The Italian Hall Disaster | A Short Documentary | Fascinating Horror
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- čas přidán 28. 05. 2024
- "On the 24th of December, 1913, in the town of Calumet in Michigan employees of a copper mining company were enjoying a Christmas party at a community hall..."
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CHAPTERS:
00:00 - Intro
00:41 - Background and Context
03:20 - The Italian Hall Disaster
06:26 - The Aftermath
MUSIC:
► "Glass Pond" by Public Memory
► "Emotional Aftermath" by Doug Maxwell/Media Right Productions
#Documentary #History #TrueStories
We're taught "not to panic," to exit "calm and orderly" but rarely are we taught about the results of panicking crowds.
I personally did not hear about such crushes until I was already an adult.
So true, I wondered all my life why we were asked to stay calm and not run in case of a fire or an earthquake. I stupidly thought that it was better to run, since no one ever gave an explanation of why evacuating calmly was necessary.
After finding this channel, now I completely understand why staying calm can save lives.
True....in fact, the elementary school I attended had wide corridors, but second floor stairway, first floor stairway converged at the front entrance, where there are four narrow doors to pass through. Even though the doors have the proper panic bars and open outward, never once did I consider that is place where a crush can easily occur.
I learned where panic has no place on a motorcycle... AND it was one of the longest and hardest things I've ever had to get processed through my head and be able to handle.
We (riders) call it "Going lizard-brained", because that's what happens when you submit to panic. ALL the top grades of training and education, that "better than average" set of sensibilities, and "practiced reflexes" account for NOTHING when you panic. You'll default to the lowest level of training, and if your fundamentals aren't kept in finely tuned and well honed order, they're just not there...
What remains is only "Fight, Flight, and Freeze"... AND you're reactionary, a victim of one circumstance after the next... no thought, no higher reason, no planning... just beastial reaction... like a lizard or snake...
Don't go lizard-brained. In our increasingly modern world and society with ever faster and sleaker technologies, and fewer and fewer simpler options available, there's just less and less survivable room for panic. It's hard not to freak right out... I know. It CAN be done...
Seek out the training... AND PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE... and whenever you have some free time, study and practice a little bit more. Learn whatever it is you don't know about the world around you, your scope of society... YOUR play in technology. Tune your reactions to handle it if worse comes to worse.
...just in case. ;o)
@@gnarthdarkanen7464 One of the first bits of riding advice I got was to always have a way out of any situation. To do that requires that you pay full attention to everything that matters and to already know what you're going to do in case you have to do that. If you wait till something happens before you start thinking you've already lost the game. You can't specifically plan for everything but you can plan for the probable and have basic plans to choose from for all the rest to get going with. That's why you always learn where the nearest exits are and how to use them, and you think about what the panicking crowd is going to do so you can avoid having them drag you down to their level.
Stay ahead of things and you win; fall behind and you lose. Panic means you weren't ready and you've already lost the game before it started.
@@P_RO_ My first lesson was brakes... then Brakes... and the third, if I recall was BRAKES...
BUT my first riding coach had been present to hear my father warn me "Never use the front brake in a curve or you'll fly off the bike." AND my uncle when he said, "Don't use the rear brake in a curve or you'll wash out and crash."
SO... there was that...
I think you're referring to the lessons... somewhere after "basic controls" where it was "judgment and road strategy" as my coach called it... Still early, before he'd give me and his son the keys to the shed where we kept the bike... We went half-ers on a Rebel 250... BUT his old man was an instructor for the Army...
AND you're not mistaken. I don't think the words were exactly verbatim, but the core lesson was the same... "Pay friggin' attention to what the F*** you're doing AND whatever's going on around and especially in front of you."
Yeah, ALWAYS have a "way out" and try diligently NOT to do anything you can't "unf***" later...
Kind of amazing how "motorcycle philosophy" works so well when it bleeds over into every other avenue of life. Ain't it? ;o)
The fact that there wasn't even a fire makes this one extra tragic.
I know! Took me a bit to realise “Oh, there wasn’t actually a fire”. It’s a very strange feeling that mix of tragedy, anger, and the meaninglessness for it.
It makes it even funnier lol
Wait there wasn't?! (Commenting before I finish the video)
What the shit?!
@@r.j.penfold Uh, spoiler alert, I guess?
@@robswystun2766 nah it's fine Idc, I always scroll into comments cuz I'm one of those sociopaths who prefers "spoilers" so I can emotionally prepare myself
"Shouted, "Fire!" "
Alright good...
"A single narrow staircase"
Oh.
Exactly my reaction as well.
Mine was... this doesn't bode well already 😕
when this channel mentions that there was only one way out, or only one accessible way out, you know the death toll is going to be horrible.
"You're under arrest for shouting 'Fire' in a crowded theater."
"But there's an actual fire. The family of four behind you just burst into flames."
"Tell it to the judge."
That shit looks narrow as hell. The stairs just begin as soon as you enter. Seems like you’d never see a design so foolish nowadays, a downstairs lobby or additional landing space seems like an imperative detail
Man, this channel has made me hyper aware when I go to unfamiliar venues. I quickly scan the rooms for exits and hazards because I never EVER want to be caught in a crush.
Me Too! I always look for the emergency exits now
Same!!!
Cautiousness and overly observant can save your life
👍 good job
That and if there is a panic, don't go running toward the exit everyone is running towards. Take a second to survey your surroundings.
Right? I’ve been binging on videos like this, and it’s like totally changed the way I see certain things or situations.
Keeping the doorway as a memorial was a stroke of genius! It is a very poignant reminder.
should have kept a pile pf corpses instead
@@jaylockwood5030 A bit grim that bud....
@@maj0072 maybe in concrete form, pompeii style. you would love it
@@jaylockwood5030 That makes no sense
@@jaylockwood5030 i'm just gonna pretend I didn't read that
Such a sad story of how one person's stupid actions could cost so many lives. Even worse is that most of the victims were children
You win the award for most generic reaction!
“Such a sad story of how one person’s stupid actions could cost so many lives.”
Feels like the new “Truly disgusting, that some “people” would do this horrible thing”
@@jaylockwood5030 Heh-heh, generic reaction😁!!!
