LIVING LORE IN NEW ENGLAND
A French Canadian Textile worker
[One day, while in a reminiscent mood, Henry Boucher told me the story of his life. As I listened, it seemed to me that his story was typical of the lives of present-day woolen and worsted textile workers.?] {Begin deleted text}Henry began,{End deleted text} "I was born in a basement on Social Street, March 27, 1898. My parents, Henry and Marie Boucher, had migrated from the village of St. Ours, Quebec, to Woonsocket in 1870. I had four brothers and two sisters, all of whom are born in Woonsocket, and I was the youngest member of the family. Due to an illness my mother was unable to work in the mill and the small pay that my father made did not permit our having any luxuries. During slack times in the mills {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}we{End handwritten}{End inserted text} were often without many of the necessities of life. {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}"{End handwritten}{End inserted text} My father {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}was{End handwritten}{End inserted text} an honest, hardworking {Begin deleted text}cotton mill hand{End deleted text} {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}man{End handwritten}{End inserted text} who had very little education, {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}being{End handwritten}{End inserted text} scarcely able to read and write {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}.{End handwritten}{End inserted text} {Begin deleted text}was always willing to work.{End deleted text} After finishing his day's work in the mill he would saw cord wood into stove lengths for anyone who would employ him. For this he received one dollar a cord. We were very poor and my first recollection is of the pot of pea soup that was always simmering on the stove. This pea soup and a few slices of bread {Begin deleted text},{End deleted text} covered with lard, formed our regular diet when work was slack. {Begin deleted text}Why,{End deleted text} I was {Begin deleted text}working{End deleted text} {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}fourteen{End handwritten}{End inserted text} before I had my first taste of butter. {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}"{End handwritten}{End inserted text} As soon as I was able to walk I would help my older brothers as they scoured the nearby woods for fire wood, and with bags we would walk along the railroad tracks looking for {Begin deleted text}coal{End deleted text} {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}fuel{End handwritten}{End inserted text} that had dropped from the coal-cars. At the age of seven I entered the Jesus and Marie Convent. After spending four years in this school I was promoted to the Precious Blood College. Both of these were French Parochial schools. The Precious Blood College was a grammar {Begin page no. 2}school and here I was taught to read and write in French. One hour a day the English language was taught in this school, but as only French was spoken {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten},{End handwritten}{End inserted text} both in my house and in the Social district, where I lived, I was unable to speak the English language fluently. {Begin handwritten}(until ?){End handwritten}{Begin note}{Begin handwritten}?/{End handwritten}{End note}
"The one bright spot in my life, at this time, was in the {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}/{End handwritten}{End inserted text} Spring, when my uncle Hector, a wood chopper who lived with us during the {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}/{End handwritten}{End inserted text} Summer, arrived in Woonsocket after {Begin deleted text}working all{End deleted text} {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}a{End handwritten}{End inserted text} winter in the woods of Maine. He always brought presents to us children and we eagerly awaited his arrival. Leaving the big woods with a loaf of bread and a gallon of whiskey, so that he would not starve during the long train ride, he would land in Woonsocket, march up to our house and shout, "Hey Marie! Me, I've come back for visit. What you got for drink? {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}"{End handwritten}{End inserted text} My mother would answer, {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}"{End handwritten}{End inserted text} Water is the best thing for you. {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}"{End handwritten}{End inserted text} Hector would burst into laughter and say, {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}"{End handwritten}{End inserted text} Those water she's only good for carry the log, not for drink. I go for get me something to drink. {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}"{End handwritten}{End inserted text} So saying he would walk off in search of the nearest saloon. If he found any other wood choppers in the saloon, we might not see his for {Begin deleted text}two{End deleted text} {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}several{End handwritten}{End inserted text} days. {Begin deleted text}Although he drank enough whiskey to kill two ordinary men I never saw him unable to walk straight. While at our house{End deleted text} he would pay five dollars a week for board and room and was always {Begin deleted text}[willing?] to{End deleted text} {Begin deleted text}tell{End deleted text} {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}telling{End handwritten}{End inserted text} us stories of the big woods. At the close of {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}/{End handwritten}{End inserted text} Summer he would {Begin deleted text}[?][?] and{End deleted text} return to Maine. {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}"{End handwritten}{End inserted text} In 1912 {Begin deleted text}at the age of [?]{End deleted text} I left school, and presenting my birth certificate to the Superintendent of Schools, asked for permission to go to work. He told me that I would have to pass a test as to my scholastic ability. Calling me into another room, he handed me a sheet of paper and a pencil and said, {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}"{End handwritten}{End inserted text} Write your name and address near the top of that paper. {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}"{End handwritten}{End inserted text} This {Begin deleted text}I did{End deleted text} {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}was{End handwritten}{End inserted text} {Begin deleted text}and{End deleted text} apparently {Begin deleted text}passed{End deleted text} the test, for after he glanced at the paper he made {Begin page no. 3}out my working papers without saying a word.
"My older brother found a job for me in the Card room of the Lippitt mill. My task was to keep the automatic feed of four Cards full of wool. For this work I received seven dollars a week. We worked 55 hours a week then. About an hour after I started working a man who was changing the gears on my Card turned to me and said, 'Say, kid, run down to the machine shop and get me a left-handed monkey wrench. I broke the one I had. Now make sure you bring back a left-handed wrench.' This was my first errand and I was determined to do it quickly, so I ran all the way to the machine shop. Stepping up to a machinist, I said, "Pete, the Card fixer, wants a left-handed monkey wrench.' He looked at me and said, 'So you're after that wrench. are you? Hell, I don't know where it went. Ask that fellow over there -- he might have it.' I went over to that man and repeated my request. Although he did not have the wrench he knew where it was, so he said, 'Go up to the spinning room and ask Joe for the wrench. He has it.' Running up to the spinning room, I found Joe and asked his for the wrench. He told me that he had just let a man from the weave room take it. In this manner I chased all over the mill until I arrived in my brother's room. When I told him what I was looking for he laughed and said, 'Go back to your work. The men are fooling you. There is no such thing.' All the men started laughing when I returned to the Card room and the foreman walked over to me and said, 'You don't want to believe anything that those fellows tell you. They are like a bunch of monkeys, always thinking up fool stunts. The only thing that they never think about is their work.' From that time on I was accented as a member in good standing, of the Card room gang.
