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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BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

Mother Jones was founded to do journalism differently. We stand for justice and democracy. We reject false equivalence. We go after stories others don’t. We’re a nonprofit newsroom, because the kind of truth-telling investigations we do doesn’t happen under corporate ownership.

And the essential ingredient that makes all this possible? Readers like you.

It’s reader support that enables Mother Jones to devote the time and resources to report the facts that are too difficult, expensive, or inconvenient for other news outlets to uncover. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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