I AM a child
@@jaylockwood5030 man, if ur first name was flint. I hope u understand
literally nothing worse than seeing the memorial for the victims, and noticing that some of the ages are only single digits. god
Completely agree, kids are so helpless in a disaster and I can’t help but imagine how scared they were. Poor babies.
Most. Most of those who died were children; 59 children, 73 total fatalities. ✌😿
Who cares
@@donvito5647 always gotta be one 🙄
Man trolls are boring these days, do something unique man
This reminds me of a survival tip I read:
The kitchen always ALWAYS has an exit.
Make sure you know where the kitchen is at and if possibly try to reach it in case of an emergency.
@WhatsSoEver. The kitchen 'exit'. Yes, I know this well, as I am a cook/chef😉!!
But there was no emergency ...
@@CyberSnypa what do you mean?
The kitchen also tends to have the greatest fire protection in place, because of the general flammability of so many things in it.
I've worked in 4 kitchens and not thought about this but can confirm, they all had an easy way on to the street, probably just for taking deliveries. Although the kitchen itself can be quite well hidden sometimes.
One of the things I've learned from this channel is the danger of crowd "crushes". I'd never heard of an example of this before, and now watching your catalogue, half your videos are either solely about crushes or situations greatly exacerbated by them. Makes me think that in any dangerous situation (or just a crowded area in general), it's better to wait for a few moments and watch the crowd before acting.
I'm aware as a soccer fan. Hillsborough (97), Heysel (39), Estadio Nacional in Peru (328), Port Said, Egypt (72).
*exacerbated
@@threehead99 Ah thank you, thought it looked off. Though apparently both work, exacerbated is the better fit.
@@ImCurrentlyNaked Exacerbated WAS a perfect, word!!
Or stay near exits when possible. And be aware of other exits
My great-great grandmother was there with her two year old son (my great-grandfather). Instead of running to the door, she ran to a corner of the room and covered her son with her body. She remembered hearing people scream in Finnish and Estonian “let us out!” It became a common misconception that the doors opened in, rather than out, and the crush happened because of that. Old photos of the hall and witness accounts, including my great great grandmother’s, tell a different story: the doors normally opened outward. And something was keeping them from opening.
If she hadn’t run in the opposite direction, I wouldn’t exist. It’s so weird to think about.
That is insane. Well done to your great-great-grandmother for keeping a level head!
I noticed the Finnish printing on the wall in the image of the coffins being delivered, and now your great-great-grandmother's account. Do you know if there was a high Finnish and Estonian population in that particular area? I'm from Norway, it's quite fascinating to hear where us and our neighbours settled :)
@@IHadSoManyIngots The Upper Peninsula of Michigan is home to the most Finnish Americans than any other state! In fact, in some more remote townships, people still speak Finnish as a first language (although it’s probably a dated vocabulary at this point).
A lot of Swedish and Norwegian immigrants settled next door, in Wisconsin and Minnesota :)
@@IHadSoManyIngots Majority of the dead were Finnish immigrants. They were quite active in the labor movement of the time.
@@marielpare8290 Thank you for replying, that's facinating! I'll have to read up on that now :)
@@lassehaggman Thank you for replying, I didn't know that :)
So many children, crushed to death in minutes because one person yelled one word. Devastating
You're both right, one thing having caused the other.
This is exactly why it's illegal to yell FIRE! in places like theaters and stuff.
It was a cause and effect situation. And on Christmas Eve, so sad.
There are plenty more.
@@SusanWSucks That's like saying the ice berg had nothing to do with Titanic's loss of life since most of the people froze to death in the water.
Never knew where that phrase "yelling fire in a crowded theater" came from, now I do.
You & The History Guy make historical events more than interesting.
You two make it educational & entertaining.
That statement about telling fire in a protected theater isnt actually true btw
It doesn't come from here. It came from Oliver Wendall Holmes. This wasn't even a theater.
I'd just been wondering about the "yelling fire in a crowded theatre" example people often use, and where it came from, very recently. It's rather enlightening in just how bad that scenario can be.
I really like how the narrator on this particular channel speaks at a measured and easy to follow pace.
@@SofaKingShit not a good thing when he gets fundamental facts wrong.
About 90% of all these events you cover I had no idea they ever happened. I also appreciate you always including a portion about the aftermath and what changes were made. You never delve into conspiracies or anything like that. Wonderful work!
@Jed Walker. Never heard of about 90%, of these mentioned, 'events'? Haven't you ever watched the 'old' History Channel, or 'old', Discovery Channel? How about these in books? Or school🤔?
@@rogerrendzak8055 None of these events were ever covered in the old history channel. If they were it was in passing and never in depth. Also lol @ learning anything important in school.
@@jedwalker4543 The 'old' (before they went 'reality'), History Channel DID air these, at one time (I recorded a lot of them, back then)!!
Jed Walker, I hadn't heard of the majority of these incidents, and history has always interested me.
@@rogerrendzak8055 All they teach in history classes now is the same basic things every year, at least in the U.S. It's all George Washington was the first president, it's important to vote, here's what happened in the ______ war.
While this stuff is very important, we don't need to learn about it on repeat every year. Things like this happen because nobody knew better. It's the unfortunate fact of history repeating itself over and over again.
(Now this part really only applies if you're an American, feel free to read if you aren't though!)
Just look at some policies being pushed in America right now. These same policies are how socialism, communism, and fascism start. But we haven't been educated on that so we don't know better.
Such a high death toll for seemingly no reason. That's so sad
59 of the 71 deaths were children under 18.
@@F40PH-2CAT Yup, if you want to survive a fire/panic, be a young male. They're brutal. Stomp on anyone, according to witnesses
Sad how? People die all the time
@@donvito5647 yes, and it's always sad when they do. Just because it happens all the time, doesn't make it any less sad. Your opinion doesn't invalidate my experience of the world. You don't think it's sad, I think it's sad. It's that simple.
Steve Lehto wrote a fascinating book titled: Death's Door: The Truth Behind the Italian Hall Disaster and the Strike of 1913 It is a great read!
Care to hit a brother up with some of that truth to save me buying the book? I'd love to know if it was anti union or not!
@@Aidentified the author is not political. He’s a well known law CZcamsr from Michigan.
@@xiaoka he hates civil forfeiture laws and copyright trolls with a passion.
@@Aidentified Read the Wikipedia article about the disaster. It cites the book at the bottom of the article.
