Fundraiser celebrates efforts to create 'Big Annie' statue

HOUGHTON, Mich. (WLUC) - A fundraiser in Houghton celebrated the progress made to create a statue for a Copper Country heroine on Sunday.

Team Big Annie says they've reached a third of their $150,000 fundraising goal. They're one step closer to honoring the 1910s labor Activist Anna Klobuchar Clemenc.

"Women have not been given their due for historic footprints in this area," Team Big Annie Member Vada Riederich said. "Annie left a big mark here. We're working hard to honor that."

Riederich says they've raised a little over $52,000 and hope to make that number climb.

Big Annie is known for her brave activism in a 1913 copper strike to demand fair wages, mine safety and social justice.

Team Big Annie Member Anita Campbell says they've raised enough to choose a sculptor for the project. She says women's stories are often lost to history.

"And we just didn't want to see that happen to Annie," Campbell said. "She has quite the legacy and left a large footprint in our community, so this is one way we can preserve her legacy."

Junior Team Annie Member Ione Laramore says Annie is an inspiration.

"At the time, women had their place in homes and not working, and she still made her voice heard and made an active effort of bettering the people's lives up here," Laramore said.

Guests could show their support by buying books and T-shirts about Annie or browsing the silent auction. A live painter was also actively preserving Annie's memory during the event.

"Big Annie is bigger than Calumet," Reiderich said. "She is known all over the United States and out of the United States, also. Her story needs to be told."

Campbell says the team hopes to start working on the statue next year.

Learn more about the statue project here .