"When I brought home my first pay I felt very important and my mother allowed me to keep fifty cents. This was more money than I ever had before, so {Begin page no. 4}I promptly changed the fifty-cent piece into nickels. How I swaggered around the Social district that night! After I had carefully looked and was sure that neither my older brothers nor my father was inside I entered a saloon, strode to the bar and ordered beer. The bartender, who was talking to a customer, did not glance at me but drew the glass of beer. When he put the glass of beer on the bar he looked at me, started laughing, and said, {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}"{End handwritten}{End inserted text} Say, Sonny, who do you want this beer for? {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}"{End handwritten}{End inserted text} I said, {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}"{End handwritten}{End inserted text} I'm a working man and I drink beer. {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}"{End handwritten}{End inserted text} The bartender replied, {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}"{End handwritten}{End inserted text} Not if I know it. Run along now and come back in a couple of years. {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}"{End handwritten}{End inserted text} {Begin deleted text}As I retreated toward the door the{End deleted text} {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}The{End handwritten}{End inserted text} bartender asked his customers if any of them knew me. One of them answered, {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}"{End handwritten}{End inserted text} Sure, I know that feller, hees son of Henry Boucher. Me I think that hees going to get kick in the pants when Henry hear that hees go into saloon. {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}"{End handwritten}{End inserted text} {Begin deleted text}[?][?][?] the{End deleted text} {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}The{End handwritten}{End inserted text} men at the bar started laughing {Begin deleted text}[?][?]{End deleted text} {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}as I retreated out the door.{End handwritten}{End inserted text} {Begin deleted text}with plenty to worry about, for I knew that when my father heard [?] [?] into a saloon he would be angry.{End deleted text} Sure enough, two days later my father came home in a rage and said, {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}"{End handwritten}{End inserted text} Henry {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten},{End handwritten}{End inserted text} you are a big feller now. Just because you work you tink that you can get drunk. Well, me I tell you that if I'm find you in saloon I'm kick you all de way home. {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}"{End handwritten}{End inserted text} {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}"{End handwritten}{End inserted text} {Begin deleted text}But in{End deleted text} {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}In{End handwritten}{End inserted text} spite of this I was determined to be a man and as all the men in the Card room chewed tobacco I bought a plug {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}.{End handwritten}{End inserted text} {Begin deleted text}and [?][?]{End deleted text} It {Begin deleted text}has{End deleted text} {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}had{End handwritten}{End inserted text} a terrible taste but I kept on chewing. Soon I swallowed some of the tobacco. Immediately my stomach started to turn over and colored lights seemed to flash before my eyes. I was sick, very sick, and I sat on the floor groaning and wishing that chewing tobacco had never been invented. The second-hand {Begin deleted text}[?] [?][?][?]{End deleted text} ran over to me and asked, 'What is the matter? Are you sick?' The other men ran over {Begin deleted text}to me{End deleted text} {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}also{End handwritten}{End inserted text}, but when they saw the tobacco juice, {Begin page no. 5}that had started to dribble from the corner of my mouth, {Begin deleted text}they knew why I was sick and{End deleted text} their laughter was long and loud. Knowing that I would soon recover they returned to their work, leaving me {Begin deleted text}sitting{End deleted text} on the floor. [For weeks afterward, whenever a man came near me he would hold a plug of tobacco in front of my face and offer me a chew. Upon my refusing, the man would grin and say 'You'll never be a man until you are able to chew tobacco.'?]
"The work was not hard and I enjoyed the companionship of the men in the Card room. After I had worked there for a few months I was given a better job, tending the finishers, and another young lad was hired to do my job. When I had the pleasure of seeing some one else being the butt of all the jokes that the men played upon a newcomer. In the mills at that time working conditions were not as strict as they are now. {Begin deleted text}A{End deleted text} {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}and a{End handwritten}{End inserted text} man had a lot of time to himself {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}.{End handwritten}{End inserted text} {Begin deleted text}there{End deleted text} {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}There{End handwritten}{End inserted text} was very little piecework {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}.{End handwritten}{End inserted text} {Begin deleted text}at the [?][?][?] [?][?][?][?]{End deleted text}
"One of these {Begin deleted text}[?]{End deleted text} {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}jokes{End handwritten}{End inserted text} caused my discharge. One morning a fellow worker sneaked up behind me and hit me with a bunch of oily waste. When I looked around I saw the fellow, who had thrown the waste, enter the washroom. Looking around the Card room I saw that the foreman was in his office, so I grabbed one of the firepails hanging on the wall, carried it to a position in front of the washroom door and waited there for the fellow to step out. The door started to open. I lifted the pail, and as the door swung wide I threw the water into the opening. I stood there laughing, holding the empty pail, waiting to see how my fellow worker liked his bath when to my amazement through the door came the Superintendent. He was drenched from head to foot. Swearing and vowing that he would have revenge upon whoever threw the water, the Superintendent's glance fell upon me. I was standing there with a {Begin page no. 6}frightened {Begin deleted text}[look upon my face?].{End deleted text} The Superintendent {Begin deleted text}strode out to me and{End deleted text} roared, {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}"{End handwritten}{End inserted text} Did you throw that water? {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}"{End handwritten}{End inserted text} I was unable to speak and could only nod Yes. The Superintendent {Begin deleted text}then{End deleted text} said, {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}"{End handwritten}{End inserted text} This is a hell of a room. You're fired. I should fire the whole crew. Get out of here before I lose my temper. {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}"{End handwritten}{End inserted text} {Begin deleted text}He then strode from the room; [?][?] to let the foreman [?] what he thought of the discipline in the Card room.{End deleted text} I took off my overalls went to the office and received my pay. When I {Begin deleted text}[?][?]{End deleted text} told my father what happened I received another lecture from him.
