‛Day of the Rope’ a highlight of Tamaqua Heritage Festival
Historian and playwright Bobby Maso, left, author of “The Day of the Rope” speaks to the audience on Sunday at the Tamaqua Community Arts Center before the start of the play. Maso portrayed Alec Campbell, one of four men executed by hanging at the Carbon County Prison on June 21, 1877. Behind him in prison are Dave Bradbury as John “Yellow Jack” Donahue, center, and Shawn Anderson as Edward Kelly. JOHN USALIS/TIMES NEWS
From left, Alex Campbell, portrayed by Bobby Maso, expresses his anger to Father James Wynne (Phil Voystock) as he gets closer to his execution in 1877. Campbell places his hand on the wall, leaving a handprint on the prison wall that he said would remain to show his innocent and which still exists.
There are many things to celebrate of the history and heritage of the anthracite coal region, but there are others that are tragic and should be learned from as with “The Day of the Rope.”
This historical event was presented in a play on Sunday during the Tamaqua Heritage Festival. The performance at the Tamaqua Community Arts Center by the Tamaqua Heritage Players was a moving dramatization of when 10 Irish coal miners were hanged on June 21, 1877, at prisons in Mauch Chunk (now Jim Thorpe) and Pottsville. The day is referred to as “Black Thursday.”
The injustice continues to be remembered 140 years later in the play written by local historian/playwright Bobby Maso, who performed as Alec Campbell, one of the four Irish Catholic men who were convicted of murdering two mining company employees and hanged at the Carbon County Prison.
They could hear from their cells the sounds of the gallows being built for their executions.
Maso came on stage to introduce the audience in the second floor theater the story that would be performed.
“This IS a very special depiction of an event that many of you may know happened 140 years ago when 10 Molly Maguires between Pottsville and Mauch Chunk were executed by rope for crimes they had been accused of in the anthracite coal fields here in Pennsylvania,” Maso said, dressed as Campbell.
Behind Maso, four makeshift jail cells stood as the stage set. Nothing else was necessary to show the hopelessness of the situation.
“This depiction today is not meant to try to suggest any specific innocence or guilt as to what their reactions were or if they were truly behind the stories that they are attributed to.”
Maso explained the migration of many people from Ireland and how their backgrounds in coal mining brought them to the region, but they dealt with bigotry and persecution as they also fought for labor rights.
“This play you are about to see depicts the final three days of their lives before their execution,” Maso said. “Most of it is historically accurate. We certainly hope that you enjoy today’s performance and that it brings you a bit more appreciation and understanding of a very pivotal event in our local history.”
The play began with the four convicted men — Campbell (Maso), John “Yellow Jack” Donahue (Dave Bradbury), Edward Kelly (Shawn Anderson) and Michael Doyle (Derek Seiger) — in their prison cells. The conversation among them included anger and despair.
Throughout the play, the prisoners were visited by Sheriff Raudenbush (Tim Curney), and family members who cried and showed their sorrow as the execution time approached.
Mrs. John P. Jones (Annette Maso), the widow of one of the murdered men, visits Kelly, who asks for forgiveness.
With a dour look on her face, she says she hopes God will forgive him, and said her son forgives him, but her attitude shows she will not do the same.
Later in the play as Campbell speaks with Father James Wynne (Phil Voystock), who blesses him, Campbell places his hand on the prison wall and leaves the legendary handprint that remains today.
Campbell allegedly said the handprint would remain to show his innocence.
