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[sprightly piano music]
♪ ♪
male narrator: JULY 27, 1898.
MARCHING BANDS LEAD THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE
TO THE HIGHEST POINT IN DOWNTOWN ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA.
COLUMNS OF VETERANS, STONECUTTERS, AND OTHER WORKERS
MARCH TO THE RIBBON-DRAPED SPEAKER'S STAND.
♪ ♪
HERE, THE NEW CAPITOL IS RISING FROM THE GROUND.
ONLOOKERS LEAN OVER
THE PARTIALLY FINISHED FIRST FLOOR WALLS.
AMONG THE THRONG OF DIGNITARIES
IS MINNESOTA'S FIRST TERRITORIAL GOVERNOR, ALEXANDER RAMSEY,
TO OFFICIALLY LAY THE CORNERSTONE
FOR THE PEOPLE'S HOUSE,
THE GRANDEST BUILDING IN THE STATE
AND ONE OF THE FINEST CAPITOL BUILDINGS IN THE COUNTRY.
THE CORNERSTONE IS FIVE FEET LONG,
WITH A HOLLOW CORE TO HOLD A COPPER BOX.
INTO THE BOX ARE PLACED
MORE THAN 45 BOOKS, NEWSPAPERS, PHOTOS, AND DOCUMENTS,
INCLUDING HISTORIES OF LEGISLATORS AND SOLDIERS
SINCE THE FOUNDING OF THE STATE.
THE NAMES OF THE CAPITOL COMMISSIONERS
AND ARCHITECT CASS GILBERT, AS WELL AS HIS ASSOCIATES,
ARE ETCHED ON A BRONZE PLATE.
BUT THE BOX CONTAINS NOT A SINGLE NAME
OF A WORKER OR CONTRACTOR WHO ERECTED THE STRUCTURE.
SINCE CONSTRUCTION BEGAN IN 1896,
HUNDREDS OF WORKERS HAVE ALREADY BEEN DRAWN TO THIS SPOT.
THEY DUG AND LAID THE FOUNDATION AND BUILT THE LOWER WALLS.
HUNDREDS MORE WILL COME TO WORK HERE
THROUGH THE BUILDING'S COMPLETION IN 1907.
FOR SOME, IT IS THE SPARK FOR LONG, SUCCESSFUL CAREERS
AND THE BEGINNING OF GENERATIONS IN MINNESOTA.
FOR OTHERS, IT'S ONE STOP OF MANY
IN A WANDERING ARTISAN'S LIFE.
FOR OTHERS, IT WILL MARK THE END OF THEIR LIVES.
THESE PEOPLE ALL CAME TOGETHER TO CREATE THIS MINNESOTA ICON,
BUT THEY HAVE REMAINED NAMELESS UNTIL NOW.
THIS IS THEIR STORY.
WORKERS LEFT THEIR OWN TIME CAPSULES
TO MARK THEIR WORK ON THE CAPITOL.
AT THE BASE OF THE GOLD LEAF FINIAL AND BALL ATOP THE DOME,
223 FEET FROM THE GROUND, THREE PEOPLE GATHERED
EXACTLY 110 YEARS AFTER THE DAY
THAT A MYSTERIOUS AND TANTALIZING MESSAGE
WAS LEFT THERE.
- I WAS INVOLVED IN THE RESTORATION
OF THE STATE CAPITOL'S FINIAL AND COPPER ROOF.
AND DURING THE DEMOLITION,
SELECTIVE DEMOLITION OF THE ORIGINAL COPPER,
WE WERE FORTUNATE ENOUGH
THAT THE SHEET METAL WORKERS THAT WE WERE WORKING WITH
TOOK IT UPON THEMSELVES TO SAVE THIS SMALL CLEAT
THAT SUPPORTS ONE OF THE ORIGINAL COPPER SHINGLES
THAT WAS UP ON THE ROOF.
narrator: "O.C. MANKE, AUGUST 10, 1902."
THE ETCHED CLUE SET HISTORIAN DAVE RIEHLE
ON A SEARCH THROUGH CITY DIRECTORIES,
PAYROLL ACCOUNTS, DEATH CERTIFICATES,
AND CEMETERY RECORDS
TO DISCOVER THAT "O.C." WAS OTTO MANKE.
- I LOOKED FOR A DEATH RECORD ON HIM,
AND HE LIVED A LONG TIME, INTO THE '40s.
AND FROM THERE, WENT TO THE NEWSPAPERS
AND FINALLY GET TO AN OBITUARY
WHERE SOME LIVING PEOPLE ARE LISTED AS SURVIVORS,
INCLUDING MICHELLE.
SO THIS IS THE--THIS IS YOUR GRANDFATHER'S SIGNATURE.
HE SENT A MESSAGE TO YOU.
- HAVING MY GREAT-GRANDFATHER, YOU KNOW,
BE SO INVOLVED IN THIS PROJECT, IT'S VERY EMOTIONAL.
ACTUALLY SEEING THE HANDWRITING--
'CAUSE IT WAS SOMETHING I WOULD HAVE NEVER SEEN BEFORE.
AND JUST TO PUT MYSELF IN THAT SAME POSITION, YOU KNOW,
STANDING HERE, I'M SURE THAT HE WOULD HAVE NEVER GUESSED,
110 YEARS LATER, THAT I'D BE STANDING HERE.
MAYBE IT WAS A CALL FOR US
TO KNOW THE HISTORY OF THIS BUILDING,
BOTH THE PAST AND ITS CURRENT
AND WHAT THE FUTURE CAN MEAN FOR THIS BUILDING.
WHAT I'VE PIECED TOGETHER,
HE WAS ABOUT 34 YEARS OLD WHEN HE WAS UP HERE.
AND THEN, OF COURSE, A COUPLE YEARS--
MAYBE, WHAT, TEN YEARS OLDER
WHEN HE ACTUALLY WORKED ON THE CATHEDRAL.
SO I JUST--I CAN'T IMAGINE.
narrator: THE VAST MAJORITY
OF THOSE WHO WORKED ON THE NEW CAPITOL
CAME FROM OUTSIDE THE STATE.
AND LIKE OTTO,
MOST OF THEM WERE IMMIGRANTS OR CHILDREN OF IMMIGRANTS.
- HE WAS BORN HERE IN ST. PAUL.
HIS FATHER CAME OVER HERE.
MY GREAT-GREAT-GRANDMOTHER, SHE TALKS ABOUT
THE FOUR-WEEK JOURNEY ACROSS THE ATLANTIC.
narrator: THE MANKES FLED THEIR HOMELAND OF POMERANIA,
PART OF PRUSSIA
THAT SUFFERED FREQUENT WARS BETWEEN GERMANY AND POLAND.
THE RACHAC FAMILY ALSO LEFT CONFLICT
IN THEIR COUNTRY, BOHEMIA, NOW THE CZECH REPUBLIC.
- WHEN YOU CONSIDER HOW BAD THINGS MUST HAVE BEEN
FOR THEM TO HAUL UP STAKES AND EVERYTHING THEY OWNED
AND COME TO A COMPLETELY FOREIGN COUNTRY IN 1863,
IT MUST HAVE BEEN PRETTY TERRIBLE.
HE WAS 14 YEARS OLD, AND HE CAME WITH HIS PARENTS
FROM A VERY SMALL VILLAGE IN BOHEMIA.
HE WAS A REALLY FINE FINISHING CARPENTER.
WE KNEW THAT.
WE KNEW THAT HE DID ALL THE FINE FINISHING WORK
IN THE JAMES J. HILL MANSION HERE IN ST. PAUL.
THAT WAS MY MOTHER'S UNDERSTANDING.
