Rita's Entry: Saturday, March 25, 1911
No more lectures. Bliss. Practiced. Went to Miss Abbott's tea. Very nice. From there went down town and took 2. C. for Harvey. Twins met me. Walked after supper. Ice cream. Showing the contents of "hope box." Dandy time.
IN RITA'S DAY: Young women like Rita probably had no awareness of the conditions poor female immigrant workers suffered through. On this day in 1911, 146 people died in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory. The victims, mostly young Italian and Jewish immigrants, were unable to escape the fire since the exits were locked. These women worked nine hours each weekday and seven hours on Saturday. Many of them jumped to their deaths. These horrible deaths were witnessed by many New Yorkers and led to changes that helped the Labor movement.
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| Many bodies from fire were mangled or charred beyond recognition |
TODAY: One of the women witnessing the horror was Frances Perkins, who became the first woman cabinet member. She was FDR's Secretary of Labor throughout his terms. Now Governor Paul LePage, Republican from Maine, is trying to remove some of the honors she was given by the state. First, he has ordered the removal of a mural that he says is too friendly to Labor and insults business owners. Then he wants to rename conference rooms that honor people who were labor leaders - including Frances Perkins. 100 years after the tragedy above, labor and unions are really under attack.
Judy's Entry: Friday, March 25, 2011
Did exercises first thing in the morning. Decided it is definitely time to get back to a schedule. Went to grocery store. Made one more "care package" for Elizabeth and then took it to her at her OB-GYN appointment. Mom and I are working on a children's book to put together for the new grandchild!
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