Ben Garbacz/Daily Mining Gazette Junior Team Annie members, from left, Bryon David, Keira Johnson, Laci Jarvi, Julia Heflin and Aili Heflin enjoy pasties they made during an appreciation event at Copper Island Bagel Company held for them by the Team Annie Committee.

LAKE LINDEN — An appreciation event was held at Copper Island Bagel Company, Lake Linden, for Junior Team Annie Wednesday. The event was hosted by the Team Annie Committee in appreciation for the youth group’s assistance in events such as the Big Annie gala, local parades and Bridgefest. At the event, of Junior Team Annie were taught how to make pasties from the Team Annie Committee.

Junior Team Annie is made up of 10 National Honor Students from Calumet High School who have an interest in community service, committee work and local history. The youth group was established by the Team Annie Committee a year ago to assist the committee, provide opportunities for community service and to educate them on the history of Anna Clemenc, or “Big Annie.” Clemenc was an influential labor activist during the Copper Miner Strike of 1913.

One example of the work the youth group has done in the past is dress in period clothing for the Big Annie gala where they served attendees.

The Team Annie Committee has raised $67,000 of its $150,000 goal to construct a bronze statue of Clemenc, and they have involved Junior Team Annie in its fundraising activities.

“Annie Clemenc history is a big story, and we need young people to carry that story on,” Team Annie Committee Chairwoman Vada Riederich said. “There were so many people when I first started this fundraiser for a statue that recognized the name. ‘Oh yeah, big Annie. I’ve heard of her,’ but they don’t really knew know what she did. So we brought awareness to that, and now it has grown into something pretty big, and we’re quite excited about it.”

Riederich explained she hopes the statue can be an inspiration to young people, citing the age of Clemenc during the Copper Miner Strike of 1913, which was 23.

One of the members of the junior team, Julia Heflin, has an interest in Calumet history and appreciated the access to historical books the Committee provided to her about Clemenc and the Copper Strike of 1913. Heflin said the group taught her more about volunteerism.

“It’s really helped me get a better understanding of what firsthand volunteering and fundraising looks like on a large scale. I’ve learned how to apply for grants and get people involved to create fundraising opportunities. You really don’t know how much planning goes into these (activities).”

Laci Jarvi, another Junior Team Annie member, said the experience has her considering pursuing something involving history after high school.

“I’ve always been kind of a history nerd,” Jarvi said. “I really like learning about history. So when Vada and [the rest] came into the ice cream shop that I was working at and they told me about this, I was very interested. I learned a lot about Big Annie, the history of her and what she did during the Copper Strike.”