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"To Make Both Ends Meet"
19th Century Maine Women Factory Workers
I started working on this documentary in 2003 when I met Professor Carol Toner of the Maine Studies department at the University of Maine in Orono. Carol had seen Penobscot Basket Maker and In the course of the conversation she said how she had done a lot of research and writings on 19th century Maine women workers based on a report done in 1888 by the Maine Bureau of Labor statistics. It was an interesting topic and one which I thought I could make a documentary out of. It was also a little different to the other things I had done since it required so many still photographs, historical research and the like. So, it was a challenge. It took the help of so many other people throughout Maine and elsewhere to get it done, which we did in late September 2004. In the course of doing research for the documentary I came across a lot of things that I couldn't include in the video. There is evidence that conditions were a lot worse than the women spoke of in the 1888 report. This is understandable in that the women who responded to the report were probably afraid to write too much for fear they would lose their jobs; those that did respond were probably the least disgruntled with their work and may be apt to write less critical observations; it may be that the women who did respond had a certain degree of trust that what they said would in some way improve their lot, maybe the women who didn't respond decided on other ways to do that. I don't know for sure. I have heard of very active labor agitation and unrest among Mainers, of children being beaten in the workplace, of sexual harassment and other matters that I felt I was unable to cover here because my focus was on what the women voiced first hand in the 1888 report. Anyway, I do hope that this documentary serves as a starting point for discussion of early American labor in Maine and, indeed, labor in general. There are so many aspects touched upon in this documentary from health and safety, wages, working hours, immigration, housing and other matters that not only does it offer historical perspective but it easily opens up discussion of matters that concern us all at the present time. Photo above courtesy of the Lewiston Public Library, Gridley Barrows Collection, Maine To purchase a VHS tape ($25 for individuals, $50 for libraries, schools etc) please call 207- 725-2610 or e-mail jsharkeys@netscape.net or Click here to
Short description of Hard Work My health has failed in last four months, and my doctor says I must rest for two or three months or break down entirely. How can I rest when I have not been able to save anything out of my wages? A woman's life is pretty hard nowadays, I think. (Shoe worker) In 1888 the Maine State Bureau of Industrial and Labor Statistics conducted a survey to assess working conditions for women in the state’s shops and factories. The bureau hired Flora Haines, of Bangor to complete the survey. She spoke with women in the workplace and handed out over six hundred questionnaires that asked about health and safety issues, wages and work hours, sanitary conditions in the boarding houses, and other matters. At the end of the questionnaire was this statement: “Make any suggestions that you think will tend to improve your condition at work.” Hundreds of women responded: If I could have ten hours' work a day I could make a dollar and a half. But as my work runs I don't make over sixty-five cents a day. (Lining Maker, Shoes) In this documentary the women's voices are brought to life again to tell the story of working conditions for women in the latter part of the 19th century in Maine. Using interviews, historical photos, and video from present day factories "Hard Work" details the rise of the female labor force in the state's mills and factories and explores the conditions that women had to endure both on and off the job. I board in a private family, pay three dollars per week and washing extra. Could I have work the year round I could do well enough, but as it is, I have hard work to make both ends meet. (Clerk)
Photo courtesy of The Maine Historical Society Photo courtesy of The Maine State Museum Photo courtesy of the Pejepscot Historical Society, Brunswick, ME
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