@@AldanFerrox There are so many on YT who want to be spoon fed when all it takes is 3 clicks to get the information. This guy takes the cake in admitting that he is too cheap to buy a book about something he wants to learn.
I remember being told to “walk don’t run” for school fire drills. This story illustrates why. What a terrible story, told well as usual.
As an aside, my grandmother worked at a county relief office in western Pennsylvania in the early 1930s. She told me that miners would have to go on relief if they were out of work for even a week.
I hope whoever it was who yelled "fire" never had a sound nights' sleep again the rest of his life.
Chances are they'd feel more guilt if they genuinely thought there was a fire than if they wanted to cause a panic.
Nah, he slept like a baby. Lol. I'll bet that the panicked people who trampled others didn't sleep well though.
Why would you think it'd bother him? There was no fire. Not even a little one.
Are you aware of how bad union busting was around that time? Union members were already being murdered elsewhere. It was war.
@@Emidretrauqe I hate union people.
@@mattolivier1835 Then the man who shouted "Fire!" was a hero.
All these people wanted to do was provide a nice Christmas Eve experience for their families. It's heart wrenching to know that so many Christmas dreams were cut short, forever and those Christmas dreams were turned into Christmas nightmares for those who survived.
@James Hahn. A 'nice' Christmas Eve, for their families?? So true, sir!! If you perceive it, this way (which I think most of us, focused on the incident), what a HORRIBLE, shame😢!!
Stupid is as stupid does
@@donvito5647 90 percent of the dead were children, jerk.
@@didi012578 some people want to be insensitive, we need to remember that no one knows how they will react when a possible disaster occurs
Very true. A friend's father suffered a fatal heart attack while putting up Christmas lights a few days before Christmas, and it was years before the family was able to separate the celebration of Christmas from his death.
It’s interesting just how quickly I went from - oh wow, what a great organisation to work for, TO -
Oh..wow...what a controlling and awful organisation to work for.
Compared to its contemporaries, it was a good organization to work for.
@@F40PH-2CAT until you had to bury your smooshed up kids and flattened missus
@@jaylockwood5030 No credible evidence this tragedy was caused by anyone opposed to the union.
Woody Guthrie has been known to lie about many things.
@@F40PH-2CAT Woody Guthrie🤔🤔🤔???
Yep funny how those "benelovent" all controlling organizations are similar to slavery. *Looks at Democrats.* Well.......they did have tons of experience with slavery....
When I was in basic training in the Army, at 2am in the Barracks with everyone fast asleep, I had a nightmare the drill sergeant busted in and screamed at me. I leapt off the top bunk and shouted "At ease...!" which is the paradoxical shout to have everyone snap to parade rest wherever they may be standing until told to carry on. The lights came on, everyone woke up and snapped, and nobody knew who had called it out. I barely was aware that I had done it, until I realized with horror the drill sergeant wasn't there and I had just woken up 65+ people for no reason. They tried to investigate where the cry came from but we all jumped out of our beds so damn quickly that it was almost impossible to really tell, and I genuinely took about 5m to even realize it had been me in my sleep.
Geez... not a nightmare but on near sleep mode or sudden wake up i tend to still hear the auditory illusion of the dream i had, a voice or a conversation... plus even my nanny back then sleep talks for no reason but your's seems reflective. the intinctual repeated fear (example my common sleeping pattern of highschool now down and i dont wake up in 5/6 no more) my body even calm still randomly wakes me up in that specific hour or if making an alerm for church (8:30) my body dreams and suddenly woke me up to making sure i never hear the clock before it rings (8:00). the repeated experience combined with usual routine, stress or inner fear make it a command coded to one's mind.
Yeahhhh I did that too. But they knew it was me because I had a very distinct tone 😅
I thought At Ease meant that...at ease. I though attention was the whole stiff back thing. Why is it opposite?
I can make up stories on the internet too
Big oof
I grew up in Calumet. Every kid would learn about the Italian Hall in school and a few of us actually had great or great great grandparents that were personally affected by it. One time I was at the memorial on a field trip and they told us the bodies of the children who died were taken to the Calumet theatre down the street and laid out on the stage. Parents who didn't attend the celebration had to go there and see if there child was one of them. That always stuck with me, especially when I was younger.
The same happened in 1938 at the Cine Oberdan here in São Paulo, Brazil during the showing of a movie. Someone shouted FIRE and created panic. 31 people died crushed by the horde of people trying to evacuate the theater. 30 were children. The only adult perished was a mother who protected her daughter with her body.
I'm not usually the conspiracy type but I agree it seems pretty convenient this happened when the strikers and their families were together in the building.
Very suspicious..
With children too. Knowing that the mining company was so willing to break obvious safety, and had so much control over the town, I wouldn't be surprised.
There probably wasn’t a conspiracy. Actual conspiracies can usually be cracked by investigators. If just one person (the guilty one) knows what happened and keeps his or her mouth shut, in the absence of physical evidence we’ll never know who did it. But if more than one person knows, then more than one person has to keep quiet. For each additional person in the conspiracy, the chances of maintaining secrecy go way down.
But not a single shred of evidence to suggest it. It's unfair to so easily blame an anti union activist for this....they were workers as well.
@@robsemail Agreed. Its possible the person who screamed fire died inside.
What makes this awful is that there was no real fire and the victims were all tricked into believing otherwise. And what’s makes this tragedy even worse is that the one responsible wasn’t caught. Therefore it resulted in people blaming.
really? thanks for pointing that out
You think it would have been better if there was a fire ? Like the deaths that happened would have been redeemed if everyone else died in the fire .
@@milestonowheres It's more that it wouldn't have led to the aftermath.
It probably would've led to significantly more deaths though. "Makes it worse" is maybe the wrong wording.
@@planescaped your right . The wording is all . It similar when people speak of a persons death “ she was pretty too “ as if it’s sadder when the person is pretty .
No fire defiantly made it criminal.
Of course the person who yelled "Fire!" wasn't going to come forward and admit it. I mean, would you?
It’s so easy to take for granted the sheer amount of protections given to us by safety devices and standards from building codes that have been shaped from disasters like this.
