Activism of Women During The Mine Wars
Unlike Mother Jones, many of the women who played a crucial role in the activism in supporting miners remain unnamed behind the veil of the work that they accomplished. A woman in history who fits this criteria is the female spy mentioned in the Washington Times article below from September, 1921. The article details the suspicion surrounding the involvement of a woman behind the picket lines working to bring miners at Blair Mountain inside knowledge from Logan. This public description of such a woman was most likely published to arouse suspicion within the community, but in time the article exists as an important artifact that memorializes the women who existed behind the scenes of the mine wars and who did not get their rightful spot in the documentation of a woman’s work during the time.
This excerpt from the Washington Times details rumors of a woman being responsible for aiding the striking miners with inside intelligence to use to their advantage.
This is the full paper with the woman spy article.
While lacking in adequate documentation for the roles that they served, women were a crutial element in the activism surrounding the Mine Wars. Through these artifacts we are able to see just a glimpse into possibilies of the roles that women fulfilled in taking part of this activism.