H-0161_Audio |
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Object Description
Interview no. | H-0161 |
Restrictions | No restrictions. Open to research. |
Project | H.5. Piedmont Industrialization, 1974-1980: Charlotte, N.C. |
Project description | Interviews, 1979-1980, about industrialization in Charlotte, N.C. Interviews focus on mill village neighborhoods of north Charlotte with most of the interviewees having worked in the cotton or hosiery industries. Topics include jobs in the mills, work conditions, child labor, work discipline, changing technology, speed ups, efficiency experts, the impact of the Depression and World War II, unionization and strikes, paternalism, company stores, relations between textile workers and other Charlotte residents, and general mill village and family life. A few of the interviewees are with transportation workers and business leaders and executives. Interviews were chiefly conducted as part of the "Perspectives on Industrialization: The Piedmont Crescent of Industry, 1900-1940" project. |
Date | 5 March 1980 |
Interviewee |
Dyer, George, 1905-2002. Dyer, Tessie, b. 1908. |
Interviewee occupation |
Textile workers Textile workers |
Interviewee DOB | 1905 1908 |
Interviewee ethnicity | Whites |
Interviewer | Jones, Lu Ann. |
Abstract | George and Tessie Dyer worked in Charlotte textile mills for much of their lives. This interview begins with a discussion of their childhood and the work that their parents and grandparents did. Tessie Dyer began working in Charlotte in 1926. She describes the variety of jobs she had within the mill as well as her relationship with coworkers. George describes his job as a cotton yarn spinner as well as other jobs he had in Virginia and New York. They recall the parties young adults would attend after work--they maintain that people enjoyed their lives despite the difficulty of their jobs. The Dyers also describe how Tessie's mother took care of their sons while they worked at the mill. The interview ends with their observations about union activity at the local mills and their opinion on whether the unions were useful. They both recognize that the lack of a strong union during their working years negatively influenced their financial security during retirement. |
Subject Topical |
Textile workers--North Carolina--Charlotte. Women textile workers--North Carolina--Charlotte. Farm life--Southern States. Textile workers--Southern States. Strikes and lockouts--Textile industry--North Carolina--Charlotte. Textile workers--Labor unions--North Carolina--Charlotte. Soldiers--Social life and customs. Retirees--North Carolina--Charlotte. |
Subject Name |
Dyer, George, 1905-2002. Dyer, Tessie, b. 1908. |
Citation | Interview with [interviewee name] by [interviewer name], [interview date] [interview number], in the Southern Oral History Program Collection #4007, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill |
Description
Interview no. | H-0161_Audio |