"I {Begin deleted text}[?]{End deleted text} went in search of a job every morning and landed one {Begin deleted text},{End deleted text} as a clerk in a grocery store, within a week. The grocer was a deacon {Begin deleted text}of a church, [??]{End deleted text} but he did not let his religious activities interfere with his method of doing business. During my first day's work he called me aside and said, {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}"{End handwritten}{End inserted text} Henry, when you refill the sugar barrel I want you to put in one pound of this white sand to every twenty pounds of sugar. {Begin deleted text}In [this?] [?] the{End deleted text} {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}The{End handwritten}{End inserted text} tobacco becomes too dry and loses weight {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten},{End handwritten}{End inserted text} so one of your duties is to add water to the tobacco. Make sure that you keep it damp. And when you are weighing meat be sure that you have your thumb on the scales. I am operating on such a close margin that I have to do these things in order to make a profit. {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}"{End handwritten}{End inserted text} My hours of labor were long and the pay was but five dollars a week during the eighteen months that I worked for this public spirited grocer.
"Throughout 1913 and the first part of 1914 {Begin deleted text}the mills were very [?]{End deleted text} [and the family had to live on my pay *1] so my brothers and my father were without work most of the time *1. Although the family could not live on five dollars a week, the storekeepers of that period would allow a responsible family to run a bill and when the mills started in September, 1914, it seemed as if {Begin page no. 7}my father owed money to every one in the city. With the mills running steadily my father, by allowing the family only the scantiest living was able to pay most of the back bills within a few months. {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}"When the mills started up{End handwritten}{End inserted text} I {Begin deleted text}now{End deleted text} left the grocery {Begin deleted text}store{End deleted text} and went to work as doffer in the Spinning room of the White mill. As this was a worsted mill, nearly all of the help in the Spinning room were girls and women. {Begin deleted text}After being employed here for a short while{End deleted text} I found that it would be impossible for any girl or boy, working here, to remain innocent of the facts of life, as sex was almost the only topic of conversation in the spinning room.
"I did not work in the White mill very long. My brother found me a job as filling carrier in the Dunn Worsted Company. My duties were to carry yarn, used as filling, to the weavers. As I was in the weave room most of the time I {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}soon{End handwritten}{End inserted text} learned to {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}tend the looms.{End handwritten}{End inserted text} {Begin deleted text}weave by watching the [?] [?] Many times they would get me to tend their looms while they went to talk to a fellow worker, in another part of the room.{End deleted text} The mill was running twenty-four hours a day, as orders were coming in from the warring European nations, and there wasn't enough experienced help to go around. After I had worked as filling carrier for eight months I was given a loom and they tried me out as a weaver. {Begin deleted text}This was a swell job for a young [man But?]{End deleted text} I was making $18 a week and after paying $8 a week at home, for board and room, I had $10 for myself. During the years 1915-1917 the mill was running day and night. The rate of pay had been raised many times until in 1917 I was making $40 a week. I was now paying $15 a week at home and had $25 a week for spending money. My father and my brother were also making plenty of money.
"After many a family argument my father decided to buy a new suit. His Sunday suit was ten years old and the blue cloth had faded so that its color {Begin page no. 8}was purple. But he thought that it was a sinful waste of money to buy a new suit while the cloth of the old suit held together. My mother threw away her old hat that she had had for many years. Every Spring she would replace the ribbon and the imitation flowers with new ones. On the first Sunday that my father and mother wore their new clothes they went to High Mass, as they wanted everyone to see them.
"My father urged me to save some of the money that I was making but I was having too good a time spending it. I bought myself {Begin deleted text}four suits, four pairs of shoes, hats and{End deleted text} many things that I had always wanted but could never afford, such as silk shirts, silk underwear, and a new Ford Car. While I never was a drunk, my liquor bill would be about $8 a week. After the day's work I would meet my friends in the corner saloon {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}.{End handwritten}{End inserted text} {Begin deleted text}and there we{End deleted text} {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}We{End handwritten}{End inserted text} would play cards and talk things over. {Begin deleted text}It was wonderful from a drab and dreary [?]{End deleted text} I was now able to live as formerly only the foremen of the mill had lived. I did not have to eat pea soup. I could purchase steak. I did not have to live in a basement {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten},{End handwritten}{End inserted text} I could pay the rest in a residential district. {Begin deleted text}No matter what I spent, another week's pay was coming. My friends would gather at the saloon and then start out for a dance or a party.{End deleted text} You did not have to worry about your job. No matter what you did, the boss would not dare fire you. It was seldom that I went to bed before two a.m. {Begin deleted text}If you went to work in the morning with a big head, or even slightly drunk, the boss would over look it, as the mill could not obtain enough help. During this{End deleted text} {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}This{End handwritten}{End inserted text} period {Begin deleted text}I{End deleted text} was {Begin deleted text}able to gratify my [???]{End deleted text} one long carousel.
"In September, 1917, I was drafted for the army and the night before I left my friends held a party for me. It was a wild party with everyone drinking, telling stories and singing the French songs of Old Canada. The {Begin deleted text}[?]{End deleted text} Frenchmen that I knew gave me the names and addresses of either their {Begin page no. 9}families or their friends in France. The next morning all of my family was at the Railroad Station to wave good-by {Begin deleted text}[to me?]{End deleted text}. I was sent to Camp Dix, New Jersey and after a few {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}/{End handwritten}{End inserted text} weeks' training I found myself on board a boat bound for France.
