka Sablich
v
t
e
Coal Wars
Mahoning Valley strike
Morewood massacre
Coal Creek War
Bituminous coal strike
Lattimer massacre
Illinois coal wars
Battle of Virden
Pana riot
Carterville Mine Riot
Anthracite coal strike
Carbon county strike
Westmoreland strike
Paint Creek mine war
Colorado Coalfield War
Ludlow Massacre
The 10-Day War
Hartford coal mine riot

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