TWO LIVES: AT HOME AND AWAY

Reuben began 1911 with a renewed sense of optimism and vigor. Reub’s role on the Streator Trades and Labor Assembly put him in close contact with “many remarkable people” of the age. “It was my privilege to meet people like old John Hunter, known as Dad Hunter rather affectionately, and William Ryan who were the first officers of the Illinois Coal Miners, District #12,” he later explained. “I also had the privilege of meeting John Mitchell, who was the greatest of them all…In that sort of environment I became interested of course extensively in labor activities and particularly in the possibility of correcting the evils of industry by legislation.”[1]

For Reub, these possibilities stirred not just excitement but ambition. Although his role in the Streator labor movement had greatly increased over the past year, Reuben still saw his career leading him elsewhere. He’d spent most of his adult life in big cities like St. Louis and Madison. Chicago held particular appeal, home to both big labor and a considerable number of his own family.

Still, Reuben was torn; he loved his adopted hometown and those in it even more. His parents, sister, and brother still lived in the small house they’d bought all those years ago. The building itself was a labor of love; Reub had spent years and sweat working alongside Lafe to make the house a home for their family. Most importantly, Streator had Jeanne. Straightforward and stalwart, she had stood by Reuben through all his travels. Still, she was no pushover, and anything but shy, and Reub knew he could not keep her waiting forever. A choice was coming soon—between the small town or big city, family man or the bachelor life. It was a choice the 23-year-old Reub would put off as long as he could.

The Changing Face of Streator

Much like Reuben himself, the city of Streator was struggling through a major transition. Over the last several years the city had transformed from the mining town of Reub’s childhood into a modern city of industry. As the Streator historian Dale Lee Bennett writes, “Coal mining was rapidly declining as an employer of labor…the glass industry, shale products, and miscellaneous manufacturing companies employed many of the former miners, while others went to the mines in southern Illinois. The glass industry became the primary employer of labor by 1912.”[2]

The increase in factory work furthered Streator’s union character, and strengthened its reputation as a model labor town. One hundred miles outside of Chicago, it was close enough to the nation’s “Second City” to provide easy access to national leaders, speakers and events. At the same time, Streator was far enough out to claim a regional significance of its own. By 1911, Streator had become the front line in the conflict between capital and labor.

To be sure, the city’s labor situation was far from ideal. Streator workers faced multiple fights, and lost their fair share. While the IBEW, glass workers, and miners had waged successful strikes, unorganized workers like the track laborers had seen theirs broken. The management practice of importing immigrant and black laborers as strikebreakers also fed racial tensions. Streator often split along cultural and ethnic lines. “There was still no true solidarity among the different ethnic groups,” Streator historian Bennett notes. “The old animosities were still directed towards the non-English-speaking people by the English speaking people of the city.”[3] Streator and its neighboring towns experienced all kinds of inter-racial violence, from white on black to “old” vs. “new” immigrants to “new-on-new” attacks like the skirmishes between Italian and Polish workers. Intra-labor tensions also simmered between skilled and unskilled professions.

The question of whether non-skilled laborers could possibly share the same interests (and respect) of skilled labor also divided Streator, as it had the national movement since its very beginning. On one side sat the American Federation of Labor, with leaders like Sam Gompers and most of his skilled craftsmen rejecting the notion of industrial unions. On the other sat more radical thinkers and organizers like Eugene Debs, advocating industry-wide unions to represent workers who, though unskilled, were legion in number.

These divisions were less visible in Streator, however. Ethnic animosities, while present, had declined in recent years as immigration slowed and salaries equalized (largely due to the end of the German “twisters”). Unlike larger and more stratified industrial centers such as Chicago and Philadelphia—where the out-sized influence of industry had increasingly made radical action the only union option—the largely egalitarian Streator had gained a reputation for moderation and successful compromise. Labor success in Streator hinged on compromise between a number of constituencies. Skilled and unskilled labor, different ethnicities, and even local owners had developed a series of alliances that held together more often than not. Again from Bennett:

Streator, the home of the great labor peacemaker John E. Williams, had had a very moderate labor movement. The leaders of the movement always urged moderation rather than militancy…This moderate approach to conflicts, which coal miners had displayed earlier in the town’s labor movement, continued to be the labor ideology…The concept of collective action practiced by the factory worker, tradesman, and others was not seriously questioned by the majority of the town’s population.[4]

Chicago Calling

Streator’s importance had conflicting effects on its emerging leaders like Reuben and Lafe. On the one hand, it gave them an importance, access and relevance they otherwise would have been unable to achieve this early in their political life. Reub had now served on the ITU executive committee alongside his brother Lafe for over a year, and had acted as a delegate on the Streator Labor Council for nearly as long. During this time, Reub had written and spoken on behalf of labor in columns and speeches, helping to gain public support for working men and women. He was fast gaining a reputation as a powerful advocate.

