The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) union has announced it will host a dedication ceremony for its bronze memorial plaque for the 10 IWW victims of the Centralia Tragedy of 1919.
The plaque will be installed at George Washington Park in downtown Centralia.
IWW member Mike Garrison made the announcement during the Centralia City Council meeting on Oct. 24. The council approved Garrison’s application for the plaque last October.
“At the IWW convention held in Seattle this year, the members voted to ask Governor (Jay) Inslee for a posthumous pardon for the eight convicted union men,” Garrison said.
Garrison invited councilors and Centralia community members to the plaque’s dedication ceremony scheduled for Nov. 11 starting at 1 p.m. in George Washington Park, located at 110 S. Silver St.
He added the ceremony isn’t the only event the IWW is hosting that day. All events are free and open to the public.
Following the dedication, a guided carpool tour will start at 2 p.m. and visit the IWW union hall site and the Greenwood and Mountain View cemeteries to see the graves of Westley Everest, one of the IWW union victims who was lynched, and other IWW members’ graves.
At 3:30 p.m. at the Centralia Railroad Depot, located at 210 Railroad Ave. in downtown Centralia, David Tucker, who authored “The IWW Today,” and Tom Copeland, who authored “The FBI and the Centralia Tragedy,” will host discussions and socialize. IWW union displays and literature tables will also be available.
The final event of the day will be the Centralia Tragedy Memorial Concert at the Centralia Railroad Depot, starting at 7 p.m. and featuring performances by Linda Allen, Jess Grant, Aaron Jesch and Mark Ross.
In a follow-up news release from Garrison and the IWW, the debate on what to call the events of that day in 1919 was briefly touched on, as some, including The Chronicle, have called the day the Centralia Massacre in the past.
“Massacre brings to mind a cruel and complete murdering of innocents, like My Lai or Wounded Knee,” the release stated. “Tragedy, when used to describe the Centralia 1919 events, encompasses the entire story with room for inclusion of the deaths of the Legionnaires, the lynching of Wesley Everest, the killing by ‘friendly fire’ of John Haney, the unjust imprisonment of the IWW members and the disbarment of Elmer Smith.”
The Centralia Tragedy occurred on Nov. 11, 1919, when American Legion members marching in an Armistice Day parade ended up in a clash and subsequent gunfight with IWW members. Four Legionnaires were killed as the shootout ensued and Legionnaires attempted to storm the IWW union hall.
Tensions had been building up for several years over political and ideological differences between the groups leading up to that fateful day.
Of the 10 IWW union victims, Everest never saw a trial as he was lynched the night following the battle. The other eight IWW union members who did see trial all received prison sentences between 10 and 19 years. Their lawyer, Smith, was disbarred for his work.
Those other eight union members include Eugene Barnett, Ray Becker, Bert Bland, Ora Commodore “O.C.” Bland, John Lamb, James McInerney, Loren Roberts and Britt Smith. All 10 men will have their names memorialized on the bronze plaque being dedicated in George Washington Park.
The IWW plaque will be displayed near The Sentinel, the statue erected in the park in 1924 to commemorate the four American Legion victims of the Centralia Tragedy.
For more information on the Centralia Tragedy of 1919, visit https://bit.ly/3s6t1RR.