SHE ALWAYS TOLD US THAT HE WAS THE HEAD CARPENTER
AT THE STATE CAPITOL BUILDING DURING ITS CONSTRUCTION
AND AFTERWARDS AS WELL.
narrator: FLEEING THE WARS ON ONE CONTINENT,
THE RACHAC FAMILY ENCOUNTERED THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR
ON ANOTHER.
- THEY ENTERED IN PHILADELPHIA ON A TRAIN.
THEY SAT IN THE PHILADELPHIA STATION
FOR THREE OR FOUR DAYS
IN THE FIRST WEEK OF JULY IN 1863.
THEIR TRAVELS TO THIS AREA WERE DELAYED
BECAUSE OF THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG.
AND THERE WE ARE IN THE GOVERNOR'S SUITE,
LOOKING AT THESE PANELS.
WE KNOW HE WORKED ON SOME OF THE FINISHING WORK
IN THAT GOVERNOR'S SUITE, AND ALL OVER,
IT IS THESE MASSIVE PAINTINGS OF THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG,
AND IT'S--THE FULL-CIRCLE SORT OF EXPERIENCE HERE
IS ALMOST BEYOND COMPREHENSION.
I WONDER IF--YOU KNOW, IF HE EVER KNEW
THAT THERE WERE GOING TO BE PAINTINGS UP THERE
OF THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG.
narrator: WHILE MANY TRADESPEOPLE
HAD ALREADY COME TO ST. PAUL WHEN WORK BEGAN ON THE CAPITOL,
OTHERS WERE RECRUITED TO WORK ON THE CONSTRUCTION.
- THE GENERAL CONTRACTOR HAD BEEN IN THE SOUTH
AND HAD OBSERVED THE WORK
THAT BLACK ARTISANS WERE ABLE TO DO.
AND SO HE CONTACTED CASIVILLE BULLARD,
WHO WAS A MASON EXTRAORDINAIRE,
AND THEY MADE HIM A GENERAL FOREMAN.
- MY GRANDFATHER CASIVILLE BULLARD
WAS A BRICK MASON AS WELL AS A STONECUTTER
AS WELL AS A CARPENTER, WHICH WAS KIND OF RARE.
HE HAD TEN CHILDREN IN TENNESSEE--
MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE.
AND BECAUSE OF THAT SKILL
AND BECAUSE OF HOUSING DISCRIMINATION AT THAT TIME,
SEGREGATION, YOU KNOW, RACISM,
REALLY COULDN'T FIND OPPORTUNITIES TO WORK.
OR IF HE DID FIND WORK,
IT WAS MORE IN THE POOR NEIGHBORHOODS
AND MAYBE NOT THE BEST OPPORTUNITY
TO FEED HIS LARGE FAMILY.
SO THROUGH SOME DIFFERENT CONNECTIONS,
PEOPLE HEARD OF HIS SKILL,
AND THEY WERE--ASKED HIM TO COME HERE.
AND SO HE CAME HERE IN 1898 AND STARTED WORKING ON THE CAPITOL.
- THE GENERAL CONTRACTOR SENT CASIVILLE OUT
TO FIND AFRICAN-AMERICAN OR BLACK MASONS,
AND AROUND 20 OF THEM CAME UP HERE,
INCLUDING MY GRANDFATHER.
AND CASIVILLE BULLARD SAID, "WHOEVER I BRING ON THIS JOB
HAS TO PERFORM AT A CERTAIN LEVEL."
HIS HOUSE IS STILL STANDING.
THAT'S THE KIND OF QUALITY THAT HE DEMANDED
OF THE PEOPLE WHO WORKED FOR HIM.
I BELIEVE MY GRANDFATHER HAD THAT QUALITY,
AND THEY FORMED A FRIENDSHIP THAT, FAR AS I KNOW,
LASTED THROUGHOUT BOTH OF THEIR LIVES.
narrator: HOIST OPERATOR ZEBULON OLSON
WAS ONE OF MANY SWEDES WHO LEFT POVERTY AT HOME
IN A GREAT WAVE OF MIGRATION TO AMERICAN CITIES.
- OUR GRANDMOTHER WAS A HISTORIAN,
AND THIS IS ONE OF HER NOTES, AND IT SAYS THAT WE HAVE
"A MARBLE EGG MADE BY GRANDPA ZEBULON OLSON
"WHEN HE SET ALL THE STONES
IN BUILDING THE MINNESOTA STATE CAPITOL BUILDING."
IT'S THE SAME MARBLE AS IN THE STRUCTURE.
- THIS IS THE EGG,
AND GRANDMA OLSON HAD THIS ON THE BUFFET.
HE TOOK A CHIP FROM THE CONSTRUCTION PROCESS
AND PUT IT IN HIS POCKET AND MADE THE EGG LATER.
- THE EGG IS THE THING THAT--
YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU HAVE A MEMENTO OR SOMETHING...
- THIS IS THE CONNECTION.
- THAT HAS A STORY THAT GOES WITH IT
AND SOMEONE KEEPS TELLING THE STORY
GENERATION AFTER GENERATION, WELL...
- THIS IS SHARED HISTORY.
THERE IS A CONNECTION TO THE STATE CAPITOL,
AND IT IS STRONG, AND IT KEEPS US HERE.
- YEAH, THE ROOTS GO DEEP.
narrator: AS AN ARCHITECT
SUPERVISING THE RESTORATION OF THE CAPITOL DOME,
GINNY LACKOVIC HAS HAD A CHANCE
TO STUDY THE CONSTRUCTION HISTORY,
READ THE ORIGINAL BUILDING PLANS,
AND CLOSELY EXAMINE THE CRAFTSMANSHIP
THAT STATEHOUSE TRADESWORKERS BROUGHT TO THE STRUCTURE.
- DRAWING SETS, AT THAT POINT,
HAD MAYBE 100 SHEETS, MAYBE NOT EVEN THAT MANY,
FOR THIS BUILDING,
COMPARED TO WHAT WE WOULD ISSUE NOW
TO BUILD A BUILDING LIKE THIS
WOULD BE A FOUR-VOLUME SET OF 100 SHEETS EACH.
SO, I MEAN, BUILDINGS AT THIS TIME,
I MEAN, YOU RELIED A LOT ON THE CRAFTSMEN,
ON THEIR KNOWLEDGE AND THEIR SENSIBILITIES.
I MEAN, THERE'S OFTEN-- THERE ARE OFTEN COMMENTS
THAT SAY, YOU KNOW, "DO IT THIS WAY,"
AND THEN IT'LL TAKE YOU UP TO A CERTAIN POINT,
AND THEN IT'S "USING TYPICAL METHODS."
AND WHAT ARE THOSE?
YOU KNOW, THEY DIDN'T DESCRIBE THEM AT THAT POINT.
THEY JUST RELIED ON CRAFTSMEN AND THE TRADES
TO ACTUALLY CARRY THAT THROUGH, CARRY THAT FORWARD.
narrator: THE BUILDING WAS ESSENTIALLY BUILT BY HAND.
MEN AND HORSES PROVIDED THE POWER NECESSARY
TO DIG, MOVE, AND LIFT MATERIALS.
EVERY INCH OF THE SURFACE WAS CRAFTED BY SKILLED ARTISANS.
- THE TOOLING OF IT
AND THE CRAFTSMANSHIP THAT WENT INTO IT
IS REALLY WHY THE BUILDING HAS HELD UP AS WELL AS IT HAS.
THE DETAILING IS AMAZING.
YOU KNOW, EVERY PIECE SHEDS WATER
AND SOME VERY SUBTLY.
BUT STILL, EVERY SINGLE INCH OF THE BUILDING
WAS DESIGNED WITH INTENT.
