Denver was the place and the HG/BSK New Mexico home was the destination. This meant a six hour drive in the crystal clear sunshine of the West. HG/BSK have done this trip many times and have created certain traditions. A few miles north of Trinidad, Colorado (on I-25) is a sign announcing the Ludlow Massacre Memorial constructed by the United Mine Workers union. Yes, there was a massacre in Ludlow, Colorado, where between 19 to 25 striking coal miners (including women and children) were murdered in 1914 by the Colorado National Guard, coal company police and strike breaking thugs/scabs. When HG (former member of the Newspaper Guild) and BSK (former member of Actors Equity) see the Ludlow sign the duo raise their clenched fists and shout: “Solidarity, Brothers and Sisters.” Once a labor union member, always a member. Some more Ludlow information: There was violent revenge by labor unions after the massacre. Mine property was attacked throughout the United States. It is estimated that between 90 to 200 lives were lost around the US making the national coal miner’s strike the deadliest in American history. The Rockefeller family owned the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company, largest of the mining companies involved in the Ludlow strike. Public outrage was aimed at the Rockefellers. Some observers believe the ambitious Rockefeller philanthropies were an attempt to cleanse the family name. HG/BSK stopped at a salubrious rest stop near Trinidad to devour jumbo-sized, tasty Whole Foods sandwiches. HG/BSK mused that the Trinidad area is known these days, not for its proximity to a labor landmark, but for the fact that Trinidad was for a time a center of trans-sexual surgery. The Ludlow Massacre site was declared a National Monument in 2009.
Leave a Reply