Miners Clash at a Wilkeson Roadhouse
A quarrel over a woman and drinks ends in a shooting, sparking a community uprising in the coal-mining town.
John Beckman was shot in the groin and probably fatally wounded at a roadhouse near Wilkeson yesterday afternoon by a Finn named Andrew Syyninaa. Both men were miners. They quarreled over a woman and drinks. Syyninaa escaped to Carbonado but was followed by Deputy Sheriff David Webb, captured, and returned to Wilkeson. The Finn coal miners became so demonstrative and threatening at Wilkeson, demanding that Syyninaa be released, that Webb telephoned Tacoma for assistance. Deputy Sheriffs McCullough and Doten retrieved the prisoner and brought him to the county jail.
“The Finn coal miners became so demonstrative and threatening at Wilkeson, demanding that Syyninaa be released, that Webb telephoned to Tacoma for assistance.”
Wilkeson's history as a company town was defined by the deep ethnic stratifications between immigrant labor groups. Disputes in these rugged, isolated environments often escalated into immediate, violent standoffs between the community and the law.
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