NORWAY — University of New England history professor Elizabeth DeWolfe will present a talk on New England’s “factory girls” from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Thursday, March 26, at the Norway Public Library, 258 Main St.
The talk is free and open to the public. It was originally scheduled for November, was postponed because of bad weather. The snow date for the March 26 presentation is Thursday, April 2.
The illustrated talk will explore the life of young women who worked in the mills, the opportunities mill work brought and the challenges of the difficult labor. It will also examine the”great turn-out,” the 1841 strike at the York Textile Mill in Saco, Maine’s first labor strike. It will look at the tense days that followed the strike and how it 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 is the 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 operative. 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. More about
For more information, please call 743-5309 ext. 1 or visit the library website at www.norway.lib.me.us.