AND THE SCALE OF THE MATERIALS, IT'S AMAZING.
narrator: CRAFT WORKERS ARRIVED IN ST. PAUL
WITH THIS LEVEL OF SKILL
THROUGH RIGOROUS FORMAL AND INFORMAL APPRENTICESHIPS
IN EUROPE
OR THROUGH AMERICAN TRAINING BASED ON THESE MODELS.
IN TRADES LIKE STONECUTTING,
THESE TRADITIONS STILL SURVIVE IN EUROPE,
GIVING A GLIMPSE INTO THE PREPARATION
THAT BUILDERS APPLIED TO THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE CAPITOL.
- MY TRAINING IN ITALY WAS MOSTLY BEING
WITH MY FATHER AND UNCLE, TWO TRADESMEN.
I BELIEVE THAT IS THE BEST TRAINING YOU CAN GET,
HAVING HANDS ON SO THAT YOU LEARN DOING THINGS.
AND THAT'S HOW I LITERALLY LEARNED
HOW TO DO EVERYTHING THAT WAS PART OF STONE AND MASONRY.
YOU KNOW, WHEN I CAME HERE,
IT WAS ALREADY MORE THAN 12 YEAR THAT I USED TO WORK.
SO I STARTED VERY YOUNG.
narrator: STEFANO WORKED AS A FOREMAN
RESTORING THE STEPS
ON THE WEST SIDE OF THE CAPITOL IN 2012.
- YOU KNOW, THOSE STEPS HAD BEEN THERE FOR 100 YEAR,
AND THE WORKMANSHIP AT THAT TIME WAS AMAZING.
THEY REALLY WERE PROUD OF WHAT THEY WERE DOING.
WHEN YOU SEE THOSE PEOPLE WHO ARE IN THE PICTURE THAT I SAW,
YOU KNOW, WITH THE HATS, AND THAT'S--
I MEAN, THAT REMEMBER ME
THOSE PEOPLE THAT USED TO WORK IN ITALY, YOU KNOW.
THEY WERE ALWAYS WELL-DRESSED, WELL-RESPECTED WORKERS.
BEING AN IMMIGRANT MYSELF, IT JUST--SOMETIME I THINK,
"SO THIS STONE WAS SET 100 YEARS AGO
"BY A FRENCH, BY A GERMAN,
SOMEBODY THAT CAME TO DO THIS JOB."
AND SOMETIME YOU JUST THINK THAT THE STORY, THE HISTORY
REPEAT THEMSELF.
narrator: AT AGE 14,
JAN RACHAC ALREADY HAD TWO YEARS OF OLD WORLD APPRENTICESHIP
WHEN HE ARRIVED IN BELLE PLAINE, MINNESOTA.
HE HONED HIS SKILLS BUILDING HOMES
IN THE GROWING COMMUNITY.
THE PROSPECT OF REGULAR WORK
AND MORE TIME TO SPEND WITH HIS FAMILY AND FELLOW BOHEMIANS
LED HIM TO ST. PAUL, WHERE HE BUILT HIS OWN HOUSE
IN THE CZECH NEIGHBORHOOD OFF WEST SEVENTH STREET.
- HE DID THIS FINE FINISHING WORK.
I THINK THAT'S UTTERLY TRUE,
BECAUSE I HAVE BEAUTIFUL PIECES OF FURNITURE THAT HE MADE.
- THIS IS THE TRUNK FROM MY GREAT-GREAT-GRANDFATHER.
IT'S WHAT HE USED ON THE JOB SITE AT THE CAPITOL.
THEY MADE THEIR OWN PLANES. THEY SHARPENED THEM.
THAT'S HIS ORIGINAL.
IT'S GOT HIS MARKS ON IT.
narrator: ARTISANS COMMONLY MADE THEIR OWN TOOLS
AS PART OF THEIR TRADE,
LIKE DAVID MCALLISTER'S GREAT-GRANDFATHER ERIC ISAACSON
AND HIS GREAT-UNCLE NILS NELSON, SWEDISH-BORN STONEMASONS
WHO SERVED AS FOREMEN AT THE CAPITOL.
- I TOOK THIS BOX OUT OF THE GARAGE.
IT HAD BEEN ATTRIBUTED TO ONE OF MY ANCESTORS,
SO IT WAS ERIC'S OR IT WAS NILS'.
A LOT OF TIMES, THEY WOULD MAKE TOOLS ON SITE FROM BAR STEEL,
AND A LOT OF THESE LOOK TO BE THAT TYPE OF THING.
SOMEBODY PUT SOME ENERGY INTO THAT A FEW TIMES.
[laughs]
narrator: NILS NELSON COULD USE THESE TOOLS
TO CUT A STONE BUILDING BLOCK TO SIZE
OR TO CARVE DETAILED SCULPTURES.
- THE MARBLE SCULPTURE, IT'S PROBABLY 24 TO 30 INCHES WIDE.
- IT'S A BIG CLIPPER SHIP.
UNCLE NILS MADE IT.
narrator: ARTISANS LIKE NILS, WHO HAD BEEN A SWEDISH SAILOR,
WERE SO CONFIDENT IN THEIR SKILLS,
THEY COULD EVEN STAND UP TO ARCHITECT CASS GILBERT.
- THE FOREMAN OF THE CREW THAT WAS SETTING THE STONE
WAS HAVING TO HAUL THE STONE UP BY ROPE,
AND THEY GOT STOPPED BY CASS GILBERT
AND CRITICIZED FOR DOING SOMETHING.
AND THE PERSON, NILS NELSON, SAID,
"WELL, WE DON'T RESPOND TO YOU."
AND SO THE THING WAS TAKEN TO BE ADJUDICATED, I GUESS,
BY ONE OF THE BUTLER BROTHERS.
AND CASS GILBERT REASONED
THAT HE WAS THE CAPTAIN OF THE SHIP
AND SO YOU SHOULD TAKE ORDERS FROM HIM.
AND NELSON SAID THAT, "I KNOW THE PROTOCOL.
"THE CAPTAIN NEVER GIVES ORDERS TO THE MEN.
"HE GIVES THE ORDERS TO THE BOATSWAIN,
AND THE BOATSWAIN TELLS THE MEN."
AND SO HE SAID--TOLD MR. GILBERT THAT "I'M THE BOATSWAIN,
"AND MR. BUTLER IS THE CAPTAIN,
AND YOU, YOU'RE NOTHING."
[laughs]
narrator: AND GENERAL CONTRACTOR WILLIAM BUTLER
DECIDED TO KEEP NILS ON THE JOB.
PATRICK BUTLER'S NAME WAS HANDED DOWN
FROM HIS GREAT-GRANDFATHER,
WHO LEFT FAMINE-STRICKEN IRELAND IN 1852
WITH A CIVIL ENGINEERING DEGREE FROM TRINITY COLLEGE IN DUBLIN.
THE DETERMINED IMMIGRANT TRIED HIS HAND AT MANY JOBS.
AS A YOUNG MAN, HE WAS A FARMHAND IN THE EAST
AND RAN A BAR IN GALENA, ILLINOIS,
WITH HIS WIFE, MARY ANN,
WHERE THEY OFTEN SERVED DRINKS TO ULYSSES S. GRANT.
PATRICK WAS A TEACHER, CONTRACTOR, AND FARMER
NEAR NORTHFIELD, MINNESOTA.
ONE BY ONE, PATRICK'S SONS LEFT THE FARM
FOR GREATER OPPORTUNITIES IN GROWING ST. PAUL.
THE OLDER BROTHERS, WALTER AND WILLIAM,
BECAME BRICKLAYERS
AND CHARTER MEMBERS OF UNION LOCAL NUMBER 1.
THEY STRUCK OUT ON THEIR OWN
AND RECRUITED THEIR BROTHERS JOHN, COOLEY, AND EMMETT
TO UNDERTAKE SUBCONTRACTING BRICKWORK.
