THE TRIANGLE SHIRTWAIST FIRE OF 1911... 

"The fire that changed America"

In the early 1900s New York City was burgeoning with immigrants who were eager to start a new life and desperate to find work. The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory was located on the top three floors of the Asch building in Manhattan and employed over 600 workers, most were young Jewish and Italian immigrant girls who did not speak English.

The Shirtwaist Factory was a true "sweatshop" where the girls worked at sewing machines that were cramped into long rows and were paid by the piece for their work. 

The owners of this factory, Max Blanck and Isaac Harris were notorious for their anti-worker policies. These young girls earned between $7.00 to $14.00 for a seven day work week that included 14 hour days. A sign over the elevator read ... 

"If you don't come in on Sunday, don't come in on Monday"

Blanck and Harris

Between 1902 and 1910 Harris and Blanck "torched" their business twice and collected the fire insurance money. All who worked there were well aware of the danger of fire but because of corruption in the garment industry little or no precautions were taken. 

The two owners refused to put in any kind of sprinkling system and although there were four elevator in the building only one was operational. In an attempt to curb any theft by the workers the owners insisted that the outside doors of the building were locked at the beginning of the workday. There was a fire escape but it was very narrow and would prove to be useless.

All of this set the stage for the horrific tragedy that happened on March 25, 1911

 

A fire started in one of the rag bins and attempts to extinguish it failed because of a rotted rusted hose. 


Girls fled to the stairways only to find themselves trapped behind the locked doors. The fire ladders only reached the 7th floor and the fire began on the 8th. Overcome by their plight, many workers jumped to their deaths. Those who did escape went up to the roof and crawled onto another building. 

The city watched in horror as 146 people lost their lives, 123 of them were young women, most of those teenagers. Both Harris and Blanck survived.

The owners escaped prosecution but the awful massacre propelled city leaders to legislate reforms.

Within two years thirty new laws were enacted that addressed child labor, workplace conditions and minimum wages. The Shirtwaist fire is remembered as the most infamous incident in American Industrial history.

Women would play an important part in the formation of labor unions and reforming work conditions. "We've come a long way baby"

Uprising 

by Margaret Peterson Haddix tells the story of three young immigrant girls caught in the fire that changed America. It is a must read!

WHAT IS A SHIRTWAIST?

The popular shirtwaist was a blouse modeled after a menswear shirt. It was touted as the attire for the independent working woman. 

It was offered in an array of colors and by the beginning of the 20th century designers had embellished it with lace and frills. A fashionable woman would have many shirtwaists and no two were ever the same.

"AU NATUREL" ...

I will admit that I am vain. I always have been. I don't leave the house without my hair and make-up done and clothes that match.  Imagine my shock when I arrived on my camping trip and discovered that my make-up bag never made it to my suit case. So much for "glamping" There was... a moment of panic. 

I knew the hair situation was not going to be good but I was counting on a little cream concealer and a touch of mascara.  NOT!

Thank goodness I brought my big hat with an immense orange flower on it. Everywhere I went people commented about the flower and that gave me a sense of anonymity... they were looking at the flower not me. 

Surprisingly after a few days I forgot myself and realized nobody cared what I looked like. What a freeing thought. Not only did I have the time of my life but on future camping trips.... I won't even pack my make-up bag.  I think the phrase is "au naturel"

Watch these brave girls get natural!

FORGIVENESS... 

"Forgiveness is unlocking the door to set someone free, and realizing you were the prisoner."  Max Lucado

Forgiveness seems to be something that is universally difficult for all of us. Here are two stories where the act of forgiving healed not just the receiver but the giver.

After World War II it was not surprising that there was bitterness between the people of the Netherlands and the people of Germany. It had even effected the close knit Mormon members in both countries.






Then something miraculous happened that touched the hearts and lives of everyone.  Listen to this true account.

www.lds.org


 LOUIS ZAMPERINI
passed away July 2, 2014

The world lost a true hero last week with the passing of Louis Zamperini, Olympic athlete, bomber pilot and survivor. His story is told in the book UNBROKEN and a soon to be released major motion picture. 

Zamperini is remarkable for many reasons, one of the greatest being his ability to forgive those who were so cruel to him. Listen as he tells how  "forgiveness" saved his life.

HAVE A BLESSED SUNDAY!

SUMMER RAIN ...

"Anyone who thinks sunshine is pure happiness, has never danced in the rain."   unknown

It rained all night ... Mother Nature at her best!

