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.
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