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This collection of interviews provides a perspective of the existence of political socialism in Marion and Elwood, Indiana during the early half of the twentieth century. The interviewees are either retired workers or the wives of workers, and they discuss their own personal involvement with labor unions and the Socialist Party. They also talk about mayoral elections of the 'teens and twenties in which there were Socialist candidates, such as Harry Oatis and John L. Lewis.
| Interviewee: | Brading, Flo Oatis |
| Call number: | 75-054 |
| Date(s) of Interview: | November 7, 1975 |
| Physical Description: | 32 pp.; 1 reel, 3 3/4 ips, 75 minutes; no index; photograph of interviewee |
| Physical Location: | Interviews are housed in Weatherly Hall North, Room 122. Copies are also housed at the Indiana University Archives in Herman B Wells Library E460. For other locations housing the interviews from this project, please contact the Center for the Study of History and Memory office. |
| Access Status: | Open |
| Interviewer: | Stevens, Errol |
Flo Oatis Brading, born in 1888, discusses her late husband Harry Oatis' involvement with the Socialist Party. She is assisted by her son, Robert. Ms. Brading speaks about the 1921 mayoral election in Marion, Indiana, in which her husband ran as a candidate for the Socialist Party and almost won. She mentions her husband's attitudes towards the First World War and his fondness for Eugene Debs. She also considers the decline of socialism in Marion.
American Legion
Ku Klux Klan
Debs, Eugene V.
Kelley, John W.
Lewis, John L.
Oatis, Harold
Marion, Indiana
World War II
unions
| Interviewee: | Padfield, Fred |
| Call number: | 76-055 |
| Date(s) of Interview: | June 17, 1976 |
| Physical Description: | 34 pp.; 1 reel, 1 7/8 ips, 70 minutes; no index |
| Physical Location: | Interviews are housed in Weatherly Hall North, Room 122. Copies are also housed at the Indiana University Archives in Herman B Wells Library E460. For other locations housing the interviews from this project, please contact the Center for the Study of History and Memory office. |
| Access Status: | Open |
| Interviewer: | Stevens, Errol |
Fred Padfield, born in 1883, shares his experiences as a life-long steelworker. He began working in the mills at the age of thirteen in Elwood, Indiana and retired in Gary, Indiana. With the help of his wife and daughter, Mr. Padfield shares some of his memories of working in the mills. He remembers the 1909 strike and the election of a socialist mayor in 1917, but was not himself involved with the Socialist Party or any unions.
U.S. Steel Corporation
Lewis, John L.
Wilkie, Herbert
Elwood, Indiana
Gary, Indiana
steelworker
1909 metalworker strike
factory pollution
steel industry
unions
| Interviewee: | Pritchard, Lillian |
| Call number: | 76-063 |
| Date(s) of Interview: | September 1, 1976 |
| Physical Description: | 65 pp.; 2 reels, 3 3/4 ips, 155 minutes; no index |
| Physical Location: | Interviews are housed in Weatherly Hall North, Room 122. Copies are also housed at the Indiana University Archives in Herman B Wells Library E460. For other locations housing the interviews from this project, please contact the Center for the Study of History and Memory office. |
| Access Status: | Open |
| Interviewer: | Stevens, Errol |
Lillian Pritchard, born in South Wales in 1895, reflects on the large Welsh community working in the tin mills of Elwood, Indiana. She remembers her father's devotion to labor unions and his experiences during the 1909 strike. She also shares her memories of Elwood in the early twentieth century. Ms. Pritchard speculates that Socialist candidates like John Lewis were elected because of their individual popularity, not for their political platforms.
Edwards, William
Lewis, John L.
Rogers, Samuel
Elwood, Indiana
Wales
1909 metalworker
Romancing and Tin
Plate
Welsh immigrants
tin industry
unions