Maine’s ‘factory girls’ topic of Nov. 12 Norway Library talk

NORWAY — Norway Memorial Library will host a talk on the life of New England’s “factory girls,” from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 12.

Elizabeth DeWolfe, a University of New England history professor will present an illustrated talk on the opportunities mill work brought and the challenges of the difficult labor. That talk will examine the tense days that followed the “great turn-out,” a strike by the largely female workforce at Saco’s York Mill in 1841, and see how a strike in one Maine town connected to national agitation for women’s rights, including suffrage. It’s a fascinating story of young women calling out men on broken promises, organizing to take collective action, and making a public display that anticipated by 170 years, the women’s marches of today.
DeWolfe received a Ph.D. in American and New England Studies from Boston University and is the award-winning author of several works of history including “The Murder of Mary Bean and Other Stories_,”_ about the short life and tragic death of a New England textile worker. DeWolfe’s research focuses on the stories of ordinary women whose lives would otherwise be forgotten and she brings her archives-based research into the classroom in courses on women’s history, historical research methods and American culture.
The program is free to attend and open to the public. For more information, call 743-5309 ext. 1 or visit www.norway.lib.me.us.