Newspapers called her the Joan of Arc of Calumet. Anna “Big Annie” Clemenc was neither a miner nor an executive, but her activism made her synonymous with the workers’ cause during the 1913-1914 Copper Country strike and forever tied her to the Italian Hall Disaster. Discover Clemenc’s story and how women became the heart of a conflict that shook the Keweenaw to its core.

This keynote is sponsored by The Meijer Foundation.

Small-town theaters played a critical role in World War I. As social spaces, theaters were also part of a national infrastructure that disseminated government propaganda. Copper Country theater owners turned over their spaces—raising war relief funds and selling Liberty Bonds; hosting officials to give patriotic speeches; screening war-related newsreels, documentaries, popular films; and more. Their contributions were instrumental in changing perceptions about the value of film and moviegoing.

This keynote is sponsored by The Library of Michigan.

From its founding in 1896 as Suomi College to its closure in 2023, Finlandia University was an important institution in Hancock and a vital pillar of the Finnish-American communities in the Copper Country and across North America. Following the presentation of the U.P. History Awards, archivist Joanna Chopp will explore the history of the school, as well as how its legacy lives on at the Finnish American Heritage Center.