"We landed at Brest and I was assigned to the 107th regiment of the 77th Division as a replacement. When we arrived at the village, where my company was training, I was billeted in a French farm house. Being the only one in my company able to talk French I had a fine time as the other soldiers would pay me, with free drinks, to translate their desires to the inhabitants of the town. When the old French couple, whose house I was billeted in, learned that I was of French descent, nothing that they had was too good for me. {Begin deleted text}They introduced me to all the inhabitants and to the Mayor of the town, [?]{End deleted text} {Begin deleted text}the{End deleted text} {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}["The{End handwritten}{End inserted text} French newspapers {Begin deleted text}there was an article that stated,{End deleted text} {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}had reported{End handwritten}{End inserted text}, "A million wild Indians {Begin deleted text}were{End deleted text} {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}are{End handwritten}{End inserted text} coming from America to fight the Germans. {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}"{End handwritten}{End inserted text} All of the French people asked me if they had landed, what they looked like, would they murder the French people if they were let loose and would they scalp they Germans. {Begin deleted text}The Frenchmen's knowledge of Indians was gained from the Wild West movies that they had seen. The soldiers of my company thought that this was too good an opportunity to miss as four{End deleted text} {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}Four men{End handwritten}{End inserted text} of {Begin deleted text}them{End deleted text} {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}the company{End handwritten}{End inserted text} painted their faces, fashioned some Indian suits out of old clothes and with a blanket wrapped around them paid a visit to the Mayor of the town. The Mayor greeted them formally and held a party in his house with the 'Indians' as the guests of honor. All of the inhabitants of the town attended the party. Whatever the 'Indians' wanted was given them, for the French people had seen, at the movies, the massacre that ensued when Indians go on the warpath. {Begin note}{Begin handwritten}∥ ?/{End handwritten}{End note}
"Shortly after this my regiment was ordered up to the lines {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}.{End handwritten}{End inserted text} {Begin deleted text}where we [participated?] in several battles.{End deleted text} Although many of my friends were killed {Begin page no. 10}I came through without a scratch. When I was demobilized {Begin deleted text},{End deleted text} at the end of the war, I returned to Woonsocket.
"After loafing {Begin deleted text}[around?]{End deleted text} for about a week I went over to the Dunn Worsted [Co.?] to see if I could have my old job back, but I was told that the mill was running on short time. Unable to obtain employment in the textile mills I went to work in the Woonsocket Rubber [Co.?] as a trucker. This job only paid $22 but {Begin deleted text}I [?][?] in another way, for{End deleted text} while working here I met the girl that later became my wife. In 1922 the mills started running full time and I was able to obtain employment as a weaver, in the Montrose mill. This mill was making a very high grade worsted cloth and a weaver was able to make $35 a week. {Begin note}{Begin handwritten}Company Company{End handwritten}{End note}
"Shortly after I started working in the Montrose mill I married {Begin deleted text}[?] [?],{End deleted text} the French-Canadian girl that I had met while working in the Woonsocket Rubber [Co.?] {Begin deleted text}I was 21 years old and [?] was 20.{End deleted text} Two nights before the wedding my friends {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}hired a hall and{End handwritten}{End inserted text} held a stag party for me. {Begin deleted text}They hired a hall and [?] [?][?][?][?][?][?]{End deleted text} arrived at the hall early {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}.{End handwritten}{End inserted text} {Begin deleted text}[?] the consideration of the other guests [?][?][?] [?][?]{End deleted text} After the meal he made a short speech as to the duties of a married man. He then proposed a toast {Begin deleted text}to the young [couple?]{End deleted text} and {Begin deleted text}showed that he was the [?] of [?] by announcing{End deleted text} {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}announced{End handwritten}{End inserted text} that it was getting late and he had some duties to attend to at the parish house. When he left, everyone in the hall felt relieved, as most of the acts that they had hired, in Boston were of the 'strip-tease' type and it was not possible {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}/{End handwritten}{End inserted text} to have them performed {Begin deleted text}while{End deleted text} {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}before the{End handwritten}{End inserted text} good {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}and discrete{End handwritten}{End inserted text} Father {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}.{End handwritten}{End inserted text} {Begin deleted text}was in the hall.{End deleted text}
{Begin page no. 11}["There is one event that I'll always remember, and that is my wedding. I had on a morning suit, the first that I had {Begin deleted text}every{End deleted text} {Begin inserted text}ever{End inserted text} worn. It was hired for the day. All of our friends were at the church and the breakfast at the bride's house was a gay affair. We had a bartender to handle the liquor and a dance orchestra to play for the dancing. Late in the afternoon we left for New York City. I had been there before but my wife Alice had never seen New York. What fun we had for the next two weeks exploring the city, and what stories we had to tell our friends when we returned!?] {Begin note}{Begin handwritten}∥{End handwritten}{End note}
"After {Begin deleted text}the{End deleted text} {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}a{End handwritten}{End inserted text} honeymoon {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}to New York City{End handwritten}{End inserted text} we returned to our jobs, I to the mill and Alice to her job in the {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}/{End handwritten}{End inserted text} Rubber shop {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}.{End handwritten}{End inserted text} After we had settled down I became ambitious for the first time in my life. We talked it over and figured out a budget by which we could save $20 every week. We planned to save this amount {Begin deleted text}every week{End deleted text} {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}regularly{End handwritten}{End inserted text} for the next twenty years {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}.{End handwritten}{End inserted text} {Begin deleted text}by which time we would be worth $20,000.{End deleted text} Then we intended to buy a farm and spend the rest of our life in peace and quiet {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}.{End handwritten}{End inserted text} {Begin deleted text}never again to worry about a job, [?][?][?][?][?][?][?][?][?]