By Tanda Gmiter | tgmiter@mlive.com

More than a century after the Italian Hall Disaster on Christmas Eve 1913, the deaths of 73 people at a party for striking mine workers remain a scar on the tiny town of Calumet.

But looking back at the tragedy's aftermath - and looking ahead to a new monument arriving in 2018 to honor the victims - it's clear that this Upper Peninsula community has a history of coming together to take care of its own.

When someone falsely yelled "Fire!" inside the Italian Hall during a holiday party, hundreds of people in the panicked crowd tried to get down a steep stairwell from the second floor to the ground floor. There was a bottleneck of bodies. Of the 73 trampled or suffocated, 59 were children.

The town was torn apart by grief. And the striking union workers took up the victims' cause as their own.

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Gravesite for victims of the Italian Hall disaster. The photo shows people gathering at a mass grave containing many coffins. Photo courtesy of Michigan Tech Archives.

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But even in its despair, this largely immigrant community pulled together. That's clear in the collection of photos shared by the Michigan Technological University Archives.

The images show the aftermath of the disaster, the group funeral services inside Calumet's churches, and the massive funeral procession that drew thousands, stretching from town to a cemetery two miles away.

After the Italian Hall was razed in 1984, the village came together again and created a park on the site.

There have been improvements over the years. The hall's sandstone and brick arch was resurrected. Landscaping and benches have turned it into a contemplative spot.

A Michigan Tech professor, Tim Scarlett, has led students on mapping and excavation work on the Italian Hall site and neighboring lots to help plan the improvements. The National Park Service, which owns the two flanking lots, also has partnered in the work.

By summer, a new 10-foot granite monument bearing the victims' names and ages will be installed in the park. It's been propelled by community volunteers and donations.

Sometimes it takes more than a village to remember who we've lost.

And sometimes a love letter from the present to the past can be carved in stone.

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The Italian Hall after the disaster, with its flag atop flying at half-staff. Photo courtesy of Michigan Tech Archives.

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Interior view of the Italian Hall shows its tin ceiling, columns and theater seating, taken from the balcony area. Photo courtesy of the Michigan Tech Archives.



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Some of the Italian Hall victims' caskets in one of the Calumet churches during the burial ceremony. Photo courtesy of Michigan Tech Archives.



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This photo shows the main entrance to the Italian Hall, the doorway and stairs were the victims died. Photo courtesy of Michigan Tech Archives.

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How the Italian Hall's kitchen looked the morning after the disaster. Photo courtesy of Michigan Tech Archives



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Mourners gather at the cemetery. Photo courtesy of Michigan Tech Archives.

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Horse-drawn funeral carriages line up outside a church. Photo courtesy of Michigan Tech Archives.



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Funeral services at the Finnish Church on Pine Street in Calumet. The double image shows a crowded church with several white caskets lined up in a row. Photo courtesy of Michigan Tech Archives.



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This stereoview image shows an express shipment of caskets to Calumet, and people standing around the wooden boxes, which are standing on end. Photo courtesy of Michigan Tech Archives.

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Funeral procession for some of the Italian Hall Disaster victims. Image shown in stereoview. Photo courtesy of the Michigan Tech Archives.

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Some of the victims of the Italian Hall Disaster are buried in a trench-style grave. Photo courtesy of the Michigan Tech Archives.

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Caskets of three children from one family are carried on an automobile bearing the name of Chalmers Service, while several people follow the vehicle. Photo courtesy of Michigan Tech Archives.

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Dozens of coffins carried through the streets of Calumet on Dec. 28, 1913, by strikers who walk two miles to the cemetery. Photo courtesy of the Michigan Tech Archives.



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The funeral parade of caskets of Italian Hall Disaster victims, carried by strikers through the snow-covered streets. Photo courtesy of Michigan Tech Archives.

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People gather on both sides of the street for the funeral procession. One man holds a tuba. Photo courtesy of Michigan Tech Archives.



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Funeral orations given by strike agitators at the graves of dead from the Italian Hall Disaster. Photo courtesy of Michigan Tech Archives.

