This book really makes you feel like you are lost in the middle of the streetcar riot!

In the "Note to Readers" the author says, "While the Allertons and their friends are fictional, the Easter riots actually took place.".Because some owners wouldn't pay their workers enough money to live on, workers formed unions. "In most places, unions weren't legal,."

This story begins with Anna Allerton asking for a knife. She was making stew and told her brother, Richard, that he could pick out the onions if he didn't like them. Richard responded that she sounded like their mama. When Mama came into the kitchen, she reminded Anne to put the peas in last. Anne had remembered and left them on the counter. When Papa came home he told them that the streetcar drivers might strike, which led to a host of questions. Anna listened intently to the discussion. It was thought that Thomas Lowry, the owner of the Minneapolis Street Railway, was holding wages down so he could put in electric streetcars, but was that fair to the drivers and their families? The youngest wanted to know what a strike was. Suddenly the were interrupted by an unpleasant odor. The stew was beginning to stick to the pot! Over dinner they discussed how hard it was for the young children to sit still during school. The problem with the streetcars was causing family problems. Uncle Charles thinks the streetcar drivers should be able to form a union. Uncle Enoch thinks Thomas Lowry should make decisions for the good of his company. When they said grace, Anne prayed for her uncles. ( )