Elmer Smith and the Centralia Tragedy of 1919
Note: This is not an article about family child care. It’san article about another part of my life that’s been important to me for thepast 50 years.
November 11, 2019 was the 100th anniversary ofthe Centralia Tragedy of 1919. On November 11, 1919 a parade of World War I veteransattacked the union hall of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). TheWobblies (as members of the IWW were called) shot and killed four veterans andone Wobbly was lynched that night. Eight Wobblies spent up to 18 years inprison. No one was every charged with the lynching of the Wobbly WesleyEverest.
I became interested in the Centralia case in 1970 when I found out that the lawyer for the IWW, Elmer Smith, was a graduate of Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota where I was a sophomore! Smith was also arrested for the murder of the veterans but acquitted. He spent the rest of his life trying to free the other men. In that process, he was disbarred (and later reinstated), kidnapped, and arrested on numerous occasions for speaking on behalf of the Centralia prisoners.
I began a 23-year journey to interview his surviving family members, Wobblies and friends. I obtained his FBI files, disbarment and reinstatement records and spent countless hours reading old newspapers, trial records and other documents in numerous archives around the country. I finally collected enough information to reconstruct his life which would have otherwise been lost to history.
Over the years I learned what a fearless, optimistic, and admirable man he was to defend men who were denied their civil liberties. In 1993 the University of Washington Press published my biography of Elmer Smith entitled, The Centralia Tragedy of 1919: Elmer Smith and the Wobblies: https://www.amazon.com/Centralia-Tragedy-1919-Elmer-Wobblies/dp/0295972742/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1318100398&sr=1-1
I also wrote an article about Wesley Everest, the Wobbly who was lynched: http://libcom.org/files/Wesley%20Everest,%20IWW%20martyr.pdf
Return to Centraliafor the 100th anniversary
When I returned to Centralia to be a part of the 100th anniversary events I attracted a lot of attention. National Public Radio conducted an interview with me on All Things Considered: https://www.knkx.org/post/100-years-after-deadly-centralia-clash-debate-continues-over-what-happened
The local newspaper wrote a story about my book: http://www.chronline.com/opinion/brian-mittge-commentary-a-century-on-finding-meaning-in-tragedy/article_8320f9fe-027f-11ea-b72f-5b915f1e314c.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=email&utm_campaign=user-share
I gave a talk about the Centralia Tragedy and its implications for today at the railroad station in Centralia on November 10th as part of a series of events sponsored by the IWW. Thanks to Mike and Mary Garrison for inviting me to speak.
To learn more about Elmer Smith and the November 11, 1919 events, you can listen to my talk that day: https://drive.google.com/drive/my-drive
The next day the local newspaper wrote a story about my talk: https://tomcopelandblog.com/the-centralia-tragedy-of-1919-author-champions-the-cause-of-the-iww
I visited Elmer Smith’s grave along with a group of Wobblies who placed a wreath on his grave site and sang a Wobbly song in his honor.
I visited a plaque honoring Smith at Centralia College.
I visited the Lewis County Historical Museum that had an exhibit commemorating the 1919 events.
Later, I deposited all the documents/interviews/records I had gathered with the University of Washington archives in Seattle.
This was an emotional and very satisfying weekend for me. I got to meet people who I had corresponded with over the years while researching my book. After spending many lonely years piecing together the story of this remarkable man, it was a big thrill to have people come out to thank me for what I had written.
Several years ago I gave a talk on Elmer Smith at the St. Paul Public Library: https://soundcloud.com/the-friends-of-the-sppl
Even though this article has nothing to do with family child care, I wanted to share this important part of my life with you.
Tom Copeland - www.tomcopelandblog.com
