When's the last time you were in Calumet? The National Park Service has established a great, and free, museum describing copper country life. They do have only one display dedicated to the Italian hall, but they seem to do an effective job of communicating the basics to the kids. My brother mk and I were there with our families last summer and the kids had a great time. Our great-grandmother was there, the night of the disaster. From our grandmothers description of it all, her mother(our great-grandma), Rose, and sisters were spared due to the eldest of the sisters requesting the younger sibling to stay put and move thoughtfully, rather than panic. If you have further interest, I suggest "Cradle to Grave", by Larry Langton, a Michigan Tech professor. Lankton chronicles the lives of coal miners and how the mining companies controlled all aspects of the miners and their families lives. Investors on the east coast skillfully built human sized ant farms that paid out great profits at the expense of human lives they kept at a callous distance.
Two years ago I think? I saw that museum, and was really impressed. I think it does a really good job conveying that tension between our idealizations of the past and the reality of the 'ant farm' truth of the matter you mentioned. I'll give the Langton book a read, I think I've heard his name before.
That is amazing. I had no idea that the famous O.W. Holmes phrase "falsely shouting fire in a theater" was likely inspired by this incident. p.s. Your title is better than that of the article.