181:
Magazine when she badly needed money. Her work contains themes of anti-racism, leftism, and class politics. For example, “The Wolf at the Door” is a love story ruined by class differences set in a fictionalized version of the sawmill company town she lived in in the 1920s and 30s. She began writing “The
Bridges of Ce,” her memoir, when she was fifty but it remains a fragment. Another memoir is the essay “Eggs in Baskets” telling of her mother's distribution of illegal birth control door-to-door in Eugene, Oregon when Julia was a girl. Like many writers, she often used pieces of her own life in her fiction, for example “Murder in the High Rise” is about an elderly murder victim who wrote for labor publications.
436:
86:. Shortly after, Julia moved to Astoria. Two years later, Julia and Oscar took in her grandson, Shane, after Mike's marriage fell apart, he took off and his wife didn't want him. Eventually Julia and Oscar were able to adopt him. Julia's mother Ella also moved in with them. After Oscar Ruuttila died of a heart attack in 1962, Julia moved back to Portland with Shane and her mother in tow.
138:
and in the process killed four legionnaires. The trial was blatantly unfair and even jurors later joined in petitioning for their pardons. One man died in prison, 5 others accepted parole but one IWW man wanted a pardon. With the work of the committee and the ACLU, in 1939 Ray Becker was released
57:
Godman developed a love of writing from an early age. She was mostly homeschooled, and began a love for imagination and writing. She would become a published author in high school. Her story “The Agate Hunter” and her poem “Brotherhood” were published in the 1924 edition of the
Eugenean- her high
180:
Julia
Ruuttila wrote profusely throughout her long life. She wrote poetry since she was a girl and published poems in her high school annual and in later years in the Oregonian newspaper. She self published a book of poetry near the end of her life. She also wrote romance stories for True Story
148:, a Communist Party USA publication that called out the Portland Housing Authority and the State Public Welfare Commission for its failures to adequately aid the victims of the Vanport Flood. She was at the time working for the welfare commission and, despite the pen name, she lost her job.
129:
Also in 1936, she helped form the Free Ray Becker
Committee. Ray Becker was one of the members of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), also known a Wobblies, who were imprisoned following a travesty of a trial that grew out of the November 11, 1919 event known as the
113:
Julia
Ruuttila spent much of her adult life working for various labor unions and their publications. In 1936, while married to Butch Bertam, she and her husband encouraged the workers of the sawmill at which he worked to unionize. The union left the
77:
In 1943, she divorced Butch Bertam, and married Ben Eaton, a seaman. She divorced him in 1946. In 1951, she married for the final time to Oscar
Ruuttila, who was American-born but raised in Finland. He worked for the Pillsbury mill in
151:
While living in
Astoria, Ruuttila worked for the Columbia River Fishermen's Protective Union, created an ILWU Women's Auxiliary, and a Committee for Protection of Foreign Born. This committee led to her being subpoenaed by the
166:
Julia
Ruuttila was arrested several times. The first time, was during the IWA lockout, and the last time would be in 1975 during a sit-in at a Portland office of Pacific Power and Light, protesting their rising prices.
41:
Julia Godman was born on April 26, 1907, to Ella
Blossom Pardan and John Burwell Godman in Eugene, Oregon. Both of her parents were political activists: her mother a socialist, her father an anarchist. Members of the
83:
58:
school's yearbook. Her activism was present in these early works, with “Brotherhood” containing anti-racist metaphors, and “The Agate Hunter” expressing concerns over becoming a wage slave.
134:, also known as the Centralia Tragedy. During the first Armistice Day, the first anniversary of the end of World War I, the Wobblies of Centralia defended their hall from an attack by the
126:. The union was locked out, and Ruuttila, with the help of the women's auxiliary that she founded, ensured that the workers could support themselves and their families during the lockout.
160:
163:
to stop nerve gas from being moved to a chemical depot in
Umatilla. She also opposed the Vietnam War, and encouraged laborers to join the anti-war movement.
74:, where they had their son, Michael Jack (Mike). They returned to Oregon in 1929, and Butch began working at a sawmill in Linnton, just outside of Portland.
206:
159:
Following her 1962 return to Portland, Ruuttila served on the Legislative Committee of the Portland Longshore Auxiliary. She also joined a campaign by the
98:
466:
153:
66:
Julia Godman was briefly married to a man named William Clayton Bowen between 1924 and 1925. That marriage was annulled. She then attended the
461:
123:
119:
102:
33:(1907–1991) was a journalist, writer, and union and political activist, who wrote stories, articles, and poems under several pen names.
70:
during the 1925–1926 school year. It was in Eugene that she met Maurice "Butch" Bertram. They married in 1926, and in 1927, moved to
471:
131:
43:
89:
Julia would stay in Portland and continue her activist work for several decades following. At eighty years old, she moved to
156:, in an investigation on Communist Political Subversion, despite the fact that she was not a member of the Communist Party.
115:
435:
54:
who brought her daughter to demonstrations and sold birth control, which was then illegal, out of their home.
189:
Ruuttila spent a large portion of her life writing for labor publications. In 1936, she began writing for
413:
386:
362:
338:
314:
257:
481:
476:
67:
193:, the newspaper for the woodworkers union she was involved with. In 1938, she began to write for
194:
144:
90:
201:
135:
79:
199:, a CP USA publication. She worked as a correspondent for a labor and farm news service
455:
17:
444:
230:
440:
51:
46:, known as Wobblies, also visited their home frequently. Her mother was a
47:
71:
142:
In 1948, under the pen name Kathleen Cronin, she wrote an article for
105:, who she had also worked for in its early days. She died in 1991.