At the same time, their quick elevation attracted the brothers to the national arena of Chicago like moths to a flame. As 1911 dawned, Reuben and his brother enjoyed rapidly rising profiles; even as the brothers joined the ITU’s first annual meeting in their new home at Wissen Hall, they were considering another move back to Chicago. Lafe soon did so, moving back in with their Aunt Emma Lind that spring.

Reuben would resist the urge a while longer, holding out through the summer. His family played a factor. The Soderstrom household, however, was much quieter. With Joe’s death and his other brothers Lafe, and Paul living with his cousins in Chicago, Reuben now had more family in that city than in Streator. He also had Jeanne to consider. She was now a night supervisor for the Central Union Telephone Company. After years of separation, she and Reuben were finally living in the same city, and spent almost all of their free moments together. For Reuben to be unmarried at his age was not unusual; the median marrying age for men at the time was 25 (it was not until the 1950s that the male marrying age would drop below 23).[5] Still, they had not married despite a courtship of over 6 years. Many men of the time postponed marriage until they could support a family, and this may have been a factor in Reuben’s decision. It may have also played a role in his temptation to leave for a bigger paycheck in an even bigger city.

In the end, however, it was likely Reuben’s restless nature that played the deciding role. Throughout his life, Reub had never sat still. From his childhood travels through his years as a journeyman laborer, Reub had learned never to stop moving, never to stay in one place for too long. His boundless and inquisitive nature had taken him from the shores of the Mississippi to the wilds of Wisconsin, and now it called him once again to the bright lights of Chicago. Unable to resist the call, in September of that year Reub left Streator to work as a linotype operator and shop foreman in Chicago.

TRAGEDY AND TROUBLE

Reuben´s decision to return to Chicago in the fall of 1911 may have also been based in part on a recent death in the family. Soon after the passing of his first child, Reub´s brother Paul lost his wife in the summer of 1911. Isolated and far from home, the grieving brother may have needed his stalwart sibling more than ever. Reunited in tragedy, Reub, Paul and Lafe would need one another in the coming months as the troubles they faced multiplied, culminating in a life-altering loss for them all.

A Frail Beauty

Life had not been easy for Paul Soderstrom and his wife, Clara Simpco. Their firstborn son died after only four months in 1910. Still, the couple was overjoyed when daughter Lorraine Olga Marie was born on January 19, 1911. However, the restless Paul had never been able to hold a job for long, and their lack of a steady income took its toll on the young mother’s health. Reub took his sister Olga up to Chicago to see their new niece just four days after her birth. Upon arrival, she was shocked at the poor living conditions they found: “I remember going into the apartment in Chicago and someone was boiling a chicken and it smelled awful, like it was spoiled. Clara was real ill, expenses were high and Paul needed financial help, which Reub, the old standby, gave him.”[6] Clara’s illness left her unable to care for their child, and two weeks later mother Anna went to Chicago to bring the baby back to Streator. Relying heavily on their neighbor “Maw” Bottom, the whole Soderstrom family helped care for the newborn. That Easter, Clara came to Streator as well. Her arrival made a strong impression on Olga: “I can remember seeing her get out of the hack (a horse drawn carriage)…She had a huge straw hat with lilacs around the crown, it was snowing and the lilacs just peeked out of the snow and made a beautiful picture. Clara was a beautiful lady and she was so frail.”[7]

Unfortunately, the sojourn in Streator did not improve her health. Clara was soon diagnosed with tuberculosis. By May her sister Edwina, a Franciscan nun, came and placed her in the hospital to avoid putting the whole family at risk. Clara passed away in June, the third funeral for the Soderstrom house in two years. Reub, the constant provider, financed all of these funerals.

Clara’s passing left Paul bereft and beside himself with grief. Unable to care for himself let alone a young child, Paul left young Lorraine in the strong hands of his mother Anna. Finally, after grieving the untimely death of her darling baby Joe for so long, Anna once again had a child in the house to nurture and care for. With characteristic fortitude, Reub’s mother took to raising young Lorraine as if she was her own.

