Joe Hill SLC

Joe Hill Historical Marker

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More than 100 years after his death, a historical marker is unveiled in Sugar House Park in Salt Lake City, Utah. The park is the former site of the Utah State Prison, and the marker is near the old execution yard, where Joe Hill was shot in 1915.

“We would be honored to have you in attendance to witness this historic moment in Salt Lake City, as we celebrate the life and legacy of Joe Hill, whose tireless efforts in pursuit of justice and equality have left an indelible mark on history. This historic marker will stand as a symbol of his enduring spirit and will serve as a reminder of the power of collective action.”

Members of the Hägglund family in Sweden sent the following message to be read at the ceremony.

We are really happy about the Joe Hill marker at last being placed in Sugar House Park in Salt Lake City. There are many markers in Gävle, his birth city in Sweden, including the house where he grew up with his five surviving siblings and parents. This house is now part museum, part office for union work and a place for outdoor concerts in the summertime. So we feel that the SLC marker closes the circle of his life.

Looking around us in today’s world, with wars and divisiveness almost everywhere, we see the need to look at all 7 billion people as brothers and sisters. Or world citizens as Joe put it. We have only one world and are all responsible to make it a good place to live for everybody.

And we still have companies that don’t want their employees starting or becoming members in unions. Right now here in Sweden we have Tesla working against employees joining a union to ensure good working conditions. This has resulted in blockades and other unions striking. And one of the biggest financial companies just signed on to let their employees organize after months of stalling.

So, the ideas and ideals Joe Hill stood for are still needed for a change for the better all around the world. As descendants of Joe’s family, we thank you for preserving his legacy through your work for many decades. And now this marker.

The Hägglunds, thru Rolf Hägglund and Pia Hägglund Samuelsson

Goodbye to Archie Archuleta

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Our great friend and colleague, Robert “Archie” Archuleta, died on Friday, January 25 at age 88.

Archie was a member of the Joe Hill Organizing Committee as we planned celebrations of Joe Hill for the 75th anniversary of Joe Hill’s death in 1990 and for the 100th anniversary in 2015.

Joe Hill House: school for young radicals

Archie was one of the young people who spent time in the 1960s with Ammon Hennacy, whose Joe Hill House of Hospitality in Salt Lake City served a population of homeless men so often ignored. The Joe Hill House also became a school for young radicals. Many young people—Archie Archuleta, Utah Phillips, and Gibbs Smith among them—found a fierce, firm radicalism in the ideas and actions of Ammon Hennacy.

Ammon Hennacy found Joe Hill an inspiration. Many people found Ammon Hennacy an inspiration, and many of them found their own way to spread social justice in the world. Archie Archuleta was one of those people. One of the ways Archie learned as a young man to be the quiet, sure activist he was had roots in the Joe Hill House.

Archie influenced so many

Over the past few days, we have seen an outpouring of personal experiences from people whom Archie nudged to take action in the world for social justice. He was an educator who loved working with young people. He was President of Utah Coalition for La Raza and served on many boards and commissions. Outside of institutional work, Archie gave generously of his time to those ready to make change in the world, especially young people. Many of the young people Archie has influenced already pass on that dedication to activism and action in their own work.

Archie Archuleta was an influential hub in social justice work in Salt Lake City. He joined the flow that came before him and will continue after him. He made it better. By observing the ways Archie embodied radicalism in the world, we all learned to be more fierce and more kind.

Gibbs M. Smith

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Gibbs M. Smith

Gibbs Smith,
1940- 2017

Utah’s historical, artistic, literary and publishing communities lost an important voice with the passing of Gibbs Smith on October 29, 2017. For us in the Joe Hill Committee, he was a mainstay over the past 28 years as we sought to mark the impact Hill had on this state.

As the author of one of the most important studies of the case, Gibbs was sought out frequently for his knowledge as well as for his advice and counsel. He was possessed with a lively amount of intellectual curiosity–a quality in short supply these days. Gibbs always asked good questions, expanded the boundary of knowledge, and tried to see history and art in new ways.

He will be deeply missed by all who knew him.

~John Sillito

Ellen Fagg Weist, “Creative publisher Gibbs Smith reinvented Western stories from his Utah barn. 1940-2017 • Influential publisher, writer and artist dies at 77.” Salt Lake Tribune, October 30, 2017.