This illustrated book isn't about the blessed. It's about the not-so-blessed men and women
who struggled and died fighting for fairness, dignity, and their human and
Constitutional rights. People, —our ancestors in many cases— who did their best with minimal resources, paltry wages, no benefits, and rare if any assistance or security from authority while dealing with the everyday problems of sick children, finding fuel and food, and paying the rent. Their blood, sweat, and pain contributed as much to the nation we live in today as the blessings of the more fortunate. In this book, fictional main characters carry the story of real people in historical situations.
The main characters in these stories are fictional, while many of the people they meet were real historical figures. The hard circumstances the fictional characters experience and their actions are taken from period news reports of the time, personal stories and investigative research such as the groundbreaking 1907 Pittsburgh Survey.
The first story, Cooper's Walk (2006), is based on the many adventures of fictional Jack Cooper, an
immigrant rogue with an essential skill before pipelines and metal vessels took over.
The two page spread on Homestead summarizes a day of battle that changed America.
The third tale was summarized first by a Roman Catholic priest who witnessed the tragic and bloody uprising in 1909 McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania. It was front page and international news for months but faded
into history.
"Men are persecuted, robbed and slaughtered and their wives abused in a manner worse than death..."