Coal miner and labor activist James Revell Lord (1878-1962) was born in Leeds, England, in 1878. He came to the U. S. in 1888 and he and his wife, Mary, moved to Lafayette, Colorado about 1929. Prior to that, Lord was brought in from Illinois to work with United Mine Workers of America district representatives during Colorado’s 1910-1914 Long Strike.
Continue reading “Notable Citizens: James R. Lord”Notable Citizens: Swan Edison, Lafayette’s Toughest Mayor
The circa 1910 photo above shows the front porch of the old town hall at the northeast corner of East Simpson Street and Harrison Avenue, which currently houses the East Simpson Coffee Company. The first man standing (from the left) is Swan Edison, one of the most prominent and dedicated civil servants in Lafayette’s history. More about him in a bit. The man with the mustache to right of Edison is (likely) Alfred “Pete” Peterson, known as Petey the Iceman.
Continue reading “Notable Citizens: Swan Edison, Lafayette’s Toughest Mayor”
Notable Citizens: Elizabeth Beranek
Mrs. Beranek could be described as a hardy soul. Mother of 17 children, Elizabeth Beranek (1884-1956) was a shining example of self-sufficiency reflected in early Lafayette households. She was a staunch supporter of workers’ rights, and risked her life to ensure that area coal miners received fair wages.
Notable Citizens: Edward L. Doyle
Edward Lawrence Doyle (1886-1954), Lafayette resident from 1908 to 1912 and United Mine Workers of America Dist. 15 Secretary Treasurer based in Denver from 1912 to 1917, is better known for his involvement in the fateful 1914 Ludlow Massacre, where he played a key role in communicating to national media the union’s perspective of the killings.