PRESS RELEASE
FRANKLIN, KS—Singer-songwriter Steve Mramor has been invited to perform his original song Uncle Johnny, chronicling the 1936 death of his great-uncle, Johnnie Femec, in Franklin’s Mine 24, along with other original and traditional folk music June 21-22, 2013, at the Miners Hall Museum.
Mramor’s performance coincides with the Smithsonian’s traveling exhibition “The Way We Worked,” which honors the heritage of Crawford and Cherokee County May 11-June 23. Spanning the years 1857-1987, the exhibit chronicles the effects of American ideals of freedom and equality, industrialization, labor unrest, immigration and working conditions in the mines, on farms and assembly lines.
Mramor, who was born and resides in Cleveland, OH, also will share anecdotal history of life in Franklin during the Great Depression passed down from his mother and grandmother, who lived in Franklin before moving to Cleveland.
In addition to discussing Franklin’s Slovenian heritage, Mramor is donating a DVD dedicated to his family’s life here, along with archival photographs, newspaper articles, letters, and family artifacts, to the Miners Hall Museum.