THEY SOON BECAME CONTRACTORS FOR ENTIRE JOBS
AND, PARTNERING WITH MIKE RYAN,
BUILT OLD MAIN AT MACALESTER COLLEGE.
WINNING THE BIDS FOR GENERAL CONTRACTOR
TO BUILD THE MAIN STRUCTURE AND THE DOME OF THE CAPITOL
WAS THE GREATEST CHALLENGE
THE NEW BUTLER-RYAN COMPANY
AND SUCCESSOR, BUTLER BROTHERS COMPANY,
HAD EVER FACED.
IT WOULD TEST EVERY SKILL AND RESOURCE THEY HAD.
GEORGE GRANT COMPANY WON THE BID
FOR THE FIRST PHASE OF THE NEW CAPITOL CONSTRUCTION:
EXCAVATING AND LAYING THE FOUNDATION.
BASEMENT WORK WAS SUBCONTRACTED TO THE LAUER BROTHERS
AND THE UNIVERSAL CONSTRUCTION COMPANY.
THIS BASE WAS CONSTRUCTED OF LIMESTONE
FROM A QUARRY NEAR WINONA.
LIKE THE WORKERS, THE MATERIALS FOR THE STATE CAPITOL CAME
FROM ALL OVER MINNESOTA, THE NATION, AND THE WORLD...
BUT NOT WITHOUT CONTROVERSY.
DECIDING ON THE SOURCE OF THE STONE
FOR THE REST OF THE CAPITOL BUILDING
SPARKED ANGER.
ARCHITECT CASS GILBERT,
INSPIRED BY THE ARCHITECTURE IN EUROPE
AND IMPRESSED BY THE CHICAGO WORLD'S FAIR OF 1893,
WANTED THE LUMINOUS WHITE OF MARBLE
AND FAVORED STONE FROM GEORGIA.
MINNESOTA BUSINESSES AND LABOR IN GENERAL ARGUED
THAT THE STATEHOUSE SHOULD BE BUILT ENTIRELY
WITH MINNESOTA MATERIALS
TO BOOST JOBS AND THE ECONOMY OF THE STATE.
THE WOUNDS OF THE CIVIL WAR WERE STILL IN LIVING MEMORY,
AND SOURCING THE STONE FROM A SOUTHERN STATE
RANKLED MANY.
THE FINAL COMPROMISE CALLED FOR MINNESOTA GRANITE TO BE USED
FOR THE BASEMENT AND STEPS OF THE STRUCTURE
AND MARBLE TO COVER THE UPPER PORTIONS
OF THE BUILDING.
THE MARBLE WAS BROUGHT FROM THE AMICALOLA QUARRY,
LEASED AND OPERATED BY THE BUTLER-RYAN COMPANY
IN PICKENS COUNTY, GEORGIA.
MOST OF THE GRANITE CAME FROM THE BAXTER QUARRY
IN ST. JOSEPH TOWNSHIP, JUST WEST OF ST. CLOUD.
COLUMNS INSIDE THE ROTUNDA
WERE SHAPED AND FINISHED BY A HUGE LATHE
RUN BY THE ROCKVILLE GRANITE COMPANY
FROM GRANITE QUARRIED LOCALLY,
AS WELL AS FROM ORTONVILLE IN WESTERN MINNESOTA.
A REDDISH-COLORED BAND OF QUARTZITE
CIRCLING THE THIRD-STORY LEVEL OF THE ROTUNDA
CAME FROM AN AREA ALSO NEAR THE SOUTH DAKOTA BORDER.
SANDSTONE CUT FROM PITS IN WHAT IS NOW BANNING STATE PARK
SUPPORTED THE BASE OF THE CAPITOL DOME.
KILNS IN CHASKA, MINNESOTA,
SUPPLIED MORE THAN 2 MILLION BUFF-COLORED BRICKS
FOR THE WALLS.
MOST OF THE WALLS INSIDE THE CAPITOL
WERE FACED WITH WARM-TONED DOLOMITIC LIMESTONE
QUARRIED IN KASOTA
BY THE BABCOCK & WILCOX COMPANY.
IN THE CAPITOL'S INTERIOR,
STONE FROM MINNESOTA WAS AUGMENTED
BY MORE THAN 20 OTHER VARIETIES
THAT ORIGINATED FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD,
INCLUDING FRANCE, GREECE, ITALY, AND NORTHERN AFRICA.
WHILE THE TYPE OF STONE VARIED FROM QUARRY TO QUARRY,
THE LABOR TO FREE IT FROM THE EARTH
WAS MUCH LIKE THE WORK
IN THE MARBLE PITS OF PICKENS COUNTY, GEORGIA.
- IF YOU STARTED WITH THE COMPANY,
YOU PRETTY MUCH STARTED AT THE BOTTOM
UNLESS YOU WAS THE BOSS'S SON OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, YOU KNOW.
AND THEY ACTUALLY HAD--
THEY HAD SOMETHING THEY TERMED AS THE "MUD GANG,"
AND BASICALLY THEIR JOB CONSISTED
OF THE HAMMER AND WEDGES FOR LIFTING--
FOR BREAKING THE STONE.
AND SO I GUESS THAT WAS PROBABLY A PRETTY DIRTY JOB.
THEY WERE WORKING DOWN IN THE BOTTOM,
IN THE MUD ALL THE TIME.
- AND MARBLE WEIGHS 170 POUNDS A CUBIC FOOT,
SO IT'S PRETTY HEAVY.
BUT BACK THEN, YOU LIFTED ONE IF YOU WERE TOLD TO, YOU KNOW.
AND I'M SURE THAT THERE WERE A LOT OF SORE BACKS AT NIGHT
IN THE MARBLE INDUSTRY.
[chuckles]
BUT THE MEN BECAME REAL ADEPT AT WHAT THEY DID.
THEY WERE REAL CRAFTSMEN.
- YOU HAD TO SWING THEM SLEDGEHAMMERS, YOU KNOW,
AND THEM BOYS WOULD GET SINGING.
WE'D ALL HIT IT-- YOU HIT EVERY ONE OF THEM
AT THE SAME TIME.
narrator: WHILE MANUAL STRENGTH AND SKILL DOMINATED QUARRY WORK,
NEW MACHINERY WAS REVOLUTIONIZING
THE PRODUCTIVITY OF THE INDUSTRY
AT THE CLOSE OF THE 19TH CENTURY.
- TO PULL OUT A BLOCK, YOU'D HAVE TO DRILL HOLES
ALONG THE GRID, ALL ALONG THE GRID.
AND THERE ARE TWO BITS WORKING AT THE SAME TIME,
AND IN THE OLD DAYS,
THEY USED STEAM TO DRIVE THESE BITS, THE DRILLS.
- THEN TO CUT THE ROCKS, WE HAD CHANNELING MACHINES.
YOU'D SET UP HERE, AND THEY HAD A PIECE OF RAILROAD TRACK.
AND THESE THINGS HAD TWO HEADS ON THEM.
THEY HAD FIVE DRILLS LIKE THIS.
ONE OF THEM TURNED ONE WAY AND THE OTHER THE OTHER WAY,
AND THEY SET UP HERE ALL DAY LONG AND GO--
LIKE THAT, YOU KNOW.
BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM.
ALL DAY LONG.
AND BACK THEN, IF IT GOT A BIT CLOUDY OR WHATNOT,
IT'D BE SO DUSTY IN THE HOLE, YOU COULDN'T SEE DOWN IN THERE.
YOU'D HAVE TO WAIT TILL THE DUST SETTLED.
- IN THE SUMMERTIME, IT GETS OVER 100 DEGREES DOWN THERE
BECAUSE OF ALL THE REFLECTION ON THE STONE.
- IN MOST OF THE QUARRIES, THEY HAD LADDER ROPES.