Labor Under Attack

1912 proved to be a year of setbacks for labor as well. On January 4, 1912, Reuben returned to Streator to listen to one of his inspirations, Senator “Fighting Bob” La Follette, speak at the Plumb Opera House. Though weakened by food poisoning, the senator passionately excoriated bro-business politicians who “were working for and serving the special interests.” Reub listened with rapt attention as La Follette railed against the supposed servants of the people “who ignored the interests of the people and were working solely for personal gain,” and called for people to “rise in arms and do away with the old method of selecting political bosses.”[8] La Follette was particularly angry over price schemes like the 1909 Payne-Aldrich Tariff that manipulated prices to benefit Northeastern industry at the expense of Midwestern farmers.

Corrupt legislators weren’t labor’s greatest foe in government, however. That honor went to the court system, which continued to hammer labor throughout the year, delivering a series of setbacks in its attempt to undo popular reform. In April of 1911, the Illinois Supreme Court struck down the Tanner Act. Named after the former Governor of Illinois who was the first executive in US history to exercise militia power in defense of American labor, the act had barred companies from using replacement workers to break a strike. Illinois UMWA President had especially harsh words for the court’s actions at the following Illinois Miners’ convention, telling the crowd, “A coterie of judicial jackals betrayed the common people of our common wealth, prostituted themselves and the high offices they hold, and paid them, the money interests, their thirty pieces of silver for the job they gave them, by rendering this infamous judgment on the constitutionality of the law, which they set aside.”[9]

The most insidious weapon the court employed against labor, however, was the Sherman Anti-Trust Act and the issuance of injunctions. Perverting a law meant to prevent powerful industrialists from unfairly colluding, the conservative judges used the anti-corruption law to issue injunctions that prevented unions and officers from interfering with business in any way—including striking. The most infamous example of this abuse was Gompers v. Buck’s Stove and Range Co., in which the company, in the midst of a strike, obtained a sweeping injunction forbidding a boycott. When the AFL placed the company on its “unfair list,” Associate Justice Daniel Wright sentenced its leadership—Samuel Gompers, John Mitchell and Frank Morrison—to prison. When he was overturned by the Supreme Court, the vindictive judge had the men tried for contempt again in 1912, found them guilty and again sentenced them to prison.

Injunctions against union officials emerged in almost every labor conflict. It seemed every time workers went on strike, a judge would issue an order barring union officials from distributing written materials or speaking to workers, and preventing them even from being within 100 feet of the business or its property. The “injunction judges” could even count the sitting President, William Taft, in their number. As a judge on the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, Taft had upheld the use of injunctions to stop strikes, and had declared “secondary boycotts” illegal. If unions and their leadership were to have any hope of survival, they had to find a way to effectively combat big business’s hold on the courts and the Presidency.

The first step toward reclamation of the presidency occurred in Chicago at the Republican National Convention of 1912, where former President Theodore Roosevelt challenged Taft for the nomination. The floor fight turned ugly, as supporters of Roosevelt felt Taft’s control of the Republican National Committee had unfairly given him undemocratic power over the nomination process. Throughout the proceedings Roosevelt supporters kept chanting “choo choo” to mock Taft and his supporters for “railroading” the process. Despite winning more primary votes, it became clear to Roosevelt that Taft would capture the nomination, so he withdrew his name and asked his delegates not to vote at the convention. Refusing to give up, Roosevelt then announced the formation of the Progressive Party.

Strong As A Bull Moose

Although shaped by and around the dynamic personality of Roosevelt, the ideas behind the Progressive movement could be traced to the very founding of the Republican Party. By 1900, powerful twin impulses that had spurred the anti-slavery movement coalesced into two factions within the party. The first, to make men “free,” had developed into the conservative wing. Pro-business and laissez-faire, this group saw government as an oppressor, an evil necessary only inasmuch as it secured rights of life, liberty and (especially) property. They viewed unions as impediments, the “slave masters” of the modern age seeking to destroy “free” labor.