Does anybody else hear this gentleman’s voice when ever you do something stupid? For example “On the twelfth of October 2021, a careless home owner forgot to turn off their oven before retiring for an after dinner bath resulting in ……. (Insert your own horrible outcome). 😂 I may be watching too much FH!
I don't hear his voice, but I DO hear the theme song every time I'm about to do something stupid or when I want to cut corners. Then I freak out and make sure I do things safely!
Lol, whenever a floorboard in my suite creaks, I hear him talking about building collapses.
For me I hear his voice whenever I go to a restaurant, theater or hotel. I am reminded to pay attention and know where the exits are…these stories are a great teaching tool.
@@emordnilap4747 That's really rare, though. Sometimes a roof at a stadium goes after a large snowstorm, but if a building falls, it's almost always during construction...
And how about that creepy little bird in the corner of the screen. Always there, always watching. Yeeeee!!!!!
Damn, they knew about the previous theater fire, still remembering how it ended, and they experienced it themselves, real sad
When people see a fire with a high death toll, they always assume the fire killed them. That drives their actions.
@Skeleton W/ Guitar. But, they DIDN'T experience it, themselves🤔.
@@rogerrendzak8055 Well, not the fire and smoke, but with how the casualties were created (mostly): violent panic and stampedes
@@F40PH-2CAT Which isn't to say that the fire couldn't have killed them if they had stayed inside. But people assume that it's JUST the fire, and that's wrong.
I learned about this because I went to there to find some graves of my ancestors who lived up there and also found a mass grave of some of the victims.
Yea I live up here and have seen the mass grave too. My girlfriends relatives on her dads mom side actually died in the incident
Liars
@@donvito5647 yes lying about visiting a small u.p town where my ancestors once lived would do me a lot of good
Considering how vicious that anti-union tactics were, back in that day, this seems like an anti-union stunt. Look up the history of the Pinkerton (which is still in operation today).
Feels like unions destroyed these towns
@@sirpanek3263 Which is good. many corporate owned towns like this were mini dictatorships. They also paid their employees in corporate money which can only be used in that one town. That meant you didn't get actual dollars to go somewhere and spend money elsewhere.
It was a very shady way to treat employees.
@@sirpanek3263 good! Now imagine a guy like you live in North Korea.
@@Indoor_Carrot nothing shady about it! Outright exploitation.
Good, I hate unions.
This is my favorite channel - I look forward to these stories and the marvelous narration.
Same, his voice, the production style, the music. He really creates such a feel with his videos. Love every time he uploads 🙂
I also love death and tragedy like you guys
Yeah, I always look forward to his videos. He has a great speaking voice and it has a soothing affect. Great story and great video. Huge fan here.
One of my prefered channel too!
I would suggest some really great ones:
- Thoughty2 (another british guy very well articulated and with a nice sense of humor).
- Mr.Ballen (Strange, dark and mysterious delivered in story format)
I like the channel too, but ... it's hard to say "I love these videos!" without sounding callous. I appreciate his narration and lack of speculation, as well as the lack of sensationalism. He's always respectful. I enjoy learning these from a historical view, but the deaths and difficulties of the survivors make me sad.
Steve Lehto from the CZcams channel Lehto's Law has written a book about this and is passionate about making sure the actual facts of the Italian Hall disaster are known. He even has one of the original chairs fron the Italian Hall sitting on his set.
Steve's passion for history is incredible, I need to pick up his Turbine Car book.
Wow thank you for the recommendation here *
Lehto is also keen on reminding folks that the person who caused this is unknown, there's no evidence to claim that person was anti union and that this is not the origin for the phrase "yelling fire in a crowded theater".
Love Steve!
@@F40PH-2CAT Really? So Fascinating Horror is wrong when he said that this is the origin of that?
I've been waiting for this one to eventually find its way to your channel. My family and I live near Calumet and I'm told stories of how my great grandmother was supposed to be in attendance at the Italian Hall as a young girl, but became sick shortly before. This just shows how one person can cause tremendous damage with only their words.
Only by acting on them.
Wow, you have a relative that saw this from beginning to end. Are you familiar with the Woody Guthrie song "1913 Massacre", about the Italian Hall tragedy? I would really like to know your family's thoughts on the role of the union busters.
The unionizing years were so turbulent and full of violence, and it is not mentioned in history class, yet it was a civil war in a lot of respects. Thanks.✌😸
I kept thinking "someone yelled fire but was there really a fire?" And there wasnt. I've never heard of this incident before. Thank you for your consistently well-done, interesting and informative videos
This makes me appreciate the fire drills and single file lines we did in school.
Look into the Collinwood school fire of 1908. That horrific fire was the impetus for much of our school safety laws.
Just as an aside the photos show The Atlantic And Pacific Tea Company on the lower floor. This was part of what became America's largest supermarket chain known as A&P. Now long gone.
@itsjohndell. That caught my attention, also! I grew up with A&P's, on our island. But they're not out of business, only 'east' of the Mississippi, I believe. They're still in business, on the west coast. Besides, if you have a 'SUPER FRESH' supermarket, in your area, that's part of A&P!!
According to the song 'Christmas Wrapping', they'll provide you with "the world's smallest turkey"
I learned just now what A&P stands for. 😉 Thanks!
I remember the A&P stores in London Ontario, Canada where i was raised. I was born in 1977 and remember going with my mother shopping to A&P. Now all the stores that used to be A&P are named Metro, they're still a grocery store. I miss seeing that huge A&P logo when walking into the store as a kid in the 80's and always running to the cereal isle.
At the Feast of the Hunters Moon which reenacts English, French, and Indians trading in the mid 1800's there was a well dressed chap selling herbs and medicines. I asked if he had any leeches but he said it was too cold. Seeing jars labeled Hashish and Opium as well as most cooking herbs I asked where he got his "stuff" and a polite response came in Kings English, oh we get them from the great Atlantic and Pacific tea company.
Most people, when in a panic, will head for the same door they came in. When in a place look for alternative exits. Then use them if there is a panic.
The horrific Station fire in Rhode Island is a perfect example of this.
So nice to see memorials for those who lost their lives. They deserve to be remembered! ❤
Nobody cares
Thank you for covering this! I was born, raised, and still reside in Calumet. My ancestors all worked in the mines, and lived in C&H owned property. In a way, the Italian Hall marked the decline of the copper powerhouse that once stood here. With post WWI and the Great Depression, it decreased in demand. The mines closed for good in the 1960s after another strike, but landmarks remain of our history, including the town hall which was the makeshift morgue. Some of the older population worked for C&H, including a man I once worked with. If I see him, I will show him this video!
