Teacher’s Supplement for the May 2005 Issue of

The Mitten—Iron

Prepared by the Education Staff of the Michigan Historical Museum

www. Michiganhistory.org

Mastery Questions

Social Studies Content Standards: 1.2 Historical Perspective (Comprehending the Past); 1.3 Historical Perspective (Analyzing and Interpreting the Past); 6.2 Public Discourse and Decision Making (Group Discussion).

  1. Michigan produced more iron ore than any other state in the 1890s. Name three ranges were mining took place in Michigan. (Marquette, Menominee and Gogebic)
  2. Shipping iron ore from the Upper Peninsula was very difficult before a series of locks were built at Sault Ste Marie. What are these locks called and when were they built. (The Soo Locks were built in 1855.)
  3. Miners came from several European countries to work in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula iron ranges. Name at least four countries from which these miners came. (Cornwall, Ireland, Sweden, Finland)
  4. After World War II (1941-1945), much of Michigan’s high-grade iron ore had been mined. What process was invented to put off a future shortage of iron ore? (The process of making iron pellets)
  5. What are iron pellets made of? (Taconite a low-grade iron ore mixed with waste rock called silica and water.)
  6. Mining iron ore underground is dangerous work! On November 3, 1926, one of the worst mining disasters in Michigan occurred. Name the town and mine were the disaster occurred. (The Barnes-Hecker Mine in Ishpeming) To read more about this disaster, check out No Tears in Heaven, by Tom Friggens of the Michigan Historical Museum staff.

Try This in the Class Room

Social Studies Content Standards: 1.3 Historical Perspective (Analyzing and Interpreting the Past). 6.2 Public Discourse and Decision Making (Group Discussion). Arts Education Content Standard: 2 Creating (Visual Arts).

Take a low- sided box and fill it with several objects, be sure you include some made of metal, some of plastic, some of glass, some of wood! Now cover the objects with play sand! Find several magnets and have your students pass the magnets over the objects and see what they can find. Uncover the metal objects and ask your students if they know how the magnet was able to find these objects. Then ask them to use their imaginations to picture the moment at which William Austin Burt first discovered iron ore.

Always in the Dark

Social Studies Content Standards: 1.3 Historical Perspective (Analyzing and Interpreting the Past); Arts Education Content Standard: 2 Creating (Visual Arts).

Materials you will need:

  • A small flash light or head lamp. (Purchase as many as you can or have the students bring them in or check with your school band director they often use such lights in their half time shows)
  • A piece of heavy poster board about 6 inches in width and long enough to wrap around each child’s head. Any color is fine. You will only need this if you head lamp does not have a headband.

Directions:

Cut the poster board a length that will fit around each child’s head. Attach ends with a stapler or strong tape. Find the direct front center and attach your small flash light or head lamp, this maybe done with strong tape, the clip on the lamp or by cutting a small hole and inserting the lamp through the hole. You have now made a miners headlamp. Try making one for each child in the class or try making at least six!

Activity:

Now that you have made your miner headlamps here are some activities you may try in your classroom. Have your students look at the example of the 19th century mining helmet in this issue of the Mitten. Ask your students how it might have felt to wear such a helmet underground and work by only the light of a candle. Now darken your classroom as much as you are able. Ask your students to turn on their newly made mining lamps. Ask them to describe what they can see. Ask them to read something at their desks or on the blackboard or try eating a snack. Now ask them to image what it would have been like to work in a dark mine all day, coming out of the ground at night and going into the mine before the sun was up. Explain to your students that miners worked six days a week in these conditions, only seeing the light of day on Sunday! Ask them if they would like to work in the mines in these conditions and explain to them that before 1900 many children at the age of nine worked in mines.

Lunch Underground

Social Studies Content Standards: 1.3 Historical Perspective (Analyzing and Interpreting the Past); 1.4 Historical Perspective (Judging Decisions from the Past);

Before the turn of the 20th century, hundreds of miners came to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula to work in iron mines. Many came from Great Britain and Northern Europe; they brought with them a food tradition known as the “Pasty.” The pasty is a folded pocket of piecrust stuffed with beef and vegetables. Pasties made for a hearty portable lunch that the miners could take deep into the mine. They were eaten cold or warmed on the back of a shovel using the miners candle or lamp. The miners eat their meals in the mine. If you or your students would like to try such a food treat, many grocery stores carry pasties in their frozen food sections, some manufactures in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula still make pasties and will ship them frozen to any location in the United States or if you wish to try to make them yourself here is a recipe you may try at home or in your school’s kitchen.

You will need a basic pie crust recipe, which you will find in any household cookbook or you may use a pre made crust, BUT not one that is preformed to a pie pan this will not work. Once you have your crust prepared. Roll it into a circle and let it stand. Now cut up half of a peeled raw potato into small cubes, half of a peeled raw carrot into slices, and or a half of a peeled raw rutabaga into small cubes. Some Upper Peninsula Michiganians like rutabaga in their pasties some don’t. There is a great debate on this subject! Next season fresh ground beef, chicken or turkey will also work and then mix all the vegetables and meat together in a small bowl. This will make enough for one large pasty or two small ones.

Now you are ready to form your pasty! On one half of your piecrust circle place a portion of your filling mixture. Leave enough room so the filling does not over flow the edges or take up more than half of your piecrust. Next fold the portion of the crust without filling over the top of the filling and seal the edges of the crust using the back of a fork. Prick several holes in the top of the crust to allow steam to escape during the cooking process. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet and put into a 400-degree oven for about 20 minutes until golden brown.

Enjoy a truly Michigan tradition and try eating your pasty with only the light from a miner’s lamp! What fun!!