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Show Wed/Thurs/Fri, December 2-4, 2020 A-11 The Park Record W Green Tips Housing Reform in 1901: NYC v. Park City What’s the impact of your Christmas tree? AY WE WERE Unmarried miners were forced to live in boarding houses COURTNEY TITUS Park City Museum curator The Park City Museum is currently hosting the traveling exhibit, Jacob A. Riis: How the Other Half Lives, which sheds light on the social reform efforts of photojournalist Jacob Riis. Riis aimed to highlight the plight of New York City’s vast poor, who often lived in appalling conditions in the tenement slums of the city. He spent his life advocating for better public health, sanitation, housing and education measures. Riis believed that improving the living conditions of these people, many of whom were immigrants, would improve their lives and allow them to succeed in America. Housing reformers had attempted to effect change for years, but progress had been minimal. Two tenement laws passed in 1867 and 1879 did little to improve conditions. Then, with Riis and other reformers leading the charge with the support of Gov. (and soon-to-be Vice President) Theodore Roosevelt — a close friend of Riis — the New York State Legislature signed into law the Tenement House Act of 1901. The act, considered a significant moment in housing reform history, addressed problems in tenement construction that had plagued NYC for years. The “New Law,” as it was called, required substantial changes, such as outward-facing windows in every room, proper ventilation and private toilet facilities in each apartment. At the same time, miners in Utah’s mining towns were advocating for a different type of M housing reform: the elimination of a compulsory rule requiring unmarried men of a mining company to board and take meals at the company boarding house. On July 25, 1900, about 50 miners at the Centennial-Eureka Mine in Eureka walked out in protest of the mine boarding house. The men argued that the lodging provided by the mine company was subpar, yet costly, and that they would be able to find better accommodations and food in town if given the choice. The miners at the Centennial-Eureka were paid $2.50 a day and charged 80 cents per day to live at the company boarding house. The strikers doubled their numbers within a day. They held a meeting and formed a committee to present a petition to mine officials. Attorney F. H. Holzheimer spoke to the crowd, expressing his sympathy for their cause, but counseling them to stay peaceful and not commit violence. When the committee met with the mine manager, he would not yield to their demands, and within a few days, the strike was over without accomplishing anything. The miners’ discontent did not dissipate, however, and a few months later, Holzheimer won a Statehouse seat after running on a platform that emphasized the need for labor reform, specifically the need to overturn the boarding house system. One of his first actions as a legislator, in January of 1901, was to introduce House Bill No. 35, to “prevent the compelling of employees to trade with any store or board at any boarding house by means of coercion, intimidation or otherwise.” The House unanimously passed the bill on Feb. 27, 1901, and the governor approved it shortly thereafter. This law became known as the Boarding House Bill and had a significant impact on the lives of N E R E’S Recycle Utah While many have come to believe it is more environmentally kind to purchase plastic Christmas trees, this is simply not true. Plastic trees take hundreds of years to decompose, producing massive amounts of plastic and is costly to the environment. Harvesting a sustainably farmed tree each year is the kinder option for our environment. In fact, harvesting sustainably farmed trees isn’t the problem at all; rather, the problem is how we dispose of them. Every year, the U.S purchases over 50 million Christmas trees - and over 30 million of those trees are dropped off at local municipal landfills after the holidays. These trees generate methane in landfills, which is 35 times more harmful to our air quality than C02! So how do we best dispose of our Christmas trees? We compost them! By sending your tree back to nature, carbon is sequestered into the soil, which is an environmentally regenerative solution. For ways to get your tree properly and sustainably get rid of your tree, contact Recycle Utah and we’ll gladly help you out. Recycle Utah, your community nonprofit drop-off recycling center, provides these weekly tips. Visit its website for more information — recycleutah.org. Officer used improper force during protest District attorney deciding whether to pursue charges PARK CITY HISTORICAL SOCIETY & MUSEUM, DELL MCCOY COLLECTION 221 Main St. in 1968. Originally built as a boarding house, it has since served as an emergency hospital during the Spanish Flu epidemic, the Imperial Hotel and Riverhorse Provisions — a café and grocery. Parkites. In 1900, about 40% of Park City miners were living in large company boarding houses near the mines — but in 1901, the various mining companies could no longer force unmarried men, or men living apart from their families, to board in the mine boarding houses. This allowed miners to seek housing in town, and several local entrepreneurs used the opportunity to build new boarding houses at the top of Main Street to accommodate the new demand. The pictured example is the former Bogan Boarding House at 221 Main St. Two other examples still standing are 125 Main St. and 176 Main St. Stop by the Museum to view “Jacob A. Riis: How the Other Half Lives,” on display until Jan. 7, to learn about Riis’s reform efforts in NYC and to contemplate the lives of miners living in Park City during the same time period. ASSOCIATED PRESS SALT LAKE CITY — The Salt Lake City’s Civilian Review Board sustained an allegation that a police officer used improper force during a protest against police violence in May when he pushed down an older man with a cane. Video captured by ABC4 shows an officer getting out of an armored police vehicle and hitting a man as he was walking away from the officer, The Salt Lake Tribune reported. The man fell to the ground. The county district attorney’s office is reviewing whether or not to file criminal charges against the officer. The Salt Lake City Police Department is still conducting an internal investigation. It is unclear how long the internal review will take. Police Chief Mike Brown had previously called the officer’s conduct “inappropriate.” Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall said, “it seems to be well outside the protocol.” The Tribune confirmed that the altercation prompted recommendations from the civilian review board on how the department should respond to big protests in the future. FOX 13 first reported the findings. The board suggested the department should review its policies, particularly the use of armored mine-resistance militarized vehicles, arguing officers are not trained in using the vehicles and the vehicles presence at protests amplifies public stress. ORE O MA I H HEATHER CURRIE SHOP SMALL . SUPPORT LOCAL N T ALL ON MAIN. Historic Park City welcomes the local community to the Historic Main Street district this holiday season with boutiques, restaurants, experiences. Celebrate the season on Main Street. There's More on Main! F I N D S A N TA O N M A I N Saturday, December 12 from 2 - 6 p.m. Experiences | Galleries | Boutiques & Specialty Shops | Bars & Restaurants FREE PARKING THROUGH DECEMBER 18 , 2020 Share your experiences with #MainParkCity and be entered to win a $100 Gift Certificate to your favorite Main Street merchant. Stroll the inaugural Snow Globe Stroll through November 20 - January 3. Visit historicparkcityutah.com to browse local merchants, holiday happenings, and more! Get the top local news stories delivered directly to your inbox with a new weekly email update from The Park Record! Sign up now at bit.ly/prrecordroundup |