linda steffy grew up in the borough of boyertown and became a teacher at gilbertsville elementary school. but before her daily minutes with children in a classroom, she had summer jobs to support herself, and each were in manufacturing.
steffy's poem became the first of this poetry project, and such a rewarding first to write, at that. it helps that she is great at being funny, and not everyone can say that about themselves. she sees the humor in everyday with laughter that still teaches lessons, even though she's retired. if you meet her at one of the poetry readings, you might pick up on her laughter skills and would suit well to hope you take some of them with you. below is an excerpt of her poem and some eye-scenes tied to these memories.
*
as a girl, i yelled up at the women working behind the fans
in the windows of the top floor at the beckerman shoe
factory in boyertown. throw down a heel ! one would toss
a chunky clump down—victory through a half a footfall.
my friends and i, we threw it in the road on the hopscotch
chalked lines we’d drawn. the heels disappeared years ago.
i can still hear those machines running. i see men’s boots.
studying to be a teacher, i spent one summer before
graduation using my quick and efficient fingertips
to fashion the timing devices of missiles at witronics.
we heard they were for the vietnam war. before i quit,
i snuck a timing device out in my pocket. nobody knew.
i keep it in a drawer. history quakes quietly in drawers.
i made 500 of them in a day, little watch-like parts.
in new berlinville, i stitched waist-ready lines into belts
at harness house. a woman lost part of her finger once,
the heated drama of emergency and worry spilling
through us. the next day, she walked back to her
machine, sat down, and kept at her workload. she
learned how to sew with a changed kind of touch.
the women cracked dirty jokes at lunch. i blushed.
*
( harness house )
( witronics )
( the infamous little timing device saved as a memory )
( the timing device between steffy's fingertips )