{End deleted text} It was a beautiful dream {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}.{End handwritten}{End inserted text} {Begin deleted text}and we tried to make it a reality.{End deleted text} [ {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}"{End handwritten}{End inserted text} On?] the second anniversary of our marriage we had $2,500 in the bank, $500 more than we had planned on. We were living in a comfortable {Begin deleted text}and{End deleted text} modern home in a residential district. The furniture was paid for and we {Begin deleted text}did not{End deleted text} {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}didn't{End handwritten}{End inserted text} owe a cent to anyone. {Begin deleted text}[We were also the [proud owners of a Ford car that was nearly paid for.{End deleted text}{Begin note}{Begin handwritten}∥{End handwritten}{End note}{Begin deleted text}"That night we{End deleted text} {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}We{End handwritten}{End inserted text} were very happy and proud of what we had accomplished {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}.{End handwritten}{End inserted text} {Begin deleted text}in the two years since our marriage. Our friends gathered at our home and we{End deleted text} {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}We{End handwritten}{End inserted text} held a party {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}for our friends and [?]{End handwritten}{End inserted text}. {Begin deleted text}It was a gay party. Some of the time was{End deleted text} spent {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}the evening{End handwritten}{End inserted text} in singing old songs and telling stories {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}.{End handwritten}{End inserted text} {Begin deleted text}then all gathered around and [?] [?] telling of the hardships that each of us went through in our childhood how we had to wear our older brother's cut-off clothing that was as faded and patched{End deleted text}{Begin note}{Begin handwritten}No ∥ run in{End handwritten}{End note}
{Begin page}"Everyone was happy, well clothed, and employed at jobs with good pay. We recalled our childhood -- when we had to wear the older kids' cast-off clothing and Sunday was the only day we had meat for dinner. We all swore that conditions would never be like that {Begin deleted text}agin{End deleted text} again, but that shows how much we knew about the future.
{Begin page no. 12}[that you could not tell what the original color was; how each of us longed for Sunday, as that was the only day on which we had meat for dinner. The life that we had lived as children was, in 1934, laughable, for all of us knew that conditions could never be like that again. How could we foresee the future? Everyone at the party was well clothed, well nourished, happy, willing to work for what they desired and were working at good pay. Each one was planning to possess more of the necessities and the luxuries of life. One wanted an electric refrigerator, another a new car, some were saving so that they might purchase a home or a business.?]
"During our third year of married life {Begin deleted text}[?]{End deleted text} a son was born to us. He was named Henry in honor of my father-in-law. A few months previous to the birth of our son, my wife gave up her job in the factory, but as I had had a promotion to 'warp-starter' and was making $50 a week we were able to continue saving $20 every week. The next year we became the parents of a daughter. whom we named Marie. From this time on I was unable to save $20 a week but put in the bank some money every payday. After the birth of our second son {Begin deleted text}[?][?]{End deleted text} my wife became ill and needed medical attention. Because of this I was unable to save any money, for the {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}/{End handwritten}{End inserted text} Doctor's bills used up whatever surplus {Begin deleted text}[money?]{End deleted text} we had. {Begin deleted text}"{End deleted text} In 1928 work in the mills began to slacken and I was laid off. After being out of work for two months I secured employment in the Saranac mill as a weaver. {Begin deleted text}[On the job?]{End deleted text} I received $40 a week. but I believed that in a short time I would again find employment as warp-starter. The next year conditions were worse and I was without work for three months. My wife and I were not worried about the future, as we believed that the mills would be slack for only a short period, as they were in 1921. {Begin deleted text}[?] we{End deleted text} {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}We{End handwritten}{End inserted text} lived on what I {Begin page no. 13}made and did not touch the $3,500 {Begin deleted text}[?]{End deleted text} in the bank. I was without work for six months in 1930 and we were forced to use some of the money that we had saved. But I was in a better position than most of my friends who were buying houses and were unable to meet their payments. My brother Peter was caught in this condition and {Begin deleted text}[?][?][?][?][?] [?]{End deleted text} I loaned him $500. I knew that he, a cutter in the Rubber Shop, making $70 a week, would be able to repay me as soon as his work picked up. Then without warning the Rubber Shop closed down and moved out of the city, throwing 1,500 people out of work. The next year, 1931, the bottom dropped out of everything and we were forced to use up most of our savings. {Begin deleted text}[?] [?][?]{End deleted text} I {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}was{End handwritten}{End inserted text} fortunate, {Begin deleted text}[?][?]{End deleted text} that I had no more Doctor's bills to pay, as my wife was well again. The bank foreclosed on my brother's house and my $500 was gone. My father died in July and after the funeral my mother came to live with me. She did not live long after my father {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}.{End handwritten}{End inserted text} {Begin deleted text}[?][?] in October, [?]{End deleted text} As neither my father nor mother believed in life insurance, {Begin deleted text}[?]{End deleted text} their children {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}had to bear{End handwritten}{End inserted text} {Begin deleted text}[?]{End deleted text} the cost of the funerals. I was unable to find work and spent the entire year hanging around the streets. By the end of 1931 my bank balance was less than $500 and going down rapidly.
"In September, 1932 I reached the end of my resources. {Begin deleted text}[?] [?] with{End deleted text} {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}With{End handwritten}{End inserted text} a wife and three children to support I was unable to find work of any kind. All of my friends were in the same predicament. Finally I had to go on relief {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}.{End handwritten}{End inserted text} {Begin deleted text}and what a relief that was. I shall always remember my experience while trying to get relief from the city.{End deleted text} I went down to City Hall and registered at the Poor Department. After looking me up they gave me a pass to obtain food. But in order to receive the food I had to stand in line on Main Street with every passerby staring at me.