THE LADDERS WERE ACTUALLY CONSTRUCTED OF WOOD.
AND I THINK SOME OF OUR QUARRIES ARE 180 FEET DEEP.
- YOU WENT IN OF A MORNING,
AND WE HAD A BREAK WHEN MOST OF US STAYED IN THE HOLE.
THEN WE'D COME OUT AT DINNER AND GET 30 MINUTES,
THEN GO BACK.
EVEN THE OLDER FELLAS, THEY DONE THAT, YOU KNOW.
- THEY GOT OLD FAST.
PEOPLE WHO WORKED IN THE INDUSTRY GOT OLD FAST.
BUT THEY SUPPORTED THE FAMILY.
[soaring violin solo]
♪ ♪
- THE PEOPLE THAT RAN THE SAWS AND THE WAGONS
LIVED IN THE AREA.
A NUMBER OF WHOM USED TO BE SLAVES.
THE CARVING OF THE STONE
AND THE ARTISANRYSHIP OF THE STONE WAS--
THEY HAD TO IMPORT CUTTERS FROM VERMONT, FROM FRANCE,
FROM ITALY, BELGIUM,
ALL OVER THE WORLD, ACTUALLY.
AND I BELIEVE SOME OF THEM ACTUALLY ENDED UP
IN MINNESOTA AT ST. PAUL
TO HELP FINISH OFF THE STATE CAPITOL THERE.
narrator: MOST OF THE QUARRY COMPANIES
WERE STARTED BY ENTREPRENEURS WHO HAD WORKED IN STONE PITS
OR CUT STONE THEMSELVES.
SCOTCH IMMIGRANT STONECUTTER HENRY ALEXANDER
FOUNDED ROCKVILLE GRANITE,
WHICH BECAME COLD SPRING GRANITE COMPANY
WEST OF ST. CLOUD.
ALBERT STEINBAUER AND THE BIESANZ FAMILY
DEVELOPED QUARRIES NEAR WINONA.
THE VETTER FAMILY TOOK OVER THE LIMESTONE QUARRY BUSINESS
STARTED BY JOSEPH BABCOCK
SHORTLY AFTER HE HELPED FOUND THE TOWN OF KASOTA.
- MY FATHER'S MAIN GOAL IN LIFE
WAS TO START A STONE BUSINESS WITH HIS SONS WHEN THEY GREW UP.
MY GRANDFATHER BERNARD HAD WORKED IN STONE IN GERMANY
BEFORE HE EMIGRATED IN THE 1880s.
SETTLED AT KASOTA, AND HE STARTED A MONUMENT SHOP THERE.
THE OLD B&W MANAGEMENT SAW
THAT HE HAD SOME GOOD TALENT AND HIRED HIM,
AND HE EVENTUALLY WAS IN CHARGE OF THE PRODUCTION
FOR THE COMPANY THAT FURNISHED THE STONE FOR THE CAPITOL.
MY FATHER, PAUL, WORKED FOR THE BABCOCK COMPANY IN KASOTA.
HE FIRST STARTED WORKING IN THE QUARRY
WHERE HE AND HIS HORSE WERE HIRED
TO RUN A DERRICK HOIST IN THE QUARRY,
AND THEN HE WORKED INTO VARIOUS JOBS
UNTIL HE WAS IN CHARGE OF PRODUCTION
FOR THE BABCOCK COMPANY.
BACK IN THE 1930s, DURING THE DEPRESSION,
HE BOUGHT THE ORIGINAL QUARRY LAND
WHERE OUR PLANT IS LOCATED NOW.
AT AGE 65, IN 1954, TOOK HIS LIFE SAVINGS
AND BOUGHT USED STONE EQUIPMENT,
AND THE FAMILY BASICALLY WORKED FOR A COUPLE YEARS
SETTING UP THIS MACHINERY, BUILDING A BUILDING.
SO WE OPERATED PRETTY MUCH ON A SHOESTRING.
KIND OF LEARNED TO WALK BEFORE WE LEARNED TO RUN.
IT'S LIKE THERE'S STONE DUST IN THE BLOOD.
[harmonica music]
narrator: THE RAILROADS
AND THE MEN WHO BUILT AND RAN THEM
MADE IT POSSIBLE TO CONSTRUCT MASSIVE STONE BUILDINGS
THAT ROSE ACROSS AMERICA
IN THE LATE 19TH AND EARLY 20TH CENTURIES.
- WITH THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE RAILROADS
AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF SPUR TRACKS, SMALLER TRACKS,
IT OPENED UP THESE QUARRIES TO EASY TRANSPORTATION
OF THESE 75-TON BLOCKS OF MARBLE.
- THE RAIL LINE CAME ADJACENT TO THE PITS,
AND IN MOST CASES, I'M SURE THEY WERE ABLE
TO EXTRACT THE MARBLE WITH THE DERRICK
AND PLACE IT DIRECTLY ONTO THE RAIL LINE.
narrator: WHILE THE MINNESOTA CAPITOL
WAS TO FEATURE FLAGS AND ARTWORK
HONORING THE STATE'S UNION SOLDIERS,
WHO FOUGHT TO END SLAVERY,
THE MAIN RAILROAD LINES THAT CARRIED MARBLE
FOR THE STATEHOUSE WERE BUILT BY CONVICT LABOR.
OVERWHELMINGLY AFRICAN AMERICANS,
THE PRISONERS WORKED UNDER SLAVE-LIKE CONDITIONS
BECAUSE OF MINOR, EVEN FABRICATED OFFENSES
LIKE LOITERING OR SPEAKING TOO LOUDLY.
THE STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS EVEN RENTED OUT THESE PRISONERS
TO DO HARD LABOR FOR PRIVATE COMPANIES,
LIKE THE MARIETTA & NORTH GEORGIA RAILROAD,
WHICH BUILT THE LINE BETWEEN THE MARBLE QUARRIES AND ATLANTA
ON THE WAY TO ST. PAUL.
[ragtime piano music]
AT THE TURN OF THE CENTURY, STEAM COULD POWER ENGINES
THAT PULLED OR LIFTED MASSIVE LOADS ON TRACKS
OR FROM STATIONARY HOISTS.
BUT HAULING ALL THE TONS OF STONE FROM THE TRAIN DEPOT
THROUGH DOWNTOWN ST. PAUL
AND UPHILL 90 VERTICAL FEET TO THE CAPITOL CONSTRUCTION SITE
STILL RELIED ON HORSE-DRAWN WAGONS
GUIDED BY TEAMSTERS LIKE JOHN GEARY.
JOHN CHAMPIONED FELLOW WORKERS' RIGHTS,
FOUNDING TEAMSTERS LOCAL 120 IN MINNESOTA.
HE ROSE TO VICE PRESIDENT OF THE INTERNATIONAL UNION.
[cheerful fiddle music]
♪ ♪
ONCE THE STONE ARRIVED AT THE CAPITOL SITE,
THE WORKERS AND CONTRACTORS HAD TO FIGURE OUT
HOW TO GET IT CUT TO SIZE, FINISHED, AND MOVED
TO WHERE IT BELONGED IN THE MASSIVE BUILDING.
THE BUTLERS WERE EARLY ADOPTERS OF THE LATEST INNOVATIONS,
LIKE STEAM-POWERED HOISTS
MOUNTED ON RAILS ABOVE THE STRUCTURE
THAT COULD MOVE BACK AND FORTH WHEREVER THEY WERE NEEDED.
THE SON OF CAPITOL CARPENTER JAN RACHAC, JOHN RACHAC JR.,
DESIGNED OTHER INNOVATIVE FEATURES AT THE CAPITOL.