The second impulse, to make the world “better” and all men “brothers,” had by 1900 forged the progressive wing. Motivated by the gulf between the world they knew and the one they knew could be, these Republicans carried on the “unfinished work” of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, endeavoring to progress towards a more perfect union. In this view, government and unions were powerful protections, tools to help build a “new and nobler commonwealth.”[10]

The most famous of these latter Republicans was undoubtedly Theodore Roosevelt. Roosevelt had long been the forceful and outspoken voice of “progressives,” and attempts to silence him by high-ranking conservatives had only made him stronger. They removed him from the powerful governorship of New York by making him Vice President (an office John Adams ruefully described as “the most insignificant office that ever the invention of man contrived or his imagination conceived”), only to see him become President upon the assassination of McKinley. Incredibly popular, Roosevelt inspired countless young men and women, including Reuben. “He (Reuben) was a loyal follower of Teddy Roosevelt,” recounted his sister Olga.[11]

When the conservative wing of the Republican Party denied Roosevelt the nomination, his decision to form a new party was met with rapturous excitement by his fans. Declaring himself “fit as a bull moose,” the vigorous Roosevelt developed a platform for his “Bull Moose” Party that resonated with working men like Reuben. It called for:

—An active and powerful federal government empowered to regulate business, protect the environment, and make public investments in transportation, health care, and education.

—Progressive fiscal policies, protecting domestic industry, advocating banking regulation, instituting an inheritance tax and ratifying the graduated income tax.

—An end to political corruption through greater transparency, the registration of lobbyists, and the barring of political appointments to federal office.

—Expanding rights through women’s suffrage, promoting immigration and ending child labor.

—Support of Labor through worker protections, the creation of a Department of Labor, a minimum wage, an eight-hour work day, weekends, and the protection of unions. It particularly singled out injunctions, stating “We believe the issuance of injunctions in cases arising out of labor disputes should be prohibited when such injunctions would not apply when no labor disputes existed.”[12]

Unfortunately, the party failed to gather enough support from traditional Democratic voters, who unified behind their candidate, Woodrow Wilson, and retook the White House. The principles behind the party, however, strongly influenced the Democrats, who over time adopted many of the progressive movement’s ideas as their own.

A Titanic Loss

On April 15, 1912, the passenger liner RMS Titanic sank on her maiden voyage, after colliding with an iceberg south of Newfoundland on her maiden voyage. Olga remembered her father taking the loss particularly hard, becoming greatly depressed after hearing of the loss of over 1,500 lives. The fact that John Soderstrom could become so distraught over the deaths of those he did not know was not surprising to his family. All who knew him described him as having an almost superhuman capacity for love, empathy, and gentleness. Reuben may have never been able to rely on his father (at least financially), but he had always loved him deeply. He took extra care when visiting Streator that March to celebrate his 24th birthday to visit with the increasingly frail man, who had become so weak he could barely breathe or speak For hours they simply sat together, sharing each other’s company and communicating without words.

It was the last time together that they would ever have. On April 29, 1912, John Soderstrom passed away at the age of 66. Of all the wounds the family had suffered, this was by far the deepest. A lifetime later, Olga still remembered:

Funerals in those days were from the home—huge crepes were placed on the doors. I remember, Dad was laid out in the parlor; corpses were embalmed in the home. I, inquisitive I suppose, went in the parlor, not realizing what I would see. There was my precious father with tubes, it seemed all over and blood draining in a bucket on the floor. I wish I had never seen all this, for this vivid picture has remained with me all my life.[13]

In the space of a few years, the 46-year-old Anna had lost a son, granddaughter, daughter-in law and now her husband. She fell into a deep depression. She also feared how the family would manage. John had never believed in insurance, and never had any. He didn’t leave behind even enough money to pay for the funeral.

DECISION POINT

The shock of his father’s death shook Reub to the core. Faced with his own mortality, Reub was now forced to choose. He’d spent the last several years straddling two worlds. One life was firmly planted in Streator, with a family, girl, and positions of responsibility. In the other, he was a bachelor in the big city, living carefree and exploring the Chicago life with his brothers. Now, those two worlds had crashed straight into each other, and Reub could no longer put off the choice.

In the end, it was never a question of which life he’d choose. Reuben came to the family’s rescue. Although not the oldest, Reuben had in many ways long been the head of the household, and he soon assumed responsibility of the family and its affairs. He immediately returned home from Chicago and would never again leave his adopted home. He resumed his situation at Andy Anderson’s print shop. Anna helped by doing practical nursing, occasionally bringing patients into the home. “Maw” Bottom would care for little Lorraine when Anna worked, while Olga would care of her after school.

To help make ends meet, Olga took a job at the dime store working Saturdays, and weekdays in the summer for 75 cents per day. The family also converted their house into two three-room apartments, one upstairs and one downstairs. They’d rent one apartment out and live in the other. With finances stabilized, Reub turned his attention to his family’s personal needs.