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Some people climb trees to get a better view of the funeral orations being given by strike leaders in front of a huge crowd in Lake View Cemetery. Photo courtesy of Michigan Tech Archives.



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People stand on a hill in front of a row of houses, watching the funeral procession for victims of the Italian Hall Disaster. Photo courtesy of Michigan Tech Archives.

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The town hall, which was used as a makeshift morgue after the Italian Hall Disaster. Once known as the Red Jacket Town Hall, the area's name was formally changed to Calumet in the 1920s. Photo courtesy of Michigan Tech Archives.

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The Finnish Lutheran church on Pine Street, where 28 funerals of Italian Hall Disaster victims were held. Horse-drawn hearses can be seen in front of the church as a crowd of mourners gather outside in the snow. Photo courtesy of Michigan Tech Archives.



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Funeral service for some of the victims. Several flower-draped caskets are pictured. Photo courtesy of Michigan Tech Archives.



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The trenches at the Lake View Cemetery where the victims were buried. A row of wooden coffins await burial. Photo courtesy of Michigan Tech Archives.



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Wedding photo of Betty and Abram Niemela, who lost their lives in the Italian Hall Disaster, Dec. 24, 1913. Their child, called "Little Reino," survived. Photo courtesy of Michigan Tech Archives.

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Reino O. Niemela, identified as a 4-month-old orphan after the baby's parents died in the Italian Hall Disaster. Photo courtesy of Michigan Tech Archives.

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The Italian Hall in Calumet. Photo courtesy of Michigan Tech Archives.

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The original Italian Hall's brick and sandstone arch has a prominent position in the village park dedicated to those who lost their lives in the tragedy.

Photo courtesy of Jim Harger

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Volunteer archaeologists excavate at the Italian Hall Memorial site before landscaping improvements in 2012. The field team identified the depth of the historically significant soil layers and buried features to help the crew avoid damaging the history during improvements.

Image courtesy of the Italian Hall Archaeology Survey, Michigan Technological University

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Keweenaw Bay Indian Community Tribal Historic Preservation Office Archaeologist Christopher Chosa runs the Tribes Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) sled over the parking lot before it's removal in 2012. The KBIC donated their time and equipment in collaboration with Michigan Technological University Geophysicist Chuck Young.

Image courtesy of the Italian Hall Archaeology Survey, Michigan Technological University

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Detail of a measured sketch map of the site made in 2012. This plan was later used to overlay the work with remote sensing data, including both Ground Penetrating Radar and Magnetometer studies. Map by Timothy James Scarlett, Industrial Heritage and Archaeology, Department of Social Sciences, Michigan Technological University.

Image courtesy of the Italian Hall Archaeology Survey, Michigan Technological University

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Volunteer archaeologists Nicholas Sobczak and Alexander Atkinson prepare to backfill a Shovel Test Pit during the 2012 excavations. Photo by Timothy Scarlett.

Image courtesy of the Italian Hall Archaeology Survey, Michigan Technological University

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During 2017, volunteer archaeologists returned to the site to aid the installation of the new monument. Excavations revealed that Italian Hall's foundations remain intact just underneath the modern ground surface. Subsequent work was designed to have minimal impact on the building's remains. Photo by Brendan Doucet, Michigan Technological University.

Image courtesy of the Italian Hall Archaeology Survey, Michigan Technological University

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A wayfinding plaque at the Italian Hall memorial park.

Photo courtesy of Jim Harger

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A plaque on the Italian Hall arch, in the memorial park.

Photo courtesy of Lindsay Hiltunen

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A plaque on the Italian Hall arch, in Calumet's memorial park.

Photo courtesy of Lindsay Hiltunen

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Laying flowers at the Italian Hall arch during the Workers Memorial Day celebration on April 28, 2017.

Photo courtesy of Thomas Hiltunen

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Each Christmas Eve on the anniversary of the disaster, the Calumet Rotary Club lights a luminary for each person who died in the Italian Hall.

Photo courtesy of the National Park Service and Ryan Holt

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