- MY GREAT-UNCLE JOHN IS SORT OF THE STAR OF THE FAMILY
BECAUSE OF HIS ASSOCIATION WITH CASS GILBERT.
CASS GILBERT BASICALLY HIRED HIM RIGHT OUT OF HIGH SCHOOL
AND SENT HIM TO THE ECOLE DES BEAUX-ARTS IN PARIS,
AND HE WAS IN PARIS STUDYING THERE.
AND I HAVE SEEN LETTERS IN WHICH CASS GILBERT DIRECTED HIM
TO PLEASE PAY SPECIAL ATTENTION
TO ALL THE CLASSICAL ARCHITECTURE,
THE BUILDING FACADES.
THERE'S ONE LETTER IN WHICH HE SORT OF ADMONISHES HIM
TO--YOU KNOW, TO TRY AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE
TO NOT HAVE TOO MUCH FUN
BUT TO ACTUALLY, YOU KNOW, STUDY.
AND SO HE WAS IN PARIS FROM 1900 TO 1902,
AT WHICH POINT CASS GILBERT CALLED HIM BACK TO ST. PAUL,
BECAUSE HE SAID HE NEEDED HIM.
AND IT WAS AT THAT POINT, I THINK, THAT UNCLE JOHN
SORT OF UNOFFICIALLY BECAME
A REAL PRIMARY ASSISTANT TO CASS GILBERT,
BECAUSE I DO KNOW THAT HE WAS ONE OF--
HE WAS AN ASSISTANT ARCHITECT FOR THE STATE CAPITOL BUILDING.
narrator: LIKELY INSPIRED BY FRENCH ARCHITECTURE,
JOHN CREATED THE DESIGN FOR THE CANTILEVERED STAIRCASE
IN THE NORTHEAST CORNER OF THE MINNESOTA CAPITOL BUILDING--
AT THE TIME, A UNIQUE FEATURE IN AMERICA.
AS PART OF THE DEAL TO USE GEORGIA MARBLE,
THE STONE WAS TO BE FINISHED ON SITE.
A SHED WAS BUILT
ON THE NORTHWEST CORNER OF THE GROUNDS
TO HOUSE THE STEAM-POWERED CUTTING AND POLISHING EQUIPMENT.
HERE, TOO, STONECUTTERS USED
RECENTLY INTRODUCED PNEUMATIC CHISELS
TO SCULPT THE STATUES THAT WOULD ADORN THE STATEHOUSE.
WILLIAM BUTLER INVENTED A LATHE
TO CUT FLUTES IN THE MASSIVE MARBLE COLUMNS,
SAVING COUNTLESS HOURS OF LABOR.
THE HUGE EQUIPMENT HAD TO BE ANCHORED
TO THE CONCRETE FLOOR WITH IRON RODS.
THE CONTINUOUS DIN FROM THE STONE-FINISHING MACHINERY
COULD BE HEARD MANY BLOCKS AWAY.
THE NOISE FOLLOWED THE WORKERS AT THE END OF THEIR SHIFTS
AS THEY WALKED OR BOARDED STREETCARS TO GO HOME.
MANY IMMIGRANT WORKERS HEADED FOR NEIGHBORHOODS
WHERE PEOPLE FROM THEIR HOMELANDS HAD SETTLED TOGETHER.
- EUROPEAN IMMIGRANTS SETTLED IN COMMUNITIES
AND, IN A SENSE, GRAVITATED TO THE PLACE
WHERE THEY COULD SPEAK THEIR LANGUAGE,
SHARE THEIR CULTURE.
narrator: A GERMAN ENCLAVE WAS CLOSEST TO DOWNTOWN
ALONG WEST SEVENTH STREET,
WITH ANOTHER COMMUNITY NORTH OF UNIVERSITY
IN WHAT IS NOW FROGTOWN.
MORE ESTABLISHED IMMIGRANTS HELPED OUT NEWCOMERS,
REINFORCING THE ETHNIC CHARACTER OF THE NEIGHBORHOODS.
- OTTO AND HIS WIFE QUITE OFTEN WOULD RENT THAT HOME OUT
TO OTHER FAMILY MEMBERS
OR OTHER PEOPLE WHO WERE JUST COMING HERE
AND STAY WITH THEM UNTIL THEY GOT ON THEIR FEET
AND THEN FOUND JOBS AND FOUND HOUSING FOR THEMSELVES.
[lively piano music]
narrator: GERMANS REPRESENTED THE LARGEST ETHNIC GROUP
IN MINNESOTA.
THEIR INFLUENCE WAS REFLECTED
IN THE CAPITOL BASEMENT RATHSKELLER.
MODELED ON DRINKING ROOMS IN GERMANY'S TOWN HALLS,
IT FEATURED MOTTOS STENCILED IN GERMAN ACROSS THE CEILING.
OTHER IMMIGRANT GROUPS OCCUPIED DISTINCT ST. PAUL DISTRICTS,
LIKE THE BOHEMIAN NEIGHBORHOOD AROUND WEST SEVENTH STREET.
HERE, CARPENTER JAN RACHAC MADE HIS HOME
AND HELPED BUILD
THE CZECH AND SLOVAK PROTECTION SOCIETY, THE CSPS, HALL.
- HE AND HIS WIFE, THIS WAS THE CENTRAL PART
OF THEIR SOCIAL AND CULTURAL LIFE,
AND IT WAS FOR MY GRANDFATHER AS WELL.
WHENEVER MY MOTHER AND I CAME TO MINNESOTA,
WE WOULD ALWAYS DRIVE BY THIS BUILDING,
AND SHE WOULD SAY, "THERE'S THE BOHEMIAN CLUB.
"THAT'S WHERE YOUR GREAT-GRANDFATHER
AND YOUR GRANDFATHER WENT ALL THE TIME"
FOR VARIOUS THINGS AND FUNCTIONS.
CLEARLY, THIS WAS VERY IMPORTANT TO THEM
IN MAINTAINING THEIR TIES TO THEIR CULTURE.
- AND THIS WOULD BE THE PLACE
WHERE THEY COULD SPEAK THEIR LANGUAGE,
WHERE THEIR CHILDREN WERE ACTUALLY TAUGHT THEIR LANGUAGE.
AND SO WE HAVE EVERY YEAR A CZECH PLAY OR SLOVAK PLAY
PRODUCED IN THE HALL.
[upbeat music playing]
♪ ♪
WHEN THEY WOULD HAVE THEIR PARTIES OR FESTIVALS,
THE CHILDREN WOULD END UP SLEEPING ON THE CHAIRS
WHILE THE PARENTS DANCED AND HAD THEIR GOOD TIMES.
[cheers and applause]
narrator: FOR THE CATHOLIC BOHEMIANS,
ST. STANISLAUS CHURCH WAS THE HUB OF COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES,
JUST AS CHURCHES WERE FOR OTHER IMMIGRANT GROUPS.
- THEIR CHURCHES, OF COURSE, WERE CENTRAL
TO THEIR DEVELOPMENT AND TO THEIR SOCIALIZING,
TO THEIR CULTURAL PRESERVATION.
narrator: AFTER WORKING LONG HOURS IN RELATIVE ISOLATION
DURING THE WEEK, MANY AFRICAN-AMERICAN WORKERS
CAME TOGETHER AT CHURCHES ON SUNDAYS
FOR SERVICES AND SOCIALIZING.
THE CHURCH WAS THE FOCUS OF COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES
FOR ERNEST JONES'S WIFE, CORA LEE;
THEIR CHILDREN; AND THE NEXT TWO GENERATIONS.
- MY GRANDMOTHER WAS AN ACTIVE MEMBER
OF ST. JAMES A.M.E. CHURCH,
AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
MY GRANDMOTHER WAS ON THE USHER BOARD.
