The Labor Temple movement saw many hundreds of such working class institutions created across the country, including in isolated towns like Red Lodge, Montana. Here is a report on the Labor Day, 1910 dedication of the social, cultural, and union hall built by the miners of Montana themselves. The building still exists today and houses a museum of local history.

‘Red Lodge Labor Temple Dedicated’ from the Montana News (Helena). Vol. 8 No. 28. September 15, 1910.

Labor Day in Red Lodge this year was one that will be long remembered by all who took part in the celebration, and it also marks an era in unionism in Montana, inasmuch as the dedication of the Labor Temple took place on that day. The unions of Washoe and Bear Creek to a man traveled to Red Lodge and took part in the parade, and a special train left Billings early in the morning with a large delegation of union men.

The orator of the day was E.S. McCulloch, ex-vice president of the United Mine Workers of America. Mr. McCulloch delivered a splendid speech on unionism and union principles. After the parade field sports took place on the grounds adjoining the Labor Temple.

The Labor Temple of Red Lodge is something that the unions of Red Lodge have a just reason to be proud of. The plans were drafted by John Horn, a Billings socialist, who later was foreman of the construction work on the building.

The work of supervising the construction was done by a committee of the Miners’ union and the superintendent of construction was John Massow, the business agent of the Miners’ union. After investigating the prices of material and contractors’ prices, the unions decided that they could build the temple themselves, without the assistance of any contractor, and thereby save something like $10,000 to the union.

John Massow, business agent, was given full power to go ahead with the work of construction and hire or discharge whenever he pleased, and pay the workers their wages.

Massow had to do all this in conjunction with the other work of business agent, and received as compensation his usual weekly wage from the union as business agent.

So thoroughly was the work done that the Labor Temple is the most substantial building in the city of ted Lodge today.

The building cost $45,000 and could not be duplicated today, if built under contract, for less than $1,000 It is a three-story structure with basement and is 50 feet wide and 109 feet deep. The first floor and basement are occupied by the Finnish Co-operative store. On the second floor are located the union offices, a lodge room, a large library and reading room, card tables and a club and bar room. The top floor has a large hall which is used for dancing and the Miners’ union meetings. The building is fitted up with all modern conveniences and is up to date in every respect.

The bar is run by the Temple Association and opens at noon and closes at midnight. Two bartenders are employed on eight-hour shifts. No liquor is sold to any man who is intoxicated or shows signs of becoming intoxicated, and if the bartenders violate this rule they are discharged. Here is one place where a man can go and not be afraid of being given knock-out drops and robbed. The bar is being knocked considerably by the saloonkeepers of Red Lodge, and not only the bar but its promoter, John Massow, is a much abused man by the tongues of the liquor dealers of Red Lodge.

One month recently the bar cleared ever $400 over and above all operating expenses. This money went to pay off part of the debt on the building, $10,000 being loaned by the coal miners’ district No. 22, comprising the unions of Montana and Wyoming, to help build the structure.

The library promises to be a good thing in the near future. At present it is not equipped with many books, but the Finnish society intends to donate 1,500 volumes of books printed in the Finnish language and the Miners’ union intends to put on the shelves. The miners’ unions intends to put on the shelves a large assortment of books in Italian and Slavonian languages, as well as thoroughly equipping the library with English classics. Therefore the library will eventually have books in four languages for the working class of Red Lodge to instruct and enlighten themselves with. And all this done by the unions without any subsidizing or donations from Andrew Carnegie.

The furniture of the library is of a high grade, being composed of reading tables, splendid rockers and a dozen Morris chairs. In fact, the whole building inside and out has an appearance of substantiality, ingenuity and progressiveness and goes to show that the union men of Red Lodge can do things.

As there are a considerable number of places in Montana where the unions are considering the erection of labor temple, we would suggest that before reaching conclusions it would be well for the committees in charge to write John Massow of Red Lodge for information concerning the construction of the Red Lodge Labor Temple and a few good suggestions will be received.

The Montana News first published in Lewistown, Montana, began as the Judith Basin News published by J. H. Walsh in 1904 as the paper of the Socialist Party of Montana. The Montana News moved from Lewistown to Helena, and from 1905 was edited by Ida Crouch-Hazlett. Splits within the State Party led to a number of conflicts over the paper, which ran as a weekly until 1912.

PDF of full issue: https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/montana-news/100915-montananews-v08n28.pdf