Remembering the Italian Hall Tragedy

For those who celebrate the Christmas holiday, Christmas Eve is generally considered to be an evening marked by peace and happiness. It is a night where the outside world slows down for a bit while friends and family come together and reflect on their blessings and in many cases, their Christian faith.

The western Upper Peninsula community experienced an unfathomable tragedy on Christmas Eve 110 years ago when 73 people, including 59 children attending a Christmas party lost their lives when they rushed to escape what they mistakenly believed to be a fire at the Italian Hall in Calumet.

It was reported that someone shouted out a call of “fire” when a panic ensued, and the party attendees rushed to escape the building and a stampede ensued.

Controversy remains to this day about who may have called out the fatal and erroneous warning that led to the unnecessary and horrific loss of lives that evening in 1913. 

Those who attended the party were miners and their family members. At the time there was a heated division between mining employees and management due to a district-wide strike. There has been speculation that this may have been a factor in the false claim of a fire in the building. 

What is known for sure about the Italian Hall Tragedy, is that the community was forever altered and will never forget those they lost. 

Each Christmas Eve for the past 110 years, the deceased are honored and remembered at a luminary vigil held at the site of the old Italian Hall. 

The public is invited to attend the ceremony this year which will take place at dusk on Sunday. 

A list of names of those who died in the Italian Hall Tragedy can be found here: https://www.findagrave.com/virtual-cemetery/400818?page=1#sr-115513794