SHE WAS--SHE WAS THERE EVERY SUNDAY, I THINK,
UNTIL MAYBE SHE WAS ABOUT MAYBE 99.
THAT WAS A LOVING CHURCH.
WE'D HAVE MAY DAY, AND WE'D RUN AROUND THE POLE
WITH THE CREPE PAPER AND STUFF.
narrator: UNIONS ALSO
BROUGHT MEMBERS AND THEIR FAMILIES TOGETHER.
- MY MOTHER REMEMBERS THAT EVERY SUNDAY,
ALL OF THE MASONS WOULD GO OUT FOR A PICNIC
DURING THE SUMMERTIME, AND THEY WOULD PLAY,
AND THEY WOULD HAVE GREAT FUN, AND THEY WOULD COOK FOOD.
narrator: BUT WORKERS NEEDED UNIONS
FOR MORE THAN SOCIALIZING.
MEMBERS BANDED TOGETHER
TO DEAL WITH SEVERE ECONOMIC DISPARITIES
AND THE HARSH, SOMETIMES DANGEROUS AND VIOLENT CONDITIONS
OF TURN-OF-THE-CENTURY WORKPLACES.
- THERE'S A STORY OF THE TRADITION
OF HAVING TO BE A BETTER MAN THAN THE PERSON YOU FIRED,
SO YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO KNOCK SOMEBODY DOWN
BEFORE YOU COULD FIRE THEM.
AND THERE WAS A SHOVEL RUNNER
THAT CAME ACROSS ONE OF THE BUTLER BROTHERS,
AND SO--I DON'T KNOW WHICH ONE IT WAS,
WHETHER IT WAS EMMETT OR NOT, WENT TO FIRE THE SHOVEL RUNNER
AND WENT UP TO KNOCK HIM DOWN BEFORE HE FIRED HIM
AND GOT KNOCKED DOWN INSTEAD.
SO HE TRIED AGAIN AND GOT KNOCKED DOWN INSTEAD.
SO THE SHOVEL RUNNER NEVER GOT FIRED,
'CAUSE HE COULDN'T BE KNOCKED DOWN.
narrator: MOST OF THE WOMEN WHO CONTRIBUTED
TO THE CONSTRUCTION AND FURNISHING OF THE CAPITOL
WORKED AT A DISTANCE FROM THE BUILDING.
IN THE BUTLER-RYAN OFFICE,
CATHERINE BUTLER, NO RELATION, WORKED AS A STENOGRAPHER.
A NEW YORK COMPANY
THAT MANUFACTURED FURNITURE FOR THE STATEHOUSE
WAS CO-OWNED BY A WOMAN.
THE ELEGANT DOWNTOWN DEPARTMENT STORE SCHUNEMAN'S
SUPPLIED CAPITOL DRAPERIES,
SOME SEWED ON LOCATION BY SEAMSTRESSES.
SEVERAL OF THE WOMEN WHO DID WORK
ON THE STATEHOUSE CONSTRUCTION SITE--
LIKE LABORERS ANNA YOUNG, JOSIE SHEERAN, AND MARY WALKER--
LIVED AT THE HOUSE OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD,
A CATHOLIC HOME FOR IMPOVERISHED WOMEN AND GIRLS.
THE RESIDENTS SUPPORTED THE HOME WITH A COMMERCIAL LAUNDRY.
THE STATEHOUSE CONSTRUCTION SITE
COULD BE A ROUGH PLACE AND A DANGEROUS ONE.
SIX WORKERS DIED IN THE COURSE OF BUILDING THE STATE CAPITOL.
THE FIRST WORKER TO LOSE HIS LIFE WAS FELIX ARTHUR,
WHO CAME NORTH WITH THE MARBLE SHIPPED FROM GEORGIA.
ON MAY 4, 1898,
FELIX WAS WORKING ON A STONE-POLISHING MACHINE
WHEN HE GOT CAUGHT IN THE FLYWHEEL.
HE DIED IN THE HOSPITAL EARLY THE NEXT MORNING.
FELIX WAS ONLY 25 YEARS OLD.
HIS BODY WAS RETURNED TO NELSON, GEORGIA,
WHERE HIS PARENTS WERE SO DISTRAUGHT,
THEY LEFT THE AREA AND MOVED TO TEXAS.
JOHN BIERSACK, 36-YEAR-OLD SON
OF BAVARIAN IMMIGRANTS TO WISCONSIN,
DIED IN OCTOBER 1898
A FEW DAYS AFTER HE FELL FROM A DERRICK.
THESE ACCIDENTS STIRRED UP CONTROVERSY IN THE NEWSPAPERS
ABOUT SAFETY CONDITIONS AT THE CAPITOL SITE
AND EVEN GARNERED THE PUBLIC CONCERN
OF THE LABOR COMMISSIONER AND STATE ATTORNEY.
YET FOUR MORE MEN FELL TO THEIR DEATHS
IN THE FOLLOWING FIVE YEARS,
NOT TO MENTION NONFATAL INJURIES.
THE STATE COULD INSPECT SITES AND REQUEST ACCIDENT REPORTS
BUT HAD NO AUTHORITY TO ENFORCE SAFETY RULES OR FINE EMPLOYERS.
- I THINK THE LEVEL OF SAFETY WHEN THIS BUILDING WAS BUILT
WAS BASED ON EVERYBODY'S SENSE OF THEIR OWN JUDGMENT
AND THEIR OWN SENSE OF SAFETY, WHAT THEY WERE COMFORTABLE WITH.
YOU KNOW, THERE WAS NO OSHA.
THERE WERE--AGAIN, YOUR SAFETY WAS YOUR OWN RESPONSIBILITY.
AND IF YOU MADE A MISTAKE, YOU PAID DEARLY FOR IT.
narrator: THE LAST FATAL ACCIDENT HAPPENED IN 1903
WHEN 18-YEAR-OLD JOHN CORRIGAN FELL 32 FEET
NEAR THE SENATE CHAMBER.
THE YOUNG MAN, JUST A WEEK OR TWO ON THE JOB,
WAS PUSHING A HEAVILY LOADED WHEELBARROW
ACROSS THREE NARROW PLANKS
WHEN IT TIPPED OVER AND HE FELL WITH IT.
THE OUTRAGE OVER YOUNG CORRIGAN'S DEATH
MAY HAVE HAD AN EFFECT.
HE WAS THE LAST WORKER TO DIE BUILDING THE CAPITOL.
- THERE WERE NO HARD HATS
OR ANY KIND OF PROTECTION FOR THE HEAD.
THE SCAFFOLDING WAS BUILT ON SITE,
AND EVERYTHING WAS COBBLED TOGETHER
USING WHATEVER WAS AVAILABLE.
I MEAN, THE HANDRAILS AND THE GUARDRAILS
THAT ARE NOW PART OF ALL THESE PROJECTS
ARE THERE FOR A REASON.
I THINK EVERY SAFETY IMPLEMENT YOU SEE,
AS YOU LOOK ACROSS THE ROOFS AND AT THE SCAFFOLDING,
IS BECAUSE OF SOME UNFORTUNATE ACCIDENT IN THE PAST.
AND THERE ARE ORGANIZATIONS THAT MONITOR THAT.
narrator: NONE OF THE WORKERS WHO WERE KILLED
IN CAPITOL CONSTRUCTION ACCIDENTS
HAD CHILDREN.
THEIR NAMES WERE NOT COLLECTED IN ANY ONE PLACE,
AND THEY WERE NEVER PUBLICLY ACKNOWLEDGED,
NOT UNTIL WORKERS' MEMORIAL DAY CEREMONIES
ON THE CAPITOL GROUNDS IN 2011 AND 2012
FINALLY RECOGNIZED THE SACRIFICE THESE TRADESMEN MADE.
