Michigan 
Old & New Cornish Christmas Carols
Cornish Carols - A Tradition For The World
Michigan
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Nadelek Lowan
The
following is taken from: - "Between the iron and the pine; a biography of a
pioneer family and a pioneer town." By Reimann, Lewis Charles.
"During
the time that the big pine was being cut and lumbered off in the Iron River
district, the iron ore lying under the entire region was discovered and
exploited. Outside capital was brought in to develop mines and smelt or ship the
ore. By 1900 the hills around were dotted by mine shafts, great stockpiles of
red ore and even greater piles of ore rock which overlay the mineral. The
shipping was done by ore trains, which hauled long strings of cars from the
mines to Escanaba's giant ore docks. Here Great Lakes steamers loaded their red
stuff and carried it to the steel mills which dotted the shores of this inland
lake empire.
Most
of the underground miners were recruited from among recent immigrants from
Europe and the British Isles. "Cousin Jacks" from the copper mines of
Cornwall, England, first came to the copper mines around Calumet and Houghton,
then drifted to the iron mines as the copper mines became depleted or were
closed by the low price of their ore. "Cousin Jacks" disdained any
other work but mining. "Once a miner, always a miner" was their
gospel. Italians, Austrians, Hungarians, Poles and Finns were the backbone of
the labor supply. Since "Cousin Jacks" were natural miners, sober,
industrious and dependable and able to converse in English, they held most of
the official positions underground. They were captains, shift bosses, mechanics,
"dry" superintendents, pumpmen, and "power monkeys."
Religious, music lovers and nationality-conscious, they were a loyal, closed
group. The "Cousin Jack" boss favored men of his own nationality and
gave them preference when jobs were scarce.
"H'African Bill" was a Cousin Jack miner at the Dober mine. He kicked his H's far and wide and ate his pastle in his dinner bucket three times a week. No one ever told a taller story or had roamed a farther field than he.
Work in the underground wasn't Bill's long suit, for he had been in the British army too long, but he could sing a lusty baritone in the small Cousin Jack church choir at Christmas time. He wasn't satisfied with the vim and vigor the boys put into their choir practice.
"Why,
h'over in Cornwall a man would sleep with 'is feet' anging out of the window on
cold nights for three weeks, so 'e could sing bass of Christmas Day," was
Bill's choice remark."
Today the tradition of singing carols to the tunes of Thomas Merrit continues as Jan Neaman from Ishpeming explained in a recent posting on the CornishL list on the internet.
"Last
Sunday the Wesley Methodist of Ishpeming had their Sunday Cantata and featured
two anthems by Merritt. Lo an Infant Stranger and Angelic Hosts.
These have been tradition since I can remember and I did not realize their
uniqueness or tradition at this time of the year until I started on this list. I
have a new found appreciation for the anthems, as well as our church in
continuing the tradition all these years. The choir is one of the best I have
heard through the years and of course
carry the tradition well.
Our area also supports several exceptionally talented and dedicated choral
groups who perform not only during the holidays but also during the year with
wide community support."
Jan Neuman
Ishpeming, Mi
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Federation of Old Cornwall Societies
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