Disaster Legislation and the Great Burn of 1910.

Students will be studying the impact of disaster legislation in a mini unit on cause and effect. Some of the topics students are cases of which students are already familiar.  However, I am adding a few new examples to help with the comparisons.  One of the disasters will be about the Great Burn of 1910--which affected a large part of Northwestern Montana and the Idaho panhandle.  It led to sweeping change in forest fire fighting practices, the organization of the forest service and forest management.

The Great Burn had many gripping stories of tragic deaths and survival under difficult conditions.  For example and entire crew of 28 firefighters were lost when they became trapped.  This has always been called the "lost crew."  One of the more exciting stories was Ed Pulaski, who led his crew to a small mine shaft where he forced them to stay, even at gunpoint, until the fire passed over them.  The conditions in the mine shaft were suffocating--but 35 out of the 40 men lived.

The disasters and legislation we'll refer to are the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire, the Great Burn, the sinking of the Titanic, the Chicago Tylenol Murders, 9-11, and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Floyd Collins stuck in a cave....1925.

 Floyd Collins hoped to find another entrance to the Mammoth Caves or possibly a new cave along the road to the Mammoth Caves and to draw some of the visitors to them.

On January 30, 1925, Collins managed to squeeze through several narrow passageways; he claimed he had discovered a large chamber, though this was never verified. Because his lamp was dying, he had to leave quickly before exploring the chamber. He became trapped in a small passage on his way out. He accidentally knocked over his lamp, putting out the light, and in the dark he dislodged a rock from the ceiling, pinning his left leg.

After being found the next day by friends, crackers were taken to him, and an electric light was run down the passage to provide him light and some warmth. Collins survived for over a week while rescue efforts were made: when he was finally reached  he was already dead from exposure.  They left his body in place and filled the shaft with debris. A doctor estimated he had died three or four days before he was reached, with February 13 the most likely date.

Two early radio stations gave updates about Floyd Collin's rescue.  This was a time when early radio stations had the power to "telescope" a case into one that played out on the national stage.

The Russian Romanov Royal family and the start of the Russian Revolution

Students are learning about the fall of the Russian Royal family, and the beginning of the communist government in Russia...which would be renamed the Soviet Union.

The immediate members of the royal family were all killed at Ekaterinburg, Siberia, in the summer of 1918.   Their bodies were hidden in the ground, after the bones were dissolved.  Despite the imposter, Anna Anderson, who for decades claimed she was the lost princess Anastasia, it was known that the entire family had perished.   Their demise had been detailed by one of the assassins who bragged about his role to the American Haliburton.

Russian Royal culture continues to influence cultural and  fashion trends.  The imperial easter eggs, the richness of the traditional dress, and the beauty of the four royal sisters belongs to a different time.  Many of the Romanov jewels were sold abroad to raise money for Stalin's great industrialization of Russia:  the two five year plans.

A new imperial egg was rediscovered recently.  It's quite a story!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/art-news/10706025/The-20m-Faberge-egg-that-was-almost-sold-for-scrap.html

Panama Canal Expansion...stay tuned!

In early January, ninth grade students learned about the building of the Panama Canal.  Teddy Roosevelt was the president who led this project.  It was an extension of America's imperial expansion.

What a project it was!  Ten years, many deaths, and tons of earth moved.  The very best engineering practices of the day were used.

Now, by 2016, the Panama Canal is in the process of being enlarged.   This time it will be able to take the huge "Cape sized" containers needed to increase trade between the two oceans.  

The program consists in the construction of two new sets of locks - one on the Pacific and one on the Atlantic side of the Canal.

The program also entails the widening and deepening of existing navigational channels in Gatun Lake and the deepening of Culebra Cut.

In 2016, there should be some celebrations in the news about this exciting event. 

Crater Lake---a Teddy Roosevelt National Park

Crater Lake was formed when a massive eruption of Mount Mazama 7700 years ago caused the mountain to collapse, leaving a steaming caldera. Centuries of rain and snow filled the caldera creating Crater Lake.  For years, it was referred to as a mysterious blue lake.  In the picture above, some early hikers take a break while a photograph is taken. 

In 1902, after letters and pictures attested to its great natural beauty, Theodore Roosevelt gave it National Park Status....the first in Oregon.   During the Progressive Era, many fundamental social and economic improvements were made.  This era also included a greater interest in providing city parks, gathering places, river walks, and designated areas of "national" beauty.

In Portland, the Olmstead firm, which had designed Central Park, created beautiful Laurelhurst Park and other areas where the "working folk" could enjoy their after hours.  Silver Creek Falls has also been considered for National Park designation, but unfortunately the early logging left the state not quite as pristine.  Most students have been to Silver Creek Falls...the most visited state park in Oregon.

Shaun Tan and The Arrival

Students in 9th grade history are reading a very special book...but it is a book without words,only illustrations.  The book was written by Shaun Tan, and it is called The Arrival.
In the book, he sought to illustrate an immigrant's life in a way that is both fantastic and strange, so that it closely replicates what life must have been like for someone coming to a new country.

Monsters with tentacles, and giants who vacuum up men are all symbolic of the many reasons why immigrants came to this new country.   Censorship and the wars of despotism are also included....all in a fanciful books filled with different images based somewhat on the iconic immigration photos of the late 1800's.

Nitty Gritty New York City and the Ash Can School of art

Students in 9th grade are learning about the conditions in the large cities of America.  Many of the difficult conditions of these cities prompted reforms that made life better for all Americans.  For example, we can see the "park" movement here in Salem and Portland with Bush Park and Laurelhurst Park. 

Many artists chose to document life in the big city at the turn of the century.  Life was gritty and crowded.  The ashcan artists documented this urban environment. 

One of the most famous pictures shows a boxing match...and boy, it is a pretty riveting picture.  It was painted by George Bellows and deliberately blurred to show movement.   You can't even see the man's face as he's beaten to a pulp!  It looks kind of like a blurry blob!  Yes, this iconic painting is called Stag night at Sharkey's--and is located in the Cleveland Museum of Art.