Reuben Marries Jeanne Shaw

Reub’s first challenge would be Olga who, like himself years earlier, wanted to quit school and start working. Now on the other side of the table, Reuben refused and insisted that she finish high school. He was proud of his little sister’s education, and spared no expense to make sure she continued. When Olga became the first in her family to graduate from eighth grade that year, Reub presented her with a beautiful watch. It was only years later that Olga realized the sacrifices Reub had made. “Except for Reub, I never would have got to go to high school…Most brothers would have said that I should go to work and lift, or at least help lift, the burden of supporting the family after Dad’s death. But Reub was anxious for me to go to high school, even though he was the support of our family, Lorraine, Mother and me.”[14]

After tending to the needs of the family, Reuben turned his attention to securing his own. Reuben and Jeanne may not have had a torrid affair, but their relationship had proven strong and sustaining. Over the last seven years they had remained true to each other, whether minutes away or miles apart. Both intelligent, independent, and stoic, they had long suited each other well. In Jeanne, Reub had found the love told of in the popular song of the day, “Till the Sands of the Desert Grow Cold”

Till the sands of the desert grow cold And their infinite numbers are told… Till the mysteries of Heaven unfold, And the story of judgment is told, I’ll turn, love, to thee, My shrine thou shalt be.[15]

With characteristic straightforwardness, Reuben took Jeanne aside as he walked her to work on Sunday, November 30, 1912 and asked her, simply, if she would like to get married. Unfazed, Jeanne agreed, but told him she’d need time to prepare. Reuben replied, “Let’s do it Tuesday since you don’t work.”

So it was that on Tuesday, December 2, 1912, Reuben took off early from work and married Jeanne Shaw in her family’s living room at 4:30 in the afternoon, with only Reuben’s sister Olga as a witness. A few weeks later, they quietly celebrated their first Christmas together as husband and wife.

Reuben soon settled into married life. He and Jeanne started 1913 renting the second floor of Anna’s home for $5 a week. Of course, Reub’s true intent was to look after his newly widowed mother, and his sister and niece. As the head of the household, he insisted Olga stay in school (eighth grade was the last year of mandatory schooling at the time) and paid for all her school expenses. Jeanne, for her part, continued to serve as a night shift supervisor, so Reub often spent evenings at the library.

Professionally, Reuben began assuming an even larger role in the local labor scene. He spent many evenings at various union activities as a Council delegate. After successfully mediating a series of internal disputes, Reuben had gained a reputation as a savvy negotiator, and continued to speak out at union meetings. His regular columns also helped to bring the concerns of labor to the broader public.

The Streator Trolley Strike

One of Reuben’s (and labor’s) greatest challenges that year came in the form of the Streator Trolley Strike. By May 1913, the Public Service Company had bought the Illinois Light and Traction Trolley Line. The existing agreement was set to expire at Midnight on May 14, and the new owners refused to recognize previous agreements or the unions themselves. This, according to Streator historian Bennett, sent “a great shock” though all organized labor in the city. How could a Streator company refuse to even recognize a union? Out of necessity, the combined 60 men of Local 298 of the Amalgamated Association of Street Railway Employees, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 231, and the United Association of Gas and Steamfitters Local 177 all went on strike. They sent members of the local Boosters Club (an organization similar to the Chamber of Commerce) to negotiate with PSC’s Superintendent Loeb, but Loeb refused to recognize them. He would have no unions, he declared. He then hired deputy sheriffs from LaSalle and Livingston companies to run the streetcars. The message was clear—he had the full power of the state at his disposal.

Reub and the Streator Trades Council pushed back hard. They called a special meeting and voted to allocate 10 cents per member per week to the strikers. By the following weekend all local unions had agreed to donate. Meanwhile, the strikers placed a notice in the local paper on Friday, June 6 declaring all they wanted was a contract and no “open shop.” The following Monday the company dispatched their cars, but no residents rode the trolleys, even to the popular baseball games at the edge of town. Locals instead wore green signs declaring “We Walk.” With no effective trolley service, the Trades Council called on the City Council to demand Public Service forfeit the $20,000 surety bond it held against the PSC if it did not have cars operating by June 16. The Trades Council President, William Atkinson, also served on the City Council and formally asked the city to begin the forfeiture process. By the June 16 deadline only three empty, management-driven street cars were in service, and the city council decided to collect the bond.

