Lake Superior Podcast
We are made stronger by story and there’s no better source than the continent's largest body of freshwater, Lake Superior. Join hosts Walt Lindala and Frida Waara as they highlight the five National Parks that ring this Greatest of the Great Lakes - meeting the people, touring the places and learning about the projects that make these parks and body of water so remarkable.
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Brought to you by The National Parks of Lake Superior Foundation (www.nplsf.org).
Theme song: King Whirl by David Huckfelt (www.davidhuckfelt.com).
Photo Credit: David Guttenfelder.
Podcast sponsored by Café Imports, a Minneapolis-based importers of fine, specialty green coffees.
Lake Superior Podcast
S8 E1: Carrying Big Annie Clemenc’s Story Forward: From the 1913 Copper Strike to Calumet’s New Statue — with Vada Riederich
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More than a century after the 1913–14 Copper Country Strike, one of its most prominent leaders now has a permanent place in downtown Calumet, Michigan. Anna Klobuchar Clemenc, better known as “Big Annie,” was born in Calumet to Slovenian immigrant parents and became a leader in the strike, founding and serving as president of the Women’s Auxiliary No. 15 of the Western Federation of Miners.
In this episode of the Lake Superior Podcast, Walt Lindala and Frida Waara talk with Team Big Annie chairperson Vada Riederich about the years-long community effort to raise $150,000 to create a bronze statue honoring her legacy and the August 2026 unveiling. Vada about how a Facebook post grew into a years-long campaign, the people who helped make the monument possible, and what Big Annie’s legacy can teach new generations about labor history in Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula.
Notable Quotes:
- “She was driven and she would not give up on what should be fair and right.”
- “At that time when women had no voice and no vote, that's quite an undertaking for a young woman of 25 years old.”
- “I hope that young people will be inspired to learn more about our amazing history and be proud to share it.”
- “We're still a young nation and we're still growing and learning from our mistakes…history gives you that information so we can figure a path to correct those mistakes”
- “So she spoke up at that time, and it led to good things in the future.”
Helpful links:
Big Annie Statue Project
https://www.biganniestatue.com/
Keweenaw National Historical Park
Coppertown Mining Museum
https://www.nps.gov/places/coppertown-mining-museum.htm
Keweenaw Community Foundation – Big Annie Statue Fund
https://www.keweenawcommunityfoundation.org/big-annie-statue-fund
Connect with us:
- Lake Superior Podcast Page: https://nplsf.org/podcast
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NationalParksOfLakeSuperiorFoundation
Sponsors:
- Cafe Imports – Minneapolis-based importers of specialty green coffees since 1993, focused on sustainability. Learn more: cafeimports.com
- National Parks of Lake Superior Foundation – Donate to protect Lake Superior’s five national parks: nplsf.org/donate