It's July of 1914, month number 43 of our story,

Stryker Henry Grenuff steps onto the stage in the auditorium of the Odd Fellows Building,

less than a mile from the Fulton Bag and Cotton Bill.

It's the daily meeting of strikers.

Henry is the union's song leader, and it's his job to lift the spirits of the striking workers through music.

Onward Christian Soldiers is a crowd favorite.

Henry Grinuff, originally from England, worked as a singer before falling on hard times.

He'd come to Atlanta a few weeks earlier looking for work, and he eventually found himself

in the recruitment office at the Fulton Bag and Cotton Mills. He was quickly hired.

Henry had worked in Mills before, so he didn't need much training.

As a loom fixer, his job kept him moving to different parts of the mill throughout the day.

Unsurprisingly, it didn't take long for strikers to begin targeting the new Fulton

bag worker, selling him hard on joining their calls.

And eventually, their pitch worked.

Shortly after starting, he signed a union membership roster and walked out of the mill for good.

In the following days, Henry Grinuff took his place on the picket lines with the others,

but it was at the daily union meetings where Henry began to stand out.

Someone noticed the newcomer's beautiful tenor voice during the daily singing

and suggested he become the group's new song leader.

The offer was made and Henry agreed. The strike leaders quickly fell

in love with Henry Grunuff because, well, there was lots to love. While most of the strikers were

unreliable, impulsive, and just generally rough around the edges, Henry was the opposite.

...