{Begin page no. 14}"One day I stood in a line that blocked one side of Main Street for four hours before I received a small bag of flour and two pounds of dried peas. {Begin deleted text}[?] my{End deleted text} {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}My{End handwritten}{End inserted text} family was unable to live on what I received from the Poor Department so I was continually moving to cheaper tenements until {Begin deleted text}[?]{End deleted text} I was living in a basement on Social Street. The same type of tenement that I was born in. {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}Our{End handwritten}{End inserted text} {Begin deleted text}[?]{End deleted text} home {Begin deleted text}[that I had taken much pride in?]{End deleted text} was broken up and the fine furniture that my wife and I had worked for {Begin deleted text}we had to sell{End deleted text} {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}sold{End handwritten}{End inserted text} to second-hand {Begin deleted text}furniture{End deleted text} dealers. {Begin deleted text}It is not [?] to say that I sold the furniture because the{End deleted text} {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}The{End handwritten}{End inserted text} money that I received for it was so little that it was almost equivalent to giving it away. {Begin deleted text}But my children had to have food and clothing. The rent had to be paid [and coal?] to be bought.{End deleted text}
"There was a soup kitchen on Social Street and my son would go down there with a pail and bring home some {Begin deleted text}soup{End deleted text}. This {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}, {End handwritten}{End inserted text} {Begin deleted text}[?] out{End deleted text} {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}and{End handwritten}{End inserted text} the small amount of food that I received from the Poor Department {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten},{End handwritten}{End inserted text} {Begin deleted text}[?]{End deleted text} kept my family from actual starvation. My family was very poor when I was a child {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten},{End handwritten}{End inserted text} and when work in the mills was slack we would not have much to eat {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten},{End handwritten}{End inserted text} but {Begin deleted text}[?][?][?]{End deleted text} never before was it necessary for anyone to have to go to a public Soup kitchen in order {Begin deleted text}[not?]{End deleted text} to {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}eat{End handwritten}{End inserted text} {Begin deleted text}[starve?]{End deleted text}.
"In 1934 I obtained employment as a weaver in the Montrose mill. I worked steady the whole year except for a few weeks when the mill was closed by a strike. But working conditions had changed. {Begin deleted text}They were as different as day and night from the working conditions of the [?] as 1939 period. The pay had been greatly reduced and the amount of work per man had been [increased?].{End deleted text} I had been making $40 a week as a weaver operating two looms. Now I am operating six looms on the same material and only making $34 a week. I am lucky that I am working on fine worsted cloth {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}.{End handwritten}{End inserted text} {Begin deleted text}[?] in{End deleted text} {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}In{End handwritten}{End inserted text} some mills on coarser {Begin note}{Begin handwritten}[?]/{End handwritten}{End note}
{Begin page no. 15}cloth, the weavers now operate from eight to twenty-four looms for $24 a week. {Begin deleted text}Apparently the only thing that a textile worker can rely upon in [?] times is that the mill owner will never suffer lower profits as long as [?] can transfer the burden [upon?] his [employees?].{End deleted text}
"In 1935 I was again laid off and the money that I had made in 1934 was soon used up {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}. I went{End handwritten}{End inserted text} {Begin deleted text}then{End deleted text} back to the relief {Begin deleted text}[?]{End deleted text}. Since that time I have worked about six months in each year {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}.{End handwritten}{End inserted text} {Begin deleted text}and being unable to support my family when I am not working.{End deleted text} I usually spend the rest of the year on the relief. The last place that I worked was in the Montrose as a weaver, in the {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}/{End handwritten}{End inserted text} Spring of 1938. I worked here for four months {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}.{End handwritten}{End inserted text} {Begin deleted text}but I know that it would not last [?] [?]{End deleted text}
"One morning I left my house and as I entered the weave shop I could sense the tension that seemed to be in the air. {Begin deleted text}The looms cluttered, the men moved about. The [belts?] and [pulleys?] whirred. A typical weave room interior. But on this Monday morning there was something lacking.{End deleted text} No one was talking {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}.{End handwritten}{End inserted text} {Begin deleted text}there{End deleted text} {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}There{End handwritten}{End inserted text} was no laughter. {Begin deleted text}Joseph Boyce, who worked next to me, did not raise his head from his work to call a greeting, nor did he ask me how I intended to spend the weekend, [?][?][?] Everyone was silently working, busy with their [?]{End deleted text} For about a week past there had been rumors that {Begin deleted text}the{End deleted text} work in the mill was getting slack. Only three days ago six spinners were laid off {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}.{End handwritten}{End inserted text} {Begin deleted text}and the rumor was that eight weavers would lose their jobs this afternoon.{End deleted text} I was, in length of service, one of the youngest weavers in the mill and I believed that I would be one of the first to be laid off. But there was nothing sure about it. Sometimes an old hand, whom the boss disliked was laid off and a newcomer kept. {Begin deleted text}This uncertainty kept [?][?]{End deleted text}
{Begin page no. 16}[under a strain until they knew just who was to[?] get the pounce. So they continued to work hard and silently until lunch time, for this was one day that no one wanted to make a mistake and have the foreman's attention called to him. While eating lunch the weavers could talk of nothing but who was to be laid off. While the newcomers believed that they would be the first to go, many of the old-timers remembered how they had spoiled yards of cloth and how displeased the boss had been with them. They wondered if he would remember the many times that he had bawled them out and take revenge by letting them go. So in this frame of mind the weavers started the afternoon shift.?]
