By CARL GREEN
Illinois Correspondent
Mt. Olive, IL – United Mine Workers International President Cecil Roberts will lay a wreath on the grave of Mother Jones and speak at the Mother Jones Museum on Saturday, April 28, to honor her birthday.
The annual event begins at 11 a.m. at Union Miners Cemetery, north and west of the town of Mt. Olive just off of Old Route 66. Roberts will also lay wreaths on the graves of Sam Yurkovich, a coal miner killed in World War I, and John Banovic, former secretary-treasurer of the Mine Workers.
A tour of the museum, located in City Hall and featuring new exhibits, will commence at 11:30 followed by lunch, a labor music program by the duo Wildflower Conspiracy and speakers.
In addition to Roberts, speakers will be Illinois AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Tim Drea, Mayor John Skertich, state Senator Andy Manar, Madison County Circuit Clerk and Democratic Party chairman Mark Vonnida, and Gordon Hayman, business rep for International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts (IATSE) Local 143, St. Louis.
Also, Mother Jones and her comrade, “General” Alexander Bradley, will be portrayed by actors. She chose May Day to be considered her birthday.
For more information, contact Joann Condellone at 618-659-8759 or jcondellone@gmail.com, or Jim Goltz at 618-585-4400 or jimgoltz@madisonteclo.com.
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