290:
93:
to live with her grandson, Shane. She retired from her job at
101:. She would also receive honorary lifelong membership in the
443:
work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. Text taken from
205:
until its closure in 1956. She also began writing for the
161:Women's International League for Peace and Freedom
8:
439: This article incorporates text from a
207:International Longshore and Warehouse Union
84:International Longshore and Warehouse Union
154:House Committee on Un-American Activities
222:
408:
406:
285:
283:
281:
279:
277:
252:
250:
7:
176:Fiction, poetry and personal writing
120:International Woodworkers of America
103:International Woodworkers of America
44:International Workers of the World
25:
467:20th-century American journalists
82:and was active in his union, the
434:
213:in 1946, and retired in 1987.
1:
462:American political activists
414:"Julia Ruuttila (1907-1991)"
387:"Julia Ruuttila (1907-1991)"
363:"Julia Ruuttila (1907-1991)"
339:"Julia Ruuttila (1907-1991)"
315:"Julia Ruuttila (1907-1991)"
258:"Julia Ruuttila (1907-1991)"
116:American Federation of Labor
498:
418:www.oregonencyclopedia.org
391:www.oregonencyclopedia.org
367:www.oregonencyclopedia.org
343:www.oregonencyclopedia.org
319:www.oregonencyclopedia.org
262:www.oregonencyclopedia.org
97:, the publication of the
446:Revolt They Said
472:Journalists from Oregon
291:"Julia Godman Ruuttila"
449:, Andrea Geyer.
18:Julia Evelyn Ruuttila
235:www.andreageyer.info
68:University of Oregon
231:"Revolt, They Said"
27:American journalist
132:Centralia Massacre
118:, and became the
91:Anchorage, Alaska
16:(Redirected from
489:
438:
428:
427:
425:
424:
410:
401:
400:
398:
397:
383:
377:
376:
374:
373:
359:
353:
352:
350:
349:
335:
329:
328:
326:
325:
311:
305:
304:
302:
301:
287:
272:
271:
269:
268:
254:
245:
244:
242:
241:
227:
191:The Timberworker
21:
497:
496:
492:
491:
490:
488:
487:
486:
452:
451:
432:
431:
422:
420:
412:
411:
404:
395:
393:
385:
384:
380:
371:
369:
361:
360:
356:
347:
345:
337:
336:
332:
323:
321:
313:
312:
308:
299:
297:
289:
288:
275:
266:
264:
256:
255:
248:
239:
237:
229:
228:
224:
219:
202:Federated Press
187:
178:
173:
136:American Legion
111:
80:Astoria, Oregon
64:
39:
31:Julia Ruuttila
28:
23:
22:
15:
12:
11:
5:
495:
493:
485:
484:
479:
474:
469:
464:
454:
453:
430:
429:
402:
378:
354:
330:
306:
295:www.ochcom.org
273:
246:
221:
220:
218:
215:
211:The Dispatcher
196:People’s World
186:
183:
177:
174:
172:
171:Writing career
169:
145:People's World
122:, joining the
110:
107:
95:The Dispatcher
63:
60:
38:
35:
26:
24:
14:
13:
10:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
494:
483:
480:
478:
475:
473:
470:
468:
465:
463:
460:
459:
457:
450:
448:
447:
442:
437:
419:
415:
409:
407:
403:
392:
388:
382:
379:
368:
364:
358:
355:
344:
340:
334:
331:
320:
316:
310:
307:
296:
292:
286:
284:
282:
280:
278:
274:
263:
259:
253:
251:
247:
236:
232:
226:
223:
216:
214:
212:
208:
204:
203:
198:
197:
192:
184:
182:
175:
170:
168:
164:
162:
157:
155:
149:
147:
146:
140:
137:
133:
127:
125:
121:
117:
108:
106:
104:
100:
96:
92:
87:
85:
81:
75:
73:
69:
61:
59:
55:
53:
49:
45:
36:
34:
32:
19:
445:
441:free content
433:
421:. Retrieved
417:
394:. Retrieved
390:
381:
370:. Retrieved
366:
357:
346:. Retrieved
342:
333:
322:. Retrieved
318:
309:
298:. Retrieved
294:
265:. Retrieved
261:
238:. Retrieved
234:
225:
210:
200:
195:
190:
188:
179:
165:
158:
150:
143:
141:
128:
112:
94:
88:
76:
65:
56:
40:
30:
29:
482:1991 deaths
477:1907 births
52:suffragette
456:Categories
423:2021-06-08
396:2021-06-08
372:2021-06-08
348:2021-06-08
324:2021-06-08
300:2021-06-08
267:2021-06-08
240:2021-06-09
217:References
209:'s paper,
185:Journalism
62:Adult life
37:Early life
109:Activism
48:feminist
72:Chicago
99:ILWU
50:and
124:CIO
458::
416:.
405:^
389:.
365:.
341:.
317:.
293:.
276:^
260:.
249:^
233:.
426:.
399:.
375:.
351:.
327:.
303:.
270:.
243:.
20:)
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.