a glimpse: betty rickenbach, born 1924.

betty rickenbach met her first days on this earth first in 1924. in april, she and her daughters opened up a unique shop in shillington, not far from her home. it's called avenue 4 accessories and is stocked entirely of hand-crafted items made by betty and her four daughters. this includes rickenbach's paintings and baby clothing she's made, as well as jewelry, ornately decorated flip flops in summertime, tote bags, handmade chocolates and plenty more made by her daughters.

it was also a great privilege to write the life story of rickenbach in mature living in the reading eagle in october. her kindness and sweet spirit in any conversation set a great example for the world, especially today.

rickenbach is on the cover of the first volume of poetry for this project, too, right in the middle, at the top.

rickenbach's poem references a kind of  industry-specific publication where her workplace is mentioned, and putting these words in the air while reading the poem always rounds out some laughter from the crowd. a link to the publication is below as well, to literally see its old print, when you find your way to the first line of the poem.

most people cringe or flinch a bit when they hear lines toward the end of rickenbach's poem from this project. read her excerpt below from the first book of the labors of our fingertips: poems from manufacturing history in berks county, and your senses will soon make you well aware of why.

*

a july 5, 1921 edition of the corset and underwear

review references that fairy silk mills would be
adding another story to its new building, to keep
up with expanding the operation in shillington.

history books, and anywhere else the name is written,
carry the tinkerbell-thinking sort of spelling, but i
remembered it as faerie. an ad dating from 1947
shows a teenage girl enjoying telephone-gabbing

while wearing a nightgown from the mill. it’s
spelled both ways across the print. by the time
they hired me, i didn’t see any silk in the fabric
selection. i did top-stitching of the yokes of slips,

beckoning acetate yarn and viscose rayon.
when my machine had trouble, or if the thread
didn’t come through, i called my supervisor,
mary fritz, or eyed the room for the machinist.

my finger met the needle one day, not there but
at a shirt factory near broad and hendel streets.
its name has left me by now. i sewed right across
my nail. i think i closed my eyes for a minute.  

* 

and here is what is now the old fairy silk mills building 
on catherine street in shillington.
 

to help support this poetry project or to buy the first book from it, visit  https://www.gofundme.com/berkscountypoems, or for other purchase and donation options, please reach out by email to thelaborsofourfingertips at yahoo dot com or by phone at 610.401.3392.

channel 69 coverage of yesterday's poetry reading at the bernville area community library.

yesterday's poetry reading for the labors of our fingertips: poems from manufacturing history in berks county at the bernville area community library had coverage from channel 69 news, which played at 6 and 10 p.m. you can watch that clip here. this kind of positively-geared media attention and way to spread news of the project across the community is greatly appreciated.

ruth darling (after meeting her, you learn that her last name is entirely fitting), who works for this library in bernville, thoughtfully helped in making all of this possible. and bailey thumm assisted with taking the bulk of the photographs below. thank you graciously to these two women.

 

al haring kindly offered his time again as one of the poem-sources from the poetry project and the first book in these efforts. he also joined something new into the readings-- he read his own poem to the audience. and he tossed the pennsylvania dutch curse words from his poem with such authenticity !

the audience had such enthusiasm and great questions. it's so rewarding to see and hear people busy appreciating the project.

making history-- the first time dogs came to one of these poetry readings.

on november 18 at t.e.a. factory in the city of reading, this poetry project had its first fur kids as listeners at a poetry reading. what a nice perk. the dogs joining in on the fun had delicious names, too-- nibbles and vanilla bean.

we had a small group of eight people at the poetry reading, but these kinds are always cozy and have a nice feel to them, as the poems grace the air, and people in our community who did not know each other beforhand share stories and talks across a table together. and that was a goal of this project, so it's charming to the heart to witness these new and less expected connections across would-be strangers.

linda steffy helped out by sharing stories of her time working in different kinds of industries in boyertown during her college years, and she also brought an enlarged copy of a pre-1950s aerial photograph of the area.

t.e.a. factory's space offered a great ambiance for the evening, and it's a venue we're fortunate to have in berks county. it hosts unique classes and public events, and poetry readings fall into that pro-community and arts feel.

 

emma shealer assisted with taking photographs for this poetry reading. many thanks to her for that contribution to the project. and having fur kids in the photo scenery also seems to really help in appreciating that night !

berks arts council's latest grant award ceremony-- november 8, 2015.

last weekend, berks arts council hosted its 2015-2016 pennsylvania partners in the arts grant award ceremony for recipients in three local counties who received funding to help in all sorts of arts projects in our region. each year, goggleworks is the host for this awards ceremony since berks arts council's office is located in this arts center within the city of reading.

the pennsylvania council on the arts supported this poetry project for the second year in a row, and total funding also through berks arts council's assistance increased by almost 40 percent since last year. amazinggg, yes. simply put.

a total of 39 nonprofits and individuals received grants for their varied, valuable work in the arts in berks, lancaster, and schuylkill counties, and  this says a lot about the hard work of each of the sets of people who applied for these grants. we are very fortunate to live in an area where people value and push arts forward so much and in a state where the arts are backed by legislators.

this latest grant is a great honor to receive, on top of being wonderful news, and it helps the project to be possible yet again for a second year, in supporting an important portion of the costs for this work in berks county. 

since the ceremony always takes place in goggleworks, the shortest poem from the first book for this project seemed like a perfect fit to read to the audience because it took place in this same building in the 1940s when willson products, inc. still had a presence in the city of reading. here is the full poem, which comes from the life of helen mengel of maidencreek township. she joined our world in 1924.