- TODAY WE ARE HERE TO RECOGNIZE ALSO
FIVE INDIVIDUALS THAT LOST THEIR LIFE
BUILDING THE PEOPLE'S HOUSE OVER 100 YEARS AGO.
narrator: THERE WAS LITTLE
FINANCIAL OR LEGAL RESPONSIBILITY
ON THE PART OF THE EMPLOYER OR THE GOVERNMENT
FOR THE CONSEQUENCES OF ACCIDENTS.
THE COSTS OF WORKPLACE INJURIES AND DEATHS
WERE LEFT MAINLY TO INDIVIDUAL WORKERS AND THEIR FAMILIES.
STONEMASON ERIC ISAACSON HAD A DISABLING ACCIDENT IN 1917.
- HE WENT TO WORK FOR BUTLER CONSTRUCTION
UNTIL HE FELL FROM SCAFFOLDING AND BROKE HIS BACK.
HIS DAUGHTER LILLIAN MUST HAVE BEEN ABOUT 15 OR SO,
AND SHE WENT TO JOHNSON HIGH SCHOOL.
SHE HAD TO LEAVE JOHNSON AND GO TO WORK,
BECAUSE HE COULDN'T WORK ANYMORE WITH A BROKEN BACK.
AND I KNOW BUTLER DIDN'T HAVE ANY INSURANCE FOR THEM,
SO THERE WASN'T ANY INSURANCE FOR BRICKLAYERS
IN THOSE DAYS, UNFORTUNATELY.
narrator: TO EASE THE IMPACT OF ILLNESS, ACCIDENT, OR DEATH,
MANY WORKERS JOINED TOGETHER IN UNIONS,
FRATERNAL ORGANIZATIONS, AND ETHNIC MUTUAL BENEFIT SOCIETIES.
MEMBERS POOLED THEIR MONEY
AND HELPED ONE ANOTHER WHEN MISFORTUNE STRUCK.
MARVIN'S GRANDFATHER APPLIED HIS EXPERIENCE IN HIS TRADE
AND IN HIS UNION
WHEN HE LEFT ST. PAUL TO RETURN TO CHICAGO.
- HE KNEW WHAT HE WANTED TO DO, AND HE DID IT.
AND HE WAS AN EXTREMELY STRONG MAN.
HE WORKED RIGHT INTO HIS 60s IN CHICAGO,
WHERE HE HAD FORMED
THE BLACK BRICKLAYERS' ASSOCIATION IN CHICAGO.
narrator: MARVIN'S NIECE JENNIFER BECAME INTRIGUED
ABOUT HER GREAT-GRANDFATHER ERNEST
AND DUG INTO HIS STORY FOR AN ARTICLE SHE WROTE.
- THIS MAN WAS AN ENIGMA TO ME,
AND SO THE MORE I FOUND OUT ABOUT HIM,
THE MORE I WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT HIM.
HERE'S A PICTURE OF MY GREAT-GRANDFATHER,
AND HE'S GOT A HEADDRESS ON.
HE'S HALF CHEROKEE, I BELIEVE, AND HALF AFRICAN AMERICAN.
THIS IS MY ANCESTOR, AND I'M SO PROUD OF HIM.
I MEAN, IT'S JUST-- IT GIVES ME STRENGTH.
narrator: THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE BUILDERS
TO CREATING SUCH AN ICONIC MINNESOTA LANDMARK
HAVE CONTINUED TO REVERBERATE
THROUGH GENERATIONS OF THEIR FAMILIES
IN VERY PERSONAL WAYS.
- I HAVE ALWAYS FELT THIS VERY SPECIAL CONNECTION
TO MY GREAT-GRANDFATHER.
- YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW THAT SOMEWHERE,
IN AMONGST ALL THE WOODWORKING THAT WAS DONE AT THE CAPITOL,
HE WAS THERE.
HE WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR SOME OF IT.
SO WE HAVE THIS CONNECTION
NOT ONLY WITH HIM AND THE WORK THAT HE DID
BUT WITH THE CAPITOL.
IT'S A GIFT.
narrator: MARVIN ANDERSON BECAME AN ATTORNEY
AND THE MINNESOTA STATE LAW LIBRARIAN.
- WE HAD AN OFFICE IN THE STATE CAPITOL,
SO I'M WALKING THROUGH THIS BUILDING EVERY DAY.
I'M WONDERING IF I'M HEARING
THE ECHOES OF MY GRANDFATHER OR NOT.
HE WORKED ON THIS BUILDING.
MY MOTHER WAS VERY, VERY PROUD OF IT, YOU KNOW.
"PAPA DID THIS. PAPA DID THAT," YOU KNOW.
"YOU'RE WORKING WHERE PAPA..."
"PAPA HELPED BUILD THAT BUILDING."
I MEAN, OF COURSE, ACCORDING TO MY MOTHER AND AUNT MARY,
HE WAS PROBABLY THE ONLY MASON ON THE WHOLE BUILDING.
[laughs]
NOBODY--NO ONE ELSE HAD ANYTHING TO DO WITH IT EXCEPT PAPA.
narrator: THE CAPITOL BUILDING
HAS BEEN AT THE CENTER OF PUBLIC LIFE
FOR THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE SINCE THE CORNERSTONE WAS LAID.
THIS IS THE PLACE WHERE MINNESOTANS COME TOGETHER
TO EXPRESS THEIR OPINIONS AND THEIR REMEMBRANCE.
- THE VERY INTENTION FOR THE BUILDING TO BE PUT UP
WAS TO BE A PLACE--THE HOUSE FOR THE PEOPLE
AND FOR CELEBRATING OUR CIVIC ABILITY
AND OUR SOCIETY
AND OUR CIVILIZED ABILITY TO COME TOGETHER
TO CREATE A PLACE FOR EVERYONE TO COME TOGETHER AND MEET.
narrator: GLEN JOHNSON
SUPERVISED THE LIFTING OF THE QUADRIGA,
THE GOLDEN HORSE STATUE,
WHEN RESTORATION WORK WAS NECESSARY TO PRESERVE IT.
- I REMEMBER WHEN I WAS A LITTLE KID,
I CAME UP HERE FOR-- WHEN WE WERE IN GRADE SCHOOL
AND GOT TO TOUCH THESE THINGS.
AND TO GET A CHANCE TO COME UP HERE AND WORK ON THEM,
THAT WAS FABULOUS.
I THINK WE JUST KIND OF TAKE IT FOR GRANTED,
THE CRAFTSMANSHIP THAT WAS PUT INTO THESE BUILDINGS,
AND I DON'T THINK WE COULD AFFORD
TO BUILD THIS TODAY, NOT LIKE THIS.
SO THE CRAFTSMANSHIP IN HERE, IT'S JUST--IT'S UNBELIEVABLE.
AND YOU CAN THINK OF THE HOURS AND THE YEARS IT TOOK
TO PUT THIS THING ALL TOGETHER IS JUST--
IT'S JUST UNBELIEVABLE THAT IT'S STILL HERE
AND IT'S THIS GOOD OF SHAPE STILL, AFTER 100 YEARS.
THINGS WEAR OUT, AND THEY BREAK DOWN,
AND THE WEATHER IN THIS COUNTRY'S HARSH,
AND YOU GOT TO TAKE CARE OF WHAT YOU OWN.
AND THIS IS THE PEOPLE'S.
IT BELONGS TO THE PEOPLE.
narrator: THE MINNESOTA STATEHOUSE IS ADMIRED
THROUGHOUT THE STATE AND ACROSS THE NATION.
THE BEAUTY AND SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS MINNESOTA JEWEL
IS ALL THE MORE PROFOUND
WHEN WE REDISCOVER AND REMEMBER
THE MEN AND WOMEN WHO BUILT OUR CAPITOL.
[classical piano flourish]