I actually live here, way up in the middle of nowhere cuz I go to MTU and every autumn I take a trip to calumet to see the town, when I see the archway I immediately get filled with emotion just from standing there.
Right at the start: "A single narrow staircase"
Me: "Oh shit... Here we go again"
But man... This door looks so small. I can´t even imagine that 2 people can fit it
A fatal lapse of judgement (by those responsible for the building's safety), combined with bad design. The door was never intended to be used in case of an emergency.
@Claudia. After viewing your thumbnail photo, I have to tell you, that you have a 'growth', on you're face!!
…………….A little CZcams, 'levity'😊!! BTW, HAPPY HALLOWEEN🎃!!
He really hits the “sh” sound whenever he says crush. Crushhhh. 😌
That's the English accent. 👍🏻🇬🇧
Excellent job of documenting history as usual but FeeOREE my dude? I'd love to know what dialect of english this is exactly.
I've got no teeth! Cruth!
73*🙏
Hits my ears the way cool ranch doritos hits my mouth
Thank you for doing this story. My great grandparents were there and are buried near many of the victims of this tragedy. My great grandfather testified before the Michigan congress about the deplorable conditions of the mine after seeing his friend and co worker being crushed to death.
I hope you document as much of that as you can. Such important history.
@@pazza4555 . It’s in the Michigan congress, you can access it online. But yes my family has our history documented for my grandchildren to be proud of. I will never allow them to be shamed or blamed for things they had nothing to do with that happened in this country before we were born. Our family came here from Yugoslavia with nothing and fought hard for everything they had. What our government is doing tearing this country apart is evil. They want us totally divided and distracted while they steal every last penny while our country is destroyed. The sad thing is, it’s working.
Calumet is extreme Upper Michigan, my home state. At the time this tragedy took place, there were almost 26,000 people living in the area. Now there's over 700.
Many of those who worked the mines were immigrants from the UK, Ireland, and Finland. There were even newspapers that published in Finnish, and their coverage of this tragedy, as you could imagine, was highly sensationalized with many Finns among the dead.
Reminds me of the Glen Cinema Disaster, Paisley, Scotland, where there may have been a small fire in the separate projection room but with the panic around 76 children died in a crush.
The number of times human crushes happened, is scary....
They seem totally unnecessary if only people would pause briefly but then maybe it becomes unavoidable when panic sets in. It's amazing how tightly packed a mass of bodies can become.
That thang door was narrow as hell. That’s part of the reason
Out of all of these videos I think this one is particularly sad and tragic, because so many of the victims were children at a Christmas Eve party. It doesn’t get much more horrific and tragic that 59 children dying like this. I can’t imagine the impacts that such a profound loss must have on a community.
Try reading on Michigan's worst childrens tragedy : the Bath School Disaster.
RIP to the little ones, I hope they have Christmas every day in Heaven. ALWAYS be calm but situationally aware and react quickly, efficiently, quietly, anyone can learn that technique.
Thank you for covering this! My family comes from the Calumet area and this incident has always stuck with me. Didn’t expect one of my favorite channels to talk about the Yoopers!
Me:it's late I need to go to bed😴
Fascinating horror: just uploaded 🙃
Me:what's 10 more minutes 🙂
Me too!
Bingo
It’s absolutely stupid how much information you get in such a short video without it feeling rushed. Your content is god tier.
A typical situation once someone screams "FIRE!". People freak out, run to the nearest avenue of exit and damn anyone else who is in their way. Moving as an organised group, remaining calm, not blocking doorways/stairways and assisting others to make their way from the building/area at risk is proven to save lives. This theory works in other scenarios such as freeway driving/traffic accidents and pile ups. Then again...stuff it!! I want out NOW!!
Building codes have improved since this tragedy but people still behave without conscience during a panic and people die.
Try a Cruise ship of 4000 people
Humans are rational, but they are still animals that operate on animalistic instincts when faced with danger. It's rooted in the amygdala. Only those with the strongest training, like first responders and some others, can overcome those instincts.
That's not selfishness, it's a deeply-rooted response, part of fight or flight. Watch the video about the Station fire, and you'll also see that even calm crowds can pile up because of design flaws. But we can overcome that. Check out The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes - and Why -- by Amanda Ripley. She looks at everything from 9/11 to plane crashes. All that said, people who hold up emergency plane evacuations to get their luggage should have to walk to their destinations for the rest of their lives.
Woody Guthrie immortalized this event for me with the song, "1913 Massacre"
Yes!!!! 🙌🏻
Thank you! I've been looking for someone else who knew of that song! Guthrie may have used artistic liscense, but it was my first time hearing about it, which led me to do some research.
Now, should we mention "Plane Crash at Los Gatos"?
Both of these events brought needed change to labor laws. Folk music as a teaching tool.✌😸
Ohmigods...just had your moniker clarified in a burst of cognition! LOL
Are you from New Zealand? Incredible to me, if you are, that you're familiar with an American folk simger that most Americans never heard of, let alone the song. Kudos!✌😸
Take a trip with me in 1913,
To Calumet, Michigan, in the copper country.
I will take you to a place called Italian Hall,
Where the miners are having their big Christmas ball.
I will take you in a door and up a high stairs,
Singing and dancing is heard everywhere,
I will let you shake hands with the people you see,
And watch the kids dance around the big Christmas tree.
You ask about work and you ask about pay,
They'll tell you they make less than a dollar a day,
Working the copper claims, risking their lives,
So it's fun to spend Christmas with children and wives.
There's talking and laughing and songs in the air,
And the spirit of Christmas is there everywhere,
Before you know it you're friends with us all,
And you're dancing around and around in the hall.
@@ImperialistRunningDo The piano played a slow funeral tune
And the town was lit up by a cold Christmas moon,
The parents tbey cried, and the mi ners did moan,
"See what your greed for money has done".
