“Who was Joe Hill?” That question was scrawled on a rest room stall wall only to be answered at a later date, "If you don't know...learn. If you do, then...teach."

Glenn Plummer, a union worker, discovered that writing, and decided he needed to learn the answer. Years later, he taught Dr. Stephen A. Schrum, and together they are working on teaching the world.

These two Westmoreland County residents have collaborated on a new musical play, Labor's Martyr: The Story of Joe Hill, to teach in a way that promises to be educational, entertaining and inspirational. The play includes songs written by the play's authors in addition to many written more than 100 years ago by Hill.

Books and songs have been written about Joe Hill since his execution by firing squad in the state of Utah in 1915 for a murder he did not commit. One song, “I Dreamed I Saw Joe Hill Last Night,” was recorded by Paul Robeson and Joan Baez among others. It was written 10 years after Hill's cremation and led to Hill's international recognition as being "the man who never died."

Hill's story, that of a Swedish immigrant, itinerant worker, singer, songwriter and labor agitator as a member of the Industrial Workers of the World (sometimes called the "Wobblies") is a timely reminder of problems faced today by those looking to find a better way of life in the United States of America. The play, Labor's Martyr: The Story of Joe Hill, tells a story of America and the immigrant experience, then and now.