The strike dragged on for weeks, with residents boycotting the trolley despite an intense heat wave and even the Fourth of July celebration. Finally, Mayor Jackson and some prominent businessmen entered the dispute and negotiated an end to the strike. On July 23 the street car workers all returned to their jobs at 3pm with their union intact; as the trolley cars passed, people cheered.[16]

The successful end to the Trolley Strike came just in time for Labor Day, which in 1913 was set to be a major event for the city. The previous year, the LaSalle County District Trades and Labor Council, of which Streator was a part, held a huge Labor Day parade in Ottawa, Illinois. The United Labor Council had decided whichever city brought the largest number of participants to Ottawa would host the parade the following year and Streator, sending over 6,000 people on four continuously running trains, won handily. The holiday began with a stirring parade at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, September 2. The large number of participants wound through almost all of downtown Streator. Featured speaker President John P. White of the UMWA spoke to a cheering, jubilant crowd. The “monster Labor Day celebration” even featured a boxing match between local favorite Sailor Rinert and Peoria’s Jock McGinley.[17]

The success of the Trolley Strike taught Reuben some valuable lessons. Two of the key turning points in the struggle had been the intervention of the mayor and the revocation of the company’s surety bond by the City Council, both of which depended on friendly political forces. This reinforced what unions had been learning and teaching nationally. The AFL had started speaking forcefully about the importance of political candidates. President Gompers advocated a simple, activist solution: elect friends, defeat enemies.

Labor Politics in the State and the Nation

This message of political activism was reinforced at the Illinois State Federation of Labor convention of 1913. The event hosted nearly 600 delegates, making it the largest of its kind in the entire United States.[18] John Walker, the president of the Illinois United Mine Workers, was elected the ISFL’s president in a hotly contested election (the closest in the organization’s history) against sitting President Wright. Walker’s victory marked a major win for progressives like Reuben, who saw Walker’s election as the defeat of the “old guard.”[19] Addressing the crowd, the new president immediately went after the use of armed forces like the national guard in labor strikes, charging “The militia is not a protection to the people. It shoots down trade people and is the protection only of organized capital. When the union needs men in its defense none will answer sooner than the members of organized labor!”[20]

The year saw political victories for labor as well. Although Teddy Roosevelt had lost the Presidential election, his entrance in the field assured the defeat of Taft and the victory of Democrat Woodrow Wilson. In an uncharacteristic move, Taft in his final hours as President signed a law establishing the Department of Labor as a cabinet level agency. Its stated mission was to “foster, promote and develop the welfare of working people, to improve their working conditions, and to advance their opportunities for profitable employment.”[21] Former coal miner and current Pennsylvanian congressman William Wilson had led the fight to pass the legislation. Like many, he started mining as a child, and had spent 20 years in the coal fields. He had also served as International Secretary Treasurer of the UMWA. Upon assuming office, President Wilson tapped the congressman (of no relation) as the first Secretary of Labor.

Progressives won another victory on February 3, 1913, as Delaware became the 36th state to ratify the 16th Amendment. On February 25, Secretary of State Philander Chase Knox proclaimed the amendment in force, which empowered Congress to levy graduated income taxes on income of $3,000 a year and above. The income tax rate began at 1% on an annual income of $3,000, increasing to 7% for those who earned $500,000 or more. Only about 2% of the population had to pay the tax.[22]

A New Chapter

1913 brought important changes for Reuben as well. Professionally, he was rising through the ranks of union membership. That year, Reub was elected President of his own ITU Local 328, a meteoric rise. Even more importantly, was elected President of the Streator Trades and Labor Council—the youngest man to serve in that office. After retiring from the presidency in 1920 he became reading clerk, a position he would hold until 1936. As president, Reuben would often visit a union’s monthly meeting and inform them of important issues, especially political candidates. He soon became a well-known figure, and whenever he attended a smoker, stag, or boxing match people always seemed ready with questions for him.[23] Personally, Reuben faced a major transition as his mother Anna decided to leave Streator. With John and Joe dead, Paul and Lafe in Chicago, and Reuben and Jeanne to watch over Olga and Lorraine, Anna felt increasingly alone. She decided that July to visit her mother in Grandy, Minnesota to escape the heat and humidity. The summer visit soon stretched into a year.

These changes bore opportunities, too. An increasingly familiar yet fresh face, Reuben would soon play a major role in the labor movement’s increasingly political life. As for his mother’s absence, it was soon filled by the announcement of a new member of the Soderstrom family; that Christmas Jeanne told Reuben he would soon be a father.

1914 promised to be a banner year.

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