✌😿
This could still happen so easily, there needs to be proper training for all children and civilians for high-stress situations like this. We really should have emergency training throughout school, people are too complacent until something goes terribly wrong.
calm down
give your dog and cat emergency training too and be sure to scare the hell out of everyone you meet with forced emergency plans. Keep special recovery equipment on you at all times and always have access to a military grade radio, scuba gear, floodlights, flares, gas mask, AR-15, and silly string.
@@MrArgus11111 also, have brain surgery to disable the fight/flight response that has ensured our species' survival over thousands of generations
They do fire drills.. Line up single file and exit in an orderly fashion. The thing is if you do them to often people think it's always another drill and become complacent.
It’s a lot more practical and realistic to build buildings/vehicles/other environments around people’s natural flight or fight responses than it is to try and “train” it out of them.
This is such a sad story, one I haven't heard of before. Another interesting video!
It’s so cool to be living in such a remote area and see a channel cover content like this from your little corner of the world, thanks for always finding interesting stories for our learning and entertainment and sharing the often unheard but tragic tales of our past.
A place I go has so many fire drills and false alarms that nobody even looks up from what they are doing at this point. If it ever really catches on fire everyone will die because they will think it's another test of some sort. It seems it goes off weekly in that building for some reason or another.
Never a good idea to get complacent about fire alarms!
Yo I'm begging you to make a fuss about this! I watch videos by the USCSB and a good chunk of dangerous industrial (and other) accidents can be caused by poor upkeep of alarms, and what you're describing is a BIG DEAL
@@ddeegan6532 I agree! If this person were to really shine a light on this they could potentially save a lot of lives!
Yes! But if you have fire drills to test the equipment on a weekly scale (and less frequent full drills to test people) you are supposed to give advanced warning of the latter to everyone in the building as they enter. If it’s to test the systems you are supposed to make an announcement over the public address system like 5-10 mins prior and once again before flipping switches to sound the alarm. It was one of my jobs to do this. It was always terrifying and stressful and I hated it so much. But better my nerves than having a real situation and having to evacuate an entire nursing home. And PSA: sparklers on a cake will set off smoke detectors if you stand under them. If this happens, it’s really nice to offer the arriving fire crew some cake. (Happened more frequently than I’d like to admit to 🙄 and no one wants to eat metal filings on a damned cake, so leave sparklers off!)
I just moved out of a large apartment building where we had the alarms go off about once a month, often because people overstuffed the washers and dryers. It was hard to stay vigilant even for a safety-conscious person like me. It helped that the alarms were so loud you couldn't stand to stay in.
I grew up in that area and it’s still a very touchy subject since so many of the families impacted are still in there area. The copper mining history is fascinating and has shaped the entire upper peninsula in both good and bad ways.
Hey, i was the guy who recommended this as a video idea! =)
I’m so excited you finally covered this! I was born and raised in the area and everyone knew the story of the Italian Hall Disaster, but outside of the Yoopers it’s never been terribly, knowledge.
My family heritage in the United States has always been heavily tied with copper mining. 🤎
@Vixy Allen. 'Yoopers'?? Can you elaborate, please?
People from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
@@kennethdowdy1105 Thank you, Ken!!
@@rogerrendzak8055 Upper Peninsula is abbreviated "U.P." and phoneticized as "Yoo P." It's better as "Yoopers" instead of "U-Pers".
@@jaredrobbins4440 Thanks Jared! I was going to ask 'what' it meant, after Kenneth Dowdy (previous comment), told me who they were.
I went to a music fest in a giant old sawmill. It had one set of stairs for everybody, maybe 2500 people. No horror, just trepidation from watching too many of these videos. You got me counting staircases and exit doors now. Thanks I guess.
Wondering how that venue passed fire inspection
@@pazza4555 I'm sure it didn't. Nor did the people organizing the music fest pull a permit. But hey, that's the kind of deregulation certain people want to see in this country. Safety regulations are written in blood.
Not to crinkle my tin foil hat but I’m pretty sure it was an anti-union person who did this.
They likely had no intention of creating a crush or had any idea that could happen, they probably just wanted to ruin the striker’s night. Regardless it’s fucked up that despite all the tragedy that this caused and those strikers went through that ultimately they were forced to disband in order to make a living and survive.
I’ve heard other people say that as well, so you’re not crazy. It was probably the cheaper option compared to hiring some Pinkertons to beat up strikers, and I’m not 100% sure that the crush was unexpected.
My thoughts exactly.
A anti union person wanting to ruin the evening, but not intending any death or harm.
Or a member of the group making a joke, which horrific concequences.
Either or.
They were likely haunted by what they caused for the rest of their lives.
I'm going with the *You crazy line 😂 Seriously though I lost a mate in the Hillsborough Stadium disaster (Perpetrated and made exponentially worse by South Yorkshire Police *) and the very word crush gives me rippling chills.
Emily - I would agree with that. Employers hate unions because it gives power to the workers. Been that way since the dawn of time.
@@ethribin4188 Why? Why this assumption of benign intentions towards an organisation that, not long after, shot a union organiser? They probably didn't give a shit,the person who did it and their organisation probably considered it a job well done and the outcome was clearly favourable to one party here.
Thank you for covering this tragic event that happen more than a century ago! My mother's family is from Calumet and the surrounding area. This tragedy is still remembered today, being passed down through the generations. You did a fantastic job researching and conveying the situation with this grim topic. It's an important tale that provides evidence that words no matter how innocent can have deadly consequence.
I have an Aunt who grew up in Calumet too. Growing up in MI I was well aware of events like the Bath Massacre and the Italian Hall Disaster. It's so important that people remember these events and don't let them happen again.
The fact so many children died - the most innocent of all - makes me really sad :c
I agree with the suspicions that it was someone anti-union who did this. They weren't above hiring cops to beat striking workers, so who's to say they wouldn't intentionally cause a crush and kill the poor workers' families?
I Agree Stout. Who ultimately benefitted ? The company who essentially broke the unionization efforts.
And the dead ? When did an antiunion company ever care about the dead in their efforts to break a union?
To Hell with labor unions
This company was never accused of behaving in this way. Please listen to the video. This was most likely a mistake or a joke gone bad.
While I agree it could well have been an anti union person who shouted fire, I'm not so sure it was intended to cause death, but rather interrupt fun with fear. Of course, it may have just been a teen prank...
That was my first thought, Stout Shako.