"{Begin deleted text}This afternoon the{End deleted text} {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}The{End handwritten}{End inserted text} foreman of the weave room did not walk around the room as he was accustomed to do, and it was nearly the close of the afternoon before he stepped from his office. Instantly, the eyes of all the weavers were upon him {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}.{End handwritten}{End inserted text} {Begin deleted text}watching where he was going, [and?] each man hoping that the foreman would not come to him with the sad news.{End deleted text} I saw the foreman turn to a weaver and start talking to him. They talked for a few minutes while everyone in the room watched. The foreman then turned away and approached another weaver. The first weaver spread his arms out wide in a {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}helpless{End handwritten}{End inserted text} gesture {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}.{End handwritten}{End inserted text} {Begin deleted text}and everyone then knew that the foreman was laying off help. All eyes then turned to the foreman, watching to see who was being laid off.{End deleted text} I watched the slow progress of the foreman as he went from man to man, telling them the bad news. He was now at the next loom and I prayed that I might be spared. But it was not to be, for the foreman slowly walked over to me and said, {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}"{End handwritten}{End inserted text} You know what I have to say. I have a list of men who are to be laid off and your name is on it. They are laying off in every room of the mill and if more work don't come in the rest of the weavers will be out next {Begin page no. 17}week. This is no reflection upon your work, which has been good {Begin deleted text};{End deleted text} and I'll be glad to hire you back just as soon as the work picks up. {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}"{End handwritten}{End inserted text} {Begin deleted text}I replied, ['Well, I guess all the fellows here are in the same boat that I'm in. All{End deleted text} [of us are broke. This will mean plenty of hardship for my family. After eating good for the past five months, the first few meals of that relief canned Corn beef is going to be hell for the kids. But thanks for your offer to rehire me when the work picks up. I'll certainly be glad too get back to work.' The foreman then returned to his office and the weavers gathered?] {Begin deleted text}into a group asking each other what the boss said to them.?]{End deleted text} [?] {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}"{End handwritten}{End inserted text} The men who were laid off {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten},{End handwritten}{End inserted text} now that the tension had been broken, began to joke {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}.{End handwritten}{End inserted text} {Begin deleted text}and one{End deleted text} {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}One{End handwritten}{End inserted text} said, {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}"{End handwritten}{End inserted text} Well Johnny Ryan, the Director of Public Aid be glad to see me? Like hell he will. The last time I was on relief I had to haunt him in order to get any commodities. {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}"{End handwritten}{End inserted text} {Begin deleted text}Every time he turned around I would be at his elbow asking for [?]{End deleted text} Another said, {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}"{End handwritten}{End inserted text} This loafing is all right in some ways but I'll always blame the last lay-off for the twins my wife had. {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}"{End handwritten}{End inserted text} {Begin deleted text}I said, 'I wonder how long I'll have to wait for my unemployment compensation checks. The [?] at time I had to wait ten weeks before I got the first one and then the amount was wrong! And so for a few minutes they joked and talked of the future. They then returned to work.{End deleted text}{Begin note}{Begin handwritten}∥{End handwritten}{End note}
"My mind was not on my looms. {Begin deleted text}I was thinking of the greatly lowered standard of living that my family would have to endure while I was out of work.{End deleted text} I thought of my new radio that I was paying one dollar a week on. That would soon be taken back by the dealer. {Begin deleted text}And then there was the dreadful ordeal of informing my wife and children that I had been laid off.{End deleted text} I knew that there would be no happiness or laughter in my home this night. How could I support my family on the six or seven dollars a week that I would receive from a relief? How long would I be without work this time? {Begin deleted text}[?]{End deleted text}{Begin page no. 18}{Begin deleted text}stood there thinking these gloomy thoughts, not caring how my looms was What did I care now if a [?] or dropped thread [?] [?] in the cloth? But [?] one [?] worry about that.{End deleted text} At bell time I made a bundle of my overalls and {Begin deleted text}[?][?]{End deleted text} {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}went{End handwritten}{End inserted text} out of the mill. I started walking home {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten},{End handwritten}{End inserted text} wishing that the road was twice as long {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}, -- then{End handwritten}{End inserted text} {Begin deleted text}[?][?]{End deleted text} I would not have to face my family so soon. {Begin deleted text}"When I [?] home my wife saw by the sorrowful look upon my face that something had gone wrong and she asked, 'What is the matter honey? [?] replied. 'The same old thing. I'm laid off and don't know when I'll go [?] across my wife's face an expression of fear flashed but she quickly [?] {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}"My wife{End handwritten}{End inserted text} nd{End deleted text} said, {Begin deleted text}"Well, you can't help that, so stop{End deleted text} {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}"Stop{End handwritten}{End inserted text} looking as though you were at your own wake. We have been on relief before and we're still alive {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten},{End handwritten}{End inserted text} so sit down and eat your supper. You'll feel better then. {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}"{End handwritten}{End inserted text} [ {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}"{End handwritten}{End inserted text} I sat down at the table but could eat very little. All this time the children, seated around the table had been listening to the conversation and looking at me with wide staring eyes. {Begin deleted text}Only too well did they know{End deleted text} {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}They knew{End handwritten}{End inserted text} what this meant: less food, no new clothes, no money to go to the movies, peeking through the window curtains when someone knocked upon the door, to see if it was a bill collector, moving to a less desirable tenement {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}.{End handwritten}{End inserted text} {Begin deleted text}in short, [?][?][?] in the family.