Jack Battuello Memoir #1 - University of Illinois Springfield

Jack Battuello
Q. Cooking utensils?
A. Some of them had some.
Q
Blankets?
A. Oh yes.
Q. How long did you plan to stay?
A. As long as it was required, if we could have gotten in there.
We were going to do some "Billy Graham" stuff on them down there.
9. What town were you heading for?
A. We were heading for Franklin County. That was Ziegler, Sesser,
Benton, Orient No. I, No. 2, and No. 3 and DuQuoin; that's where all
the mines are. WE were just going to divide our forces there and
put a contingent at each mine. We were going to picket and demonstrate;
we were going to do some preachments and advocating, same
pleading, some beseeching, some imploring--anything that was required
vocally to get them to respond.
Q. What timc of day did you start out?
A. In the morning.
Q. In the morning. And you started from Wilsonville?
A. No, we started from Gilles,pic.
Q. You started from Gillcspic. About how many? It's hard for me
to imagine, even thc cars coming in from all different directions.
What was it like?
A. Oh, it was forty-five miles long. Tt w as disciplined and organized.
Q. Gi1lespi.e was the beginning, and thcn you picked up others as you
went: on?
A. Contingents all the way down.
Q. Bow many cars did you have fn GiUespie when you started out?
A. Oh, my, I guess we were twenty miles long when we left Gillespie.
Springfield, Taylorville, Nokomis, Taylor Springs and all those mines
over there; Staunton and all the mines around here.
Q. And they all came to Gi.ll.espie ,to join in?
A. Everything north and east a.nd west of Gillespie came to Gillespie
Jack Battuello Memoir -- Archives, University of Illinois at Springfield