T-Bone Slim
Matti Valentin Huhta (February 14, 1880 – May 15, 1942), better known by his pen name T-Bone Slim, was an American humorist, poet, songwriter, hobo, and labor activist, who played a prominent role in the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). Life. Huhta was born in Ashtabula, Ohio, to Matti and Johanna Huhta, Finnish immigrants from Kälviä, Finland. As a young man he married Rosa Kotila of Ashtabula, with whom he had four children. The marriage ended when the children were young, and he left Ohio, having no further contact with Rosa or the children. Huhta worked  briefly as a reporter for the daily "News-Tribune" in Duluth, Minnesota but resigned after an editor "misquoted him and balled up his article" about an Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) mass meeting. According to one account, this was when he joined the IWW or "Wobblies", as they are sometimes called. Huhta contributed numerous articles and songs to IWW publications over a period of twenty years and was widely regarded as one of the union's finest writers. He was a regular columnist for "Industrial Solidarity" and later wrote for the "Industrial Worker" and "Industrialisti". In addition to his  writing, Huhta supported himself in various ways. His experience working on docks and barges around the country had by the mid-1930s garnered him a position as barge captain in New York City. Death. On May 15, 1942 at 5:45PM, a patrolman found a body floating near Pier 9 on the East River. The body had been in the water for about four days, and showed no obvious signs of external injury. The case was ruled a drowning, and police speculated that the person had been drunk, fallen in the water, and drowned. The body was identified, but the records do  not tell us who identified it. However, the body was not claimed, and was buried in a pauper's grave on Hart Island. Legacy. Following his death, T-Bone Slim became a source of inspiration for the emerging American surrealist movement, and during the 1960s there was renewed interest in his songs when they were sung by activists during the Civil Rights Movement. In an interview, Noam Chomsky cited T-Bone Slim as one of his favorite Wobbly singers. A number of T-Bone Slim's songs can be found in the "Little Red Songbook". Among the best known are  The Popular Wobbly, "Mysteries Of A Hobo's Life", and "The Lumberjack's Prayer". First published by the IWW in 1909, the songbook has never gone out of print. The IWW brought out the 38th edition in 2010 and the Charles H. Kerr Publishing Company has other works by T-Bone Slim in its catalog. For a long time, there were no known photographs of T-Bone Slim, but the cartoon sketch at the head of his column was said to have been a good likeness. However, in 2019 photos of him resurfaced. The first Finnish translation of T-Bone  Slim's writings was published in 2013. Musician John Westmoreland, who is a grandnephew of T-Bone Slim, is working on a documentary and an music album on T-Bone Slim's life and poems. Images Lyrics Videos Streaming audio The Internet Archive External links. Newberry Library