1913 was a tough year for Northern MI and the region in general with the great storm of 1913 in November and the Italian hall disaster a month later at Christmas. I'm glad I learned about the history of this area and those who were tragically lost. RIP ❤️
As the grandson of a Finnish immigrant miner in the Upper Peninsula, thank you for bringing attention to this tragedy. Most victims were Cornish and Finnish immigrants.
That's interesting to know! I'm watching this in Finland, and noticed a Finnish word in the old photo at 6:20. Scrolled down to see if anyone else had seen it of knew more about the town.
@@MultiUgus There' a region in Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin known as "The Finn Hook" where many Finns settled and either worked copper and iron mines, or forestry. (My company name is to honor them.)
We celebrate our heritage to this day and have "Finn Fests" in the summer. Some towns have streets signs in English and Finnish. Finlandia University's sports teams are even the Lions.
@@kupariusa4202 That's really nice to hear. I was aware a lot of Finns moved into that part of the US back in the day, but I didn't know how much of the old heritage was still alive. It's not very well known here at all, I think.
@@MultiUgus Yes, some of my Finnish twitter friends were shocked to discover an American kantele maker. I've heard the joke Holiday, "St. Urho's" day (Finnish American "holiday" has made it back to Helsinki pubs, but not much else. Some can still speak fluent Finnish (I am not one who can), even.
Absolutely heartbreaking, for many reasons. I personally think that an anti-union person shouted it - perhaps not with the intent to kill but rather ruin the nights of the people in the hall. I think getting caught in a crush like that would be one of the worst ways to go, and while I don't think that the person who yelled "fire" intended to cause such a horrific event, it's impossible to deny that the results were terrifying.
Of course it was with the intent to kill.
@@TheTaquitoProject You can't say that with certainty.
@@AllisonChains64 Not 100%, but given the history of strike breaking at the time (massacring striking workers) the intention was at the very least not limited to harassment. Maybe they didn’t set out to kill, but that was certainly not something they would have gone out of their way to avoid.
@@TheTaquitoProject Very true, but that's why I said that you couldn't say that with certainty as you said that of course it was with the intent to kill. I also think that it was them, but no one could've predicted the outcome, so I just don't think that one could've said that it was blatantly obvious. Now, if a fire had actually started mysteriously, then we may have been able to say "of course".
Alright, here’s the deal: the story goes that someone yelled “Fire,” but there is no indisputable proof that it actually happened. It was a super noisy overfilled room full of children and people yelling in four different languages. The street was filled with people on Saturday night and supposedly someone yelling “Fire!” could be heard in the correct language going up that tall echoey staircase and that it wasn’t the word a word being mistook as “fire.”
There’s also the possibility that it was a story contrived by someone to turn people against the mining companies/union busters.
For a long time, the fire story was thought of as probably a misunderstanding that caused the stampede but the Lehto book brought back the old idea that someone actually did yell it, and it’s brought back a lot of old anger.
When I first saw the doors, I noticed they appeared to open on the outside, so surely people wouldn’t get stuck, and the death toll might not be "too" high... and then we had the description. :-(
I’m also incensed at the ’tearing up their union card to resume work’ thing.
its mandatory.
private company!
The union card thing was pretty much a given after a strike. They are just lucky they didn't lose their jobs to scab labor
Your employment or your civil rights. So much for freedom.
Shop I worked in when I was younger was not a union shop, but some of the employees were union. Owner of the business didn't recognize unions and basically told anyone who wanted to go union they were basically tossing money (dues) in the trash.
The corporations had ALL the power. They set the prices of items in the stores, provided "homes" for the miners, and paid them in company scrip. Scrip was 'money' printed by the company to be used for purchasing items, paying rent (which may have just been taken from your paycheck, making your earnings less) and was useless outside of the town. Hence "company store, town, etc." . It was a time when everything owned and operated by the company, who also had their own idea of right and wrong, was a god. They could do no wrong. At least in their own minds. The unionizing years were bloody, and a civil war in their own way. ✌😸
"I never walk into a place I don't know how to walk out of" - a quote from the movie Ronin that's very useful for this channel and its events. Crowd crushes are so awful - all those children. Establishments should have good safety checks and well posted exits. But for the individual, if there's only one narrow way to enter/depart know there's a big risk and be aware of less "popular" exit points otherwise. Windows are big for Fascinating Horror - broken ankles never make the channel.
YAY! I'm so glad to see you were able to use my suggestion! Fantastic video; you even pronounced Calumet correctly ^_^ Fantastic video, as always!
Years ago I took a physical geology class at a community college in Flint Michigan. I became very interested in the copper country in in Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula and drove there to pick up a few rocks and enjoy the fall colors. I stumbled into the sight of Italian Hall and after reading the tribute, I broke down and cried. I had never heard of this tragedy until then.
actually crazy. those poor children too.
Thank you!! Perfect time for a new video ♡
Agreed 🙂🐿
I retired a 22 year fire marshal. My last ten years was dedicated to building evacuation and the knowledge of the exits.
I would offer suggestions, But you nail everything.
Excellent channel, sir.
Grew up in this town. Went to dances in the ballroom where the bodies were laid out. Many kids in my class belonged to families that lost people back then. The legacy is very real even now, even when the hall itself is nothing but an archway. Thanks for this.
A bunch of people tried to exit and got trapped and trampled, losing their lives as a result because of a supposed fire. It seems we haven't come that far a 100 years later, a la Station Nightclub Fire video - though that one had a real fire rather than an alleged one. Its crazy how crowds would rather crush each other than exit in an orderly fashion. I used to clown on the high school fire drills that expected us kids to be moving calmly in orderly single-file lines but I'm starting to see why they were done like that.
@YinMajora. The 'Station Nightclub', fire! Yes, in this day, and age. Goes to show us, it's not about history (then, or now), but 'human nature'!! Unfortunately, which is 'timeless'!!!
…………So it WILL repeat itself, over and over, again😓,😓,😓,😓,😓!!
The Station was 2003. Days after a crush at E2 in Chicago. Someone stayed pepper spray in a crowd.
In Minneapolis, just four days after The Station fire, a virtually identical fire (band pyrotechnics igniting the ceiling) broke out at The Fine Line nightclub. You've never heard of it because Minneapolis requires sprinkler systems in venues that hold more than 200 people. The sprinklers came on, the fire was extinguished, and the patrons and staff exited safely with zero injuries. Most news accounts at the time cited the Cocoanut Grove fire in Chicago as the inspiration for Minneapolis fire codes. Sometimes we DO learn from experience.
