“Phyllis Michael Wong tells the stories of the Gossard Girls, women who sewed corsets and bras at factories in Ishpeming and Gwinn from the early twentieth century to the 1970s. As the Upper Peninsula’s mines became increasingly exhausted and its stands of timber further depleted, the Gossard Girls’ income sustained both their families and the local economy. During this time the workers showed their political and economic strength, including a successful four-month strike in the 1940s that capped an eight-year struggle to unionize. Drawing on dozens of interviews with the surviving workers and their families, this book highlights the daily challenges and joys of these mostly first- and second-generation immigrant women. It also illuminates the way the Gossard Girls navigated shifting ideas of what single and married women could and should do as workers and citizens. From cutting cloth and distributing materials to getting paid and having fun, Wong gives us a rare ground-level view of piecework in a clothing factory from the women on the sewing room floor.” (From MSUPress)
Join the Red Jacket Readers as we discuss We Kept Our Towns Going. The book club is open to everyone! The library has multiple copies of the book to check out, and it is also available for purchase in independent bookstores.
This event is sponsored by the Friends of the Calumet Public Library.
For more information, visit the library or call 337-0311 ext. 1107
(In case of bad weather, when school is canceled, all library programs are canceled.)