‘Sometimes Strikes are Sort of Like Some Wars’: Letters to Jack Munro During the 1986 Strike

Henry here- I’m back in the Archive, woo! It’s been a while since I contributed anything to the I.W.A. Archive blog. However, upon returning, I found these freshly archived letters so interesting that I had to write about them. This blog post builds on John Mountain’s December 2019 “Digging into History”, which provided background on

“Records Belonging to Edna Brown, Leading Figure in the Women’s Labour Movement, (Re)Discovered at the Kaatza Station Museum and Archives”, by Henry John

Two weeks ago, under the direction of the all-knowing Al Lundgren, I stumbled across some historical gold. Rooting through the back-room storage space of the Kaatza Station Museum and Archives, we rediscovered a box that had been left gathering dust untouched for years. This box contains the records of legendary women’s labour organizer Edna Brown.

“Rail Logging Comes to an End at Caycuse and Nitinat”, by John Mountain, Digging into History, 2.10 (October, 2020)

I’m currently nosing around in IWA Past-President Bill Routley’s files which have recently acquired by the Kaatza Museum. The museum has decided to make Bill Routley’s files part of the massive IWA archive collection. And while digging around I discovered a piece about Caycuse and its halcyon days of the 1950s – I think the

Woodworkers in Rain City: The Records of I.W.A. Local Union 1-217, by Henry John

The records of the I.W.A. Local Union 1-217 (Vancouver) have now been arranged and intellectual control has been asserted over them through the creation of a Finding Aid. Although the Kaatza Station Museum and Archives do not currently have provisions in place to host researchers, if you would like to view the Finding Aid and

“Arrival: My Introduction to the IWA Collection” by Henry John, February 2020

This is my first post of what we hope will become a collaborative public history blog, issued every month by myself, Henry John, and my partner in dusty archival happenings, former IWA Job Evaluator & Technical Advisor John Mountain. We are both currently wrestling with the sorting, arranging, and eventually describing of a vast 150-plus

“Digging into History: Tony Poje and Duncan’s IWA Local Union 1-80” by John Mountain, Vol. 1 No. 4 (April, 2019)

These first few blog posts are backdated issues of John Mountain’s historical newsletter “Digging into History”. As of March 2020, John had been working on sorting the collection for over a year and a half, publishing a newsletter every month detailing his findings. Tony Poje IWA Local 1-80 President 1953–1956 – Another box, another surprise.

“Digging into History” by John Mountain, Vol. 1 No. 1 (January, 2019)

These first few blog posts are backdated issues of John Mountain’s historical newsletter “Digging into History”. As of March 2020, John had been working on sorting the collection for over a year and a half, publishing a newsletter every month detailing his findings. Every magazine article or piece of writing created for public consumption normally

Introducing the IWA Collection

This blog is a collaborative effort, produced by Henry John and John Mountain as together they arrange the massive collection of International Woodworkers of America collection housed at the Kaatza Station Museum and Archives. Using this blog we will publicize updates on our progress, and will also write historical posts on important topics referenced in