I can't quite read the lower text in the window at 6:27 but the upper one definitely reads "SUOMALAINEN." which is Finnish for "Finnish". Why this interests me is because in the 1900s a bunch of finns traveled to america in search of a better life. If I could just read the lower text I could probably figure out who it was.
Love your videos! I look forward to them every week. I’d love to see one about the Clarkston Toll gas explosion in Glasgow, 1971. 🙂
I wasn't aware of this disaster. It's always incredibly tragic when these things happen, but there's just something really sad and disturbing when young children are involved.
Your channel seems to be doing some good. You talk about these disasters, give the straight story with no drama, then you tell about changes that were made because of it. You've also made people more aware of their surroundings.
As a Michigander I'd never heard of this. Very informative!
Well, the Keweenaw Peninsula is a long way from almost anywhere in Michigan. It's a 9 or 10 hour drive for me--I can get to Washington, DC, faster than I can get to Calumet! But you ought to go up there--lovely country.
Same
From Escanaba, had no idea such a thing had occured not too far from me
@@nancyaustin9516 Keweenaw peninsula. Isn't that also known as, Western Michigan?
@@rogerrendzak8055 No; the Keweenaw Peninsula is part of Michigan's Upper Peninsula.
A few years ago my family was visiting a very large and popular amusement park. At the park closing time with hundreds of people trying to leave they were funneling people through a single gate and checking IDs. Workers gave no announcement of why they were doing this and the crowd was getting restless and agitated. My husband looked around, said “this is about to get dangerous, follow me” he then walked to the other gates which were only latched, flung 3 gates opened while an employee started to yell at him and we hustled out fast with a crowd slowing starting to follow behind us.
I don’t know if it was going to turn into a crush but it was a reminder to always scan for exits and trust your gut when you feel danger.
I've been reading through the comments on this case and I am so amazed how many people had relatives that were there or are from the area of Calumet. I love hearing these stories.
This reminds me of the Station Fire in Rhode Island, where the survivors had about 90 seconds to escape or die. It is amazing how much bad can happen in a minute. Fascinating
Full-sized planes can and should be evacuated in 90 seconds. It's interesting.
what I learned from your videos is, when you need to get out fast, there's always an exit in the kitchen
Many folks were not aware of this terrible event. Thank you for providing the story. Another event that took place in Michigan was the Massacre at Bath Michigan. One of the worst mass murder ever.
I love your videos! I remember stumbling upon your channel when you only had a few videos posted and I binged watched them all and couldn't wait for more. So happy you're getting the subs you deserve! I love how simple and to the point your videos are, and you narration is very articulate and easy to understand. Many topics you discuss in your videos I have never heard of, and you are indeed right, they are fascinating! Keep making such great content! ♥
I remember learning about this in my Michigan History class in college. Really well done video!
So much to unpack with this story - wow....senseless is an understatement. Beautiful ground zero however.
Born and raised in Michigan (LP not the UP where this incident happened) and it is one of the things you hear about every few years in our history classes. It is never an in-dept coverage, but when they mention a tragedy in another state, for some reason they bring this one up. For instance, we read about the Iroquois Theater Disaster or the Station Nightclub Fire and the teacher will say "At least these were caused by an actual fire (even though it is still tragic that it happened), compared to the Italian Hall tragedy that happened here in the UP. That was just plain stupid and unneeded. In fact, this day and age if that were to happened, the police would be hunting down the idiot who shouted Fire and place 59 counts of murder as well as who knows how many counts of reckless endangerment over the person's head" or something like that.
Thanks Fascinating Horror, I really enjoyed the video!
My family are Yoopers, one of my great aunts had no aunts or uncles herself because her mother was the only child in the family that survived the Italian Hall incident. It's horrific to think about, it must have been a terrifying way to die.
Whoever yelled fire had to live with that consequence for the rest of his or her life
True, but sadly people who are inclined to do such things rarely possess much of a conscience to trouble them
@@MisterCharles2 idk man, even a "bad person" with bad intentions would probably be haunted by that. There's no way they could have intentionally predicted that people would die because of that
We don't actually know if the person survived the incident. But what you say is still true of course.
You should definitely do a video about the "UpStairs Lounge Arson Attack" that happened on June 24, 1973 in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA that killed 32 people and injured 15. It was a real tragedy and the following investigation was very shoddy and corrupt.
To put it mildly. The response was horrifying.
Brilliant as usual!
I saw something you might be interested in the other day. Look up the Bath School Massacre, 1927. A man called Andrew Keyhoe who was sick of paying his taxes to fund the school bombed it, with an assortment of dynamite he had collected over time. If that wasn't bad enough he then drove his car to the school whilst onlookers tried to rescue staff and children, and blew that up killing himself and several bystanders. There are a lot of tales of this man's strange behaviour in the years leading up to this event.
I’ve visited this memorial with my family, and stood in the doorway of the building. It was the most eerie feeling, knowing that I was standing under an arch where so many people had died.
My favorite part of not being able to fall asleep is getting to watch your videos earlier than I normally would 😳
Several of these tragedies seem to have resulted from a horrific Three Stooges doorway gag.
Hence why it was made a crime to yell fire in a crowded place unless there is actually a fire.
@The Horrorist. For you, a thumbs 'up', for the THREE STOOGES, reference😏!!
I live in Michigan. Been to Calumet a few times and have seen the scene of this tragedy (the memorial that is since threw building doesn't exist anymore). I was up there in August (Calumet is in Michigan's Upper Peninsula about 7 hours from where I live) and had just found you're channel. I was actually thinking this disaster would've been perfect for you to do. We've been by the scene of this disaster. A sad tragedy. Thanks for your coverage of this.
The photos in this video are breathtaking. So well done and transport the viewer to another time.
"yelling fire in an open theater" is a quote from an opinion from an overturned US Supreme Court case (Schenck v. United States, 249 U.S. 47) about anti-war actives during WW1. As it is overturn the opinion holds no weight in case law nor law in the US. It was over turned by Brandenburg v. Ohio, 395 U.S. 444