Dawne Tippett Smail Underground Iron Mining Oral History Interview Transcript

This interview transcript is one of several on underground iron mining conducted by researcher Mary Tippett Andes for her book "The Last Generation Underground." Dawne Tippett Smail (1924-2012) was born in Ishpeming, MI to Walter Tippett and Marian Bengry. Her husband Lowell Smail was part of the last generation of underground miners on the Marquette Range. She describes the typical life of a miner's wife. Topics include her family background, the Barnes-Hecker Mine disaster, how she met her husband, economic struggles, recreational activities, religion, their neighborhood in West Ishpeming, school, their camp, medical care, dealing with mine layoffs, and a mining strike in the 1960s. (External source of biographical information: Dawne T. Smail Obituary, https://www.bjorkandzhulkie.com/obituary/1420890.)