March On Into Fall!

Join Team Big Annie for a fundraiser at the Bonfire in Houghton on Sunday, September 29, from 3 to 5 p.m.!

Event highlights:

  • Live Painting by Lynn Mazzoleni

  • Live Music by Rob Fritz & Steve Jones

  • Guest Speaker Lindsay Hiltunen, Director of the MTU Archives

  • Delicious Appetizers

  • Silent Auction

  • Cash Bar

Tickets are $50 and on sale now!
Click the link to purchase online, or send a check to Keweenaw Community Foundation at PO Box 265, Hancock MI 49930 “Big Annie Event” in memo.

NPS, Keweenaw NHP, C&H, Capello, Strike Album, #163, [Anna Clemenc marching in strike parade with flag], 1913

Image Credit: NPS, Keweenaw NHP, C&H, Capello, Strike Album, #163, [Anna Clemenc marching in strike parade with flag], 1913

NPS, Keweenaw NHP, C&H, Capello, Strike Album, #002, Annie Clemenc (Big Annie), Ben Goggio, 1913

Image Credit: NPS, Keweenaw NHP, C&H, Capello, Strike Album, #002, Annie Clemenc (Big Annie), Ben Goggio, 1913

“Big annie” statue fund

NPS, Keweenaw NHP, C&H, Capello, Strike Album, #164, Annie Clemenc Heroine of the CC Strike, 1913

anna klobuchar clemenc

(“Big annie”)

For her service during the 1913 copper strike, “Big Annie” (1888-1956) is one of the most notable activists from a pivotal early period in the development of the U.S. labor movement. A local advisory committee has formed with the goal of raising funds to build a statue of “Big Annie” in Calumet, Michigan to commemorate and honor the legacy of this historic woman.

Image Credit: National Park Service, Keweenaw NHP, C&H, Capello, Strike Album, #164, Annie Clemenc Heroine of the CC Strike, 1913

The History of “Big Annie”

The 1845 discovery of rich copper lodes in the Keweenaw Peninsula triggered the first major mining boom in the United States. The Keweenaw area soon became America’s chief supplier of copper. As mining and industry increased during the Industrial Revolution, labor unrest became an issue across the US, and the Copper Country was no exception.

Anna Klobuchar Clemenc (1888-1956) is today known as a brave American activist, who spoke out when women had no voice and no vote. Affectionately called “Big Annie” due to her 6’2” stature, she proudly carried a giant 6’ x 10’ American flag to lead striking miners down the main streets of Calumet. She would lead this parade of thousands of strikers daily, during the nine-month strike of 1913. Anna demanded fair wages, mine safety, and social justice, for miners and their families. 

For her service during the 1913 copper strike, “Big Annie” has been recognized as one of the most notable activists in the early development of the U.S. labor movement. As befits someone known as the Joan of Arc of the Copper Country, Anna is highly honored on both the state and national levels. In 1980 the Michigan House of Representatives declared June 17th “Annie Clemenc Day.” She is one of three women featured on the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame Medallion (along with Sojourner Truth and Anna Howard Shaw), representing women’s early struggle for economic justice. Anna was the first woman inducted into the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame.

A local advisory committee has formed to raise funds to build a statue of “Big Annie” in Calumet, Michigan to commemorate this historic woman.

Consider donating to this project to honor the legacy of a local heroine, and to help pass along her ideals and bravery to the next generation.

 

DONATE

On the page below, please indicate your donation to the Big Annie Statue Fund. Include any additional notes, add the donation to your cart, and check out when you are finished making donation selections. 

If you prefer to send a check, please indicate “Big Annie” on the memo line and send checks to:

Keweenaw Community Foundation, PO BOX 265 Hancock, MI 49930