Company Hospital Fund RequestsContext:Many mining companies in the Keweenaw took mandatory payments out of employees’ monthly wages and pooled them in a central “hospital fund” that paid out when any worker went for treatment. A single worker paid 50 cents to cover only themself, and a married worker paid $1.00 to have their spouse and children covered as well. If this sounds similar to modern health insurance, that’s because our system is partially based upon these early versions. Occasionally, single workers paid the married rate to add other members of their family to the fund, like parents or siblings. The following requests come from the Calumet and Hecla mining company’s head doctor. General manager James MacNaughton was the top official on site and had final say about the hospital fund. His officer, Henry Brett, looked at employee records and handwrote the information for him. William Kieri’s Hospital Fund Request
A. B. Simonson to James MacNaughton, May 29, 1914, Calumet and Hecla Mining Companies Collection, MS-002, box 47, folder 520, Michigan Tech Archives & Copper Country Historical Collections, Houghton, MI. Calumet, May 29, 1914.
Mr. James MacNaughton, 2nd. V.P. & General Manager. Dear Sir: William A. Kieri #6152, single, has applied to this Department for the privilege of paying $1.00 Hospital rate to include his mother for Medical services. Respectfully, A. B. Simonson [handwritten at the bottom] Above was hired May 29th 1914 to work as timberman in Hecla @ 64. His father John worked here from 1886 to Feby 1904 as contract miner & then refused to work as Co. miner — It would look as if the mother wanted some special treatment. He has worked here 4 or 5 times since 98 and has not a good record. Only one other son of John’s 5 sons (all old enough) works for Co. and he has a poor record. Reply to William Kieri’s Hospital Fund Request
James MacNaughton To A. B. Simonson, June 1, 1914, Calumet and Hecla Mining Companies Collection, MS-002, box 47, folder 520, Michigan Tech Archives & Copper Country Historical Collections, Houghton, MI. June 1 1914.
Dr. A. B. Simonson, C & H Hospital. Dear Sir:- Replying to yours of the 29th regarding William Kieri, No.6152. We will not agree to collect $1.00 per month from Mr. Kieri, such payment to include medical services for his mother. We have had several of these Kieris working for us and they have not a good record. Yours truly, 2nd V.P. and Gen.Mgr. Andrew Lundberg’s Hospital Fund Request
A. B. Simonson to James MacNaughton, June 20, 1914, Calumet and Hecla Mining Companies Collection, MS-002, box 47, folder 520, Michigan Tech Archives & Copper Country Historical Collections, Houghton, MI. [Front page]
Calumet, Mich., June 20, 1914. Mr. James MacNaughton, 2nd V.P. & General Manager. Dear Sir:- Mr. Andrew Lundberg #4185 has made application to pay on Hospital account One Dollar ($1.00) married man’s rate, so that his father and mother may have medical service. His father has not worked for twenty years. Father and mother are both invalids. Father has asthma and heart disease, and mother has had paralytic stroke. Sincerely yours, A. B. Simonson over. [handwritten by MacNaughton on back of page] Mr Brett This looks like “too much.” What light can you throw on subject. J Mac [handwritten by Brett on back of page] Applicants father expired his aid Dec 94. His sons who have worked here are: Alfred from 1900 to 1910, quit voluntarily. Charles 89 to 1900, Discharged. & June 1911 left his wife & family. Hjalmar 1896-1905 quit voluntarily Richard 1896-1911 6 times – 3 times discharged and 3 times quit— I should say the family had had all the C&H Co. could give and in the house matter they have had more than they ought to have had—Respy [respectfully] Henry Brett Reply to Andrew Lundberg’s Hospital Fund Request
James MacNaughton To A. B. Simonson, June 25, 1914, Calumet and Hecla Mining Companies Collection, MS-002, box 47, folder 520, Michigan Tech Archives & Copper Country Historical Collections, Houghton, MI. June 25 1914.
A.B. Simonson, M.D., C & H Hospital. Dear Sir:- Replying to yours of the 20th regarding Andrew Lundberg, Number 4185. I have looked up all the records in this case, and cannot consider granting the request. Yours truly, 2nd V.P. and Gen.Mgr. Stop and Reflect:Consider what these letters reveal about company priorities.
Historian's Perspective:These letters uncover how much power paternalism gave to companies, and especially their managers.The companies had access to many parts of workers’ lives with no restrictions on how they could use information, leading to rejections based on employment records instead of medical reasoning. For example, Andrew Lundberg’s request letter briefly mentioned the health of his parents but Henry Brett's research focused on the shaky records of his four brothers. Henry Brett also wrote about “the house matter,” which was likely some conflict the Lundbergs had with company-owned housing. If they lived in a separate home not under company control, Calumet and Hecla would never have been able to use housing records to decide their healthcare. The company viewed workers like any other asset. William Kieri’s father, John, refused to switch from an independent contract miner to a company miner. Henry Brett wrote about this because it meant the Kieris were not willing to hand over control, and since only two of five sons went on to work for Calumet and Hecla, the family’s loyalty and benefit to the company was questionable. Managers were also in a position to let their personal beliefs affect employees’ lives. MacNaughton had reasons behind these rejections, but he didn’t consult a list of rules—he looked at worker records and decided whether he thought they had earned benefits. Set 2Proceed to the next set of documents in the Workers as Company Assets group. |
Last updated: March 31, 2025