lead mines and mining

A claustrophobic boy dreams of going to college and becoming a newspaperman rather than a miner like his father, but when all union miners in the Coeur d'Alene Mining District are arrested, Mick develops new respect for his father while taking over responsibility for his family.

In a small Missouri town during the 1920s, Clem is torn between family responsibility and the life he wishes to lead when he must begin working in the lead mine on his thirteenth birthday to help pay for his sister's medical care.