*

my desk job at willson products, inc.
took root in the advertising department.

we put together ads
for newspapers, flyers,

and folders. six of us sat together,
brainstorming. the only other woman

besides me quit because
she didn't like the men's

foul language. older than me, she
had been preparing to marry and didn't

enjoy the way the guys joked
about how her wedding

night would go. so she left me there
as the only female, and including

the boss, that made
five of us. still

a teenager, i didn't really mind it.
they never bothered me much.

when rain
and river

flooded the factory in 1942, we all
had to help clean lenses for a week,

wiping them
down with cloth.

*

( helen mengel ) 

a poetry reading full of seniors at hearthstone at maidencreek this november.

last friday, a poetry reading for residents at hearthstone at maidencreek, a retirement home in maidencreek township, served as the first yet for this poetry project where poems were read to an audience of exclusively seniors.

and this also served as a special reading because hearthstone at maidencreek is the one location where the most poem-sources all live in one place. six of those in attendance were poem-sources, and about 20 people were there altogether.

photos were taken by the poet, kathy moore, and allison rohrbach. many thanks for this assistance to moore and rohrbach for this eye-scooping help with the camera, to help share scenes from this reading with our community and beyond.

the oldest poem-source, irene schappell, who will be 99 in just a few short days, had great wit at the reading. she called me a "doll" and then finished by adding, ''croc-a-doll." she is known for her wonderful humor at hearthstone at maidencreek.

 below is the excerpt from schappell's poem. she made her way to this earth in 1916.

 *

like so many women in our patch
of pennsylvania in the past, i sat

at a knitting machine and used
my feet to make the pedals go.
my dad, he served as a firefighter.
and i knitted black and tan stockings

for all these women i’d never meet,
after the fibers i knew left my hands
and went onto those who would inspect
it all, package so many pairs, and ship

them away. now that i’ve rounded
almost a century in my life, who
could remember the name of that
mill—maybe hamburg knitting mills.

maybe hamburg hosiery mills. i wore
some of what i made, so my legs
remained toastier in winter, back
when dresses and skirts flowed, flew

as we walked, not like all the pants
and jeans the girls wear today. where
i worked, a small mill, it had good
workers and leaders. a few men

knitted at machines as i did. just a few.
my supervisors told me i did a good
job, that i was a good worker, reliable.
the noise of the machines, so loud.

---

a girl i don’t know writes me a letter,
says i’m wonderful. smart. funny.
and that not everyone is funny at 98.
i love reading this letter, holding it.

*

 

(irene schappell)

then helen mengel threw out the invitation for some great laughs when she let us all know that upper level management at willson products, inc. asked her to hand two male celebrities each a pair of sunglasses in a promotional scene, while she worked there. at first, she thought one of them was burt reynolds, but he would've been too young back then, so maybe it was rock hudson. it's hard to remember celebrity names sometimes at any age, especially if you haven't seen their movies in a long time, if they're actors.

( helen mengel, left )

john heck told us that he had a goat named billy who followed him around on his family's farm as a pet before he went into manufacturing as an adult, once he wasn't a teenager anymore. the goat would sleepwalk as john pushed a plow on the fields, and sometimes billy walked and bumped right into john's one leg as he worked. for fun, john also fashioned billy's horns in yellow and green hues with paint he found in his family's barn, since he thought the color of the horns naturally just wasn't as exciting as what paint could offer.

and here are all of the six-poem sources together: from left—

erma merkel

pauline phillips

irene schappell

helen mengel

edna machemer

john heck

 

at the end, pauline phillips turned to me, put her hand on my wrist, said, thank you for all of this, and winked at me with the most beautiful gratitude. life feels entirely magical, fulfilling, and just plain right in such moments with the seniors from this project.

book review on volume one of "the labors of our fingertips: poems from manufacturing history in berks county."

business weekly in the reading eagle recently reviewed the first volume of poems for this project in a feature called reading room. a clip of reading room is below.

the october 25, 2015 poetry reading at studio b went swimmingly. thank you to everyone who brought such enthusiasm & interest !

the second poetry reading for this project at studio b in boyertown had a very gracious audience, and three poem-sources were able to attend: shirley reifsnyder, mary hess, & alice gerhart, helping to bring the audience total to 20 people.

laura kline of earl township assisted with photography to contribute. many thanks to her kind heart for that labor.

shirley reifsnyder, seen above, came into this world in 1934 and spent most of her life on the outskirts of boyertown. below is her poem excerpt from the first volume in this project.