{End deleted text} After supper I was unable to stand the silence and gloom that seemed to settle over the house so I put on my coat and said, {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}"{End handwritten}{End inserted text} Alice, I'm going down to the corner for a minute. {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}"{End handwritten}{End inserted text} My wife, knowing full well where I was going said, {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}"{End handwritten}{End inserted text} Make sure you come home sober. {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}"{End handwritten}{End inserted text} {Begin deleted text}[?], leaving{End deleted text} {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}Leaving{End handwritten}{End inserted text} the house I hurriedly walked to 'Fats' saloon. {Begin deleted text}In there, [?] would be talking upon every subject. There would [?][?][?]jokes and laughter and for a few hours I would forget that my next pay would be the last one that I would receive for a long time.{End deleted text}{Begin note}{Begin handwritten}∥ ∥{End handwritten}{End note}{Begin page no. 19}{Begin deleted text}"The next day I applied for my unemployment compensation and because of waiting for those checks I was unable to go on the [?] for two months. By that time I was completely broke. for{End deleted text} {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}"For{End handwritten}{End inserted text} the next few months we struggled along on the six dollars a week that I received from the relief. But week by week we were going deeper in debt for rent, electricity, and many other small bills. One morning a Deputy Sheriff handed me an eviction notice {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}.{End handwritten}{End inserted text} {Begin deleted text}[?][?][?][?]{End deleted text} I sat {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}alone{End handwritten}{End inserted text} in the kitchen {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}.{End handwritten}{End inserted text} {Begin deleted text}alone, forlorn and in despair.{End deleted text} It was {Begin deleted text}[?][?][?][?]{End deleted text} just one month before Christmas, and in my hand I held {Begin deleted text}the{End deleted text} {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}a{End handwritten}{End inserted text} notice {Begin deleted text}[?][?]{End deleted text} to evacuate the tenement that I occupied. {Begin deleted text}This was not the [?][?][?][?][?][?][?]{End deleted text} During the past ten years {Begin deleted text}, the{End deleted text} deputy Sheriffs had worn a path to my door delivering eviction notices, writs of attachment and liens on my pay. {Begin deleted text}How could I break the news to my wife, when she returned from a visit to a neighbor's house! Where would we go?{End deleted text} When you are on relief and only receive six dollars a week it is impossible to support a family and pay rent. {Begin deleted text}The landlords did not care [?][?][?][?] to families on relief as they [?] not be sure of their rent. The most of them were demanding their rent [in?] [advance?]. If I could find a [tenement?], where could I borrow the three dollars for the first months rent?{End deleted text} What a Christmas was in store for my children! As I sat there {Begin deleted text}[?][?][?]{End deleted text} the door opened and my wife walked in. {Begin deleted text}[?][?]{End deleted text} I {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}silently{End handwritten}{End inserted text} handed her the eviction notice. {Begin deleted text}She knew what it was.{End deleted text} She had seen many of them since 1930. {Begin deleted text}Silently she{End deleted text} {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}She{End handwritten}{End inserted text} laid it down and started to prepare dinner, each of us wondering where we could find {Begin deleted text}a{End deleted text} {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}another{End handwritten}{End inserted text} tenement. {Begin note}{Begin handwritten}∥{End handwritten}{End note}
"A knock on the door. {Begin deleted text}We looked at each other.{End deleted text} What more trouble was coming to us? Good news had been absent from our lives for more than ten years. My wife {Begin deleted text}[?]{End deleted text} listlessly walked to the door and opened it.
{Begin page no. 20}There stood Adrian Bonin, with a broad smile upon his face {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}.{End handwritten}{End inserted text} {Begin deleted text}and he{End deleted text} {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}He{End handwritten}{End inserted text} said, {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}"Oh{End handwritten}{End inserted text} boy, Henry. I have thees fine news for you. De boss wants for you to come to work tomorrow morning. Thees mill she's get the big order. We'll work all winter. {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}"{End handwritten}{End inserted text} {Begin deleted text}[?][?][?][?][?] [?][?][?][?][?][?][?] [?][?][?][?][?][?][?] [?][?][?][?]{End deleted text} Adrian answered {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}our excited questions{End handwritten}{End inserted text} as best he could and soon left {Begin deleted text}Dinner was forgotten and my{End deleted text} {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}My{End handwritten}{End inserted text} wife and I were still talking {Begin deleted text}[in an excitable manner?]{End deleted text} when our children came in for dinner. {Begin deleted text}They sensed the jovial mood of my wife and myself and when they heard the news they too forgot about dinner in thinking of the happiness that this [news meant?]. Their father was going back to work. There would be new clothes for all and toys and presents for Christmas.{End deleted text} After the children had gone to bed Alice and I {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}still{End handwritten}{End inserted text} sat up talking. We planned how we could spend my first week's pay to the best advantage. By paying a little each week on the old bills we would soon be out of debt. We would not have to move {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten},{End handwritten}{End inserted text} now for as soon as the landlord knew that I was working he would forget about his eviction notice. And if we needed money at Christmas we could easily borrow it from the small loan company. So in a happy frame of mind we went to bed.
"The next morning I was at the mill gates an hour before bell time. There I found all of my fellow workers {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}.{End handwritten}{End inserted text} {Begin deleted text}and I joined in their conversation. Each asked the other what they had been doing during the lay off and what were they going to do with their first pay.{End deleted text} There were predictions, laughingly made that 'Fat's' saloon would do a rushing business on pay night. But under all this gay jesting everyone of us knew that when the order was finished in a few months, we would again be laid off, to {Begin deleted text}a [tramp?] the streets while we{End deleted text} {Begin deleted text}collected{End deleted text} {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}collect{End handwritten}{End inserted text} our unemployment compensation checks and {Begin deleted text}[then back on?]{End deleted text} relief {Begin inserted text}{Begin handwritten}ration.{End handwritten}{End inserted text} {Begin deleted text}[?]{End deleted text}{Begin page no. 21}{Begin deleted text}would have to go until the mill started running full time again. We had gone{End deleted text} through this routine many times in the past ten years and each one of us knew that he would go through it many times in the future. But that knowledge could not dim our spirits today because we knew that while the mill operated we would be able to eat what we wanted, we could dress our families and have a dollar left so that when meeting our fellow workers in 'Fat's' {Begin deleted text}saloon on Saturday night each one of us could stand up to the bar and pay for a round of beers."{End deleted text}