The View From My Windshield: Mother Dearest

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Mount Olive, Illinois—Before there was Mother Jones, there was Mother Jones, a smart, fearless, rabble-rousing labor leader who dressed up like a nice old lady so that if she got beaten up, it’d make for a more sensational scene. (Actually, she kind of looked like Mrs. Doubtfire.)

Naturally, when MoJo thinking about where to spend her last days, she turned to Mount Olive, where seven martyred strikers from an 1898 shootout with mine guards in nearby Virden, are buried in a UMW cemtery. As Mother put it, “I hope it will be my consolation when I pass away to feel I sleep under the clay with those brave boys.” And her cat, too.

Bonus photos below the jump.

Mother Jones has her own exit in Mount Olive. Which is awesome, unless you're the car behind us.Mother Jones has her own exit off the (probably more famous) highway.

As her final wish, Mother Jones asked for her head to be preserved, Futurama-style, so she could give wise counsel to future generations.As her final wish, Mother Jones asked for her head to be preserved, Futurama-style, so she could give wise counsel to future generations. Maybe!

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AN IMPORTANT UPDATE

We’re falling behind our online fundraising goals and we can’t sustain coming up short on donations month after month. Perhaps you’ve heard? It is impossibly hard in the news business right now, with layoffs intensifying and fancy new startups and funding going kaput.

The crisis facing journalism and democracy isn’t going away anytime soon. And neither is Mother Jones, our readers, or our unique way of doing in-depth reporting that exists to bring about change.

Which is exactly why, despite the challenges we face, we just took a big gulp and joined forces with the Center for Investigative Reporting, a team of ace journalists who create the amazing podcast and public radio show Reveal.

If you can part with even just a few bucks, please help us pick up the pace of donations. We simply can’t afford to keep falling behind on our fundraising targets month after month.

Editor-in-Chief Clara Jeffery said it well to our team recently, and that team 100 percent includes readers like you who make it all possible: “This is a year to prove that we can pull off this merger, grow our audiences and impact, attract more funding and keep growing. More broadly, it’s a year when the very future of both journalism and democracy is on the line. We have to go for every important story, every reader/listener/viewer, and leave it all on the field. I’m very proud of all the hard work that’s gotten us to this moment, and confident that we can meet it.”

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