*

two friends and i walked into maimon’s clothing factory 

on franklin street in boyertown when we were 16. they 

hired us right away. we didn’t sit at machines but hand-

stitched the armpits of inner linings in coats, a needle 

and thread and too 

                                           fast

of skill for the women who worked there. competition,

our speedy fingers—within weeks, maybe days, the man

they called the boss told us they didn’t need us anymore.

we knew the older women fussed about us, didn’t like

us, our teenage laughter, how quickly we did our work

compared to them. so much for that first job, that pay.

next, i did tacking at penn valley knitting mill on route 

562, securing the tops of underwear with cotton tubing,

just the waistband at the seams, at the edges of hips.

in summer, with no air conditioning back then,

we sweat jelly beans. now a doctor’s office, i found

myself sitting in the waiting room exactly where 

my machine once sat, and i could stare out the same

window i knew there in the 1950s. later, that mill 

moved to second street. on fridays, the girls and i 

often went to ethel’s luncheonette at third street

and south reading avenue. we downed banana

splits, sometimes ice cream sundaes. but i took up

tacking at campbell and helmich for better wages.

women’s nighties shaped to life in our hands.

i tacked the waistbands at the closing of panties.

some of the nighties had straps. some had sleeves.

*

alice gerhart attended the last reading at studio b back in june, as a great supporter of this project. her poem excerpt will be saved for another featured post in the future. 

we had some great book sales on this particular sunday afternoon, and the enthusiasm of audiences is always heart-warming as they ask questions and shares stories with the poem-sources who are able to make it to these events. studio b's organizers are also great hosts, and the space is wonderful for a poetry reading. 

anyone looking to order a copy of the first volume of poems for this project can do so through the gofundme campaign or through old school means (a likable approach, cash or check) at a future reading. see updates on the blog for more poetry reading dates in november and december. and if anyone has seniors to recommend for interviewing in the second year of the project, please send any suggestions to thelaborsofourfingertips@yahoo.com.

a great inspiration for this poetry project-- frank kelso wolfe of royersford, montgomery county.

this month marks the first year since poet-artist-comedian frank kelso wolfe passed away. he served as one of the greatest inspirations for this poetry project, and the first volume of poetry is dedicated to him. 

a first annual memorial event hosted in his honor happened at steel city coffeehouse in phoenixville on thursday, october 8, 2015, a day after the exact anniversary of us losing him, at least in bodily form.

please check out his tribute website at www.frankkelsowolfe.com. a few friends are encouraging people to test out their own versions of his art to be uploaded to share and also keep the site constantly evolving, which he would have absolutely loved. test out his art for yourself, if you like. it would warm his energy of spirit so much, any time a paintbrush moves across a canvas or a piece of paper, in honoring and remembering him.

and below some samples of his art is a poem by him.

*

this guy
by frank kelso wolfe
written 10 august 2014

if i knew a guy named frank
and it was 3:39 in the morning
and i knew he was sitting tall
at the foot of his unkempt bed
in the high backed leather swivel chair
seeing his own reflection
in the black bay windows and elegant clay
(a distinctly different perspective
just four feet from where he used to lay
twisted in the joyful pain of being alive)
if i knew this guy,
that he has trouble walking
but can fly 'round the sparkling globe
soaring above cities and seas
clawing at constellations, gorging on galaxies
seeing everyone everywhere forever
without ever leaving his room
if i knew he had chosen clay and pen and paint
over a future and the ways of many or most
if i knew as intensely as he the urgency of life
and the ecstasy and absurdity and aspirations
of a gifted dreamer
who creates smiling faces and comforting words
pleasing shapes he knows will last longer
than the dying tribes of earth
and never have to leave
if i knew him and his silent tears
i'd say how proud i am of him
and how much i love him
and help him to bed

upcoming poetry readings in october, november, & december 2015.

the next poetry reading for the labors of our fingertips: poems from manufacturing history in berks county is this sunday, october 25 @ 2 p.m. at studio b in boyertown. the address is 39a east philadelphia avenue, boyertown, pa 19512.

 attendance is limited to 30 at the studio b reading, and some who RSVPed before couldn't attend. so now expected attendance is at 22. if anyone else would like to attend, please reach out with your RSVP. danke !

at least 5 of the 25 poem-sources from the first book in this project will be at this upcoming reading at studio b to answer questions and share stories after their poems are spoken for the audience.

*

and here is information for the next poetry readings as the season gets chillier.

  

wednesday, november 18 @ 6 p.m. at t.e.a. factory in reading: 

580 willow street, reading, pa 19602

sunday, december 6 @ 2.15 at the bernville area community library:

6721 bernville road, bernville, pa 19506 

*

please RSVP for any particular reading you can attend. and if you stumble across any seniors to interview for the second year of this project, please pass along any recommendations.

poetry project coverage in commerce quarterly magazine published by the greater reading chamber of commerce & industry.

commerce quarterly, a magazine published by the greater reading chamber of commerce & industry, featured this poetry project in its fall 2015 issue. this included scenes from the life of willie kramer.