"Be still sad heart and cease repining;

Behind the clouds the sun is shining

Thy fate is the common fate of all,

Into each life some rain must fall..."

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

I LOVE THE WATER ... 

Yesterday was near 100 degrees and my granddaughter, who was spending the day with me, wanted to go swimming. Although I loved to swim when I was young finding a flattering suit at this point is difficult and the "after swim repair" is exhausting. Still I'm a pretty "soft touch" and off we went to the local outdoor pool with masks, snorkels, snacks and a friend in tow. 

My intention was to sit on the side and watch the girls play.

art of Annabelle B Roger available for purchase at ...

http://www.drawingafineline.com/categories/greetingcardsswimmingpool/aquasize-5

                                                                                                                         

The water temperature was perfect and before I realized it I was standing in the pool. Then, without thinking, I bent my knees and let the water envelop me to my neck. The buoyancy and coolness of the water was euphoric.

I grew up with a swimming pool in my back yard and although I was pretty much a "fish" its been years since I've immersed myself in that much water. Gleefully, I transcended my age and weight and body mass and glided through the water.

After two hours of this I was a little light headed and completely exhausted. The good kind, when you know that sleep won't be a problem tonight. 

I had forgotten how much I love the water!

I LOVE LEOPARD!

Somewhere in the second half of my life I fell in love with leopard. Inside this 65 year old body beats the heart of a 20 year old that would wear everything pictured below (even those leather pants :) 

images from Pinterest

The sensible part of me knows better and at this point "less is more"  I'm content with a few well chosen pieces. I am on the hunt for the perfect handbag and a perfect jacket.  I can't wait for the fall previews to arrive. Talbots has a leopard jacket coming out. I'm anxious to see how it fits :)

I had this HOBO in my hand and I walked away from it arguing with the voice in my head that said... "You just bought a HOBO and you don't need it"  

Leopard is NOT about "need"  

I would love to find this handbag. Wow!

Love these ladies leopard Wellies available from ...

http://www.daisy-roots.co.ukrainboots 

and the booties on "sale" at Nordstrom 

HISTORY OF THE HOT DOG! 

Nathan's Famous

With summer upon us and picnics and backyard grills in full bloom I thought it would be fun to tell the history of the hot dog.

Most historians agree that it dates back to the Roman Empire.  Nero's cook, Gaius, may have linked the first sausages. In those days it was customary to starve pigs for a week before they were slaughtered.  

On one occasion a pig had been fully roasted when it was discovered that it had not been cleaned. Gaius stuck his knife into the belly to see if it was edible and the intestines popped out.  They were empty because of the "starvation" and puffed from the heat.  Legend has it that he stuffed the intestines with ground meats mixed with spices... the sausage was created.

The Germans picked up on the idea, creating endless varieties. In Vienna sausages became popular and both the Germans and the Austrians claim to be the originators of the modern hot dog...  Frankfurt (the frankfurter) and Vienna (the wienerwurst)

Either way, it is agreed that German immigrants  were the first to capitalize on this commodity. Using pushcarts, they sold hot dogs on the streets of New York in the early 1900s.

Nathan and his wife

Interestingly enough, it was not a German or an Austrian that popularized the hot dog in America... it was a Jewish immigrant from Poland. 

Nathan Handwerker worked at a hot dog stand on Coney Island. He slept on the kitchen floor and lived on hot dogs for a year saving his $11.00 a week salary. 

When he had $300.00 he opened his own stand and changed the price from 10 cents a hot dog to 5 cents.  Customers flocked to him and he put his competitor out of business. "Nathan's Famous" was born.

The term "hot dog" was coined in 1902 when on a cold April day at a Giants baseball game in New York, the son of concessionaire Harry Mozley Stevens convinced his father to buy up all the dachshund sausages and rolls they could find. They were sold from portable hot water tanks while the vendors yelled... 

"They're red hot! Get your dachshund sausages while their hot"  

Up in the press box "Tad" Dorgan, a newspaper cartoonist heard the vendors and drew a cartoon of a frankfurter with a tail, legs and head.  It looked like a dachshund. He wasn't sure how to spell the word so he simply called it a "hot dog" The cartoon was a sensation and the name "hot dog" stuck!

(While most concede that this story is true, no one has been able to locate his sketch.)

Hot dogs became synonymous with Chicago during the Columbian Exposition of 1893.  Today ... we consume roughly 9 billion hot dogs a year.  That's a lot of BUNS!

The Original Nathan's Famous, still open at the same location on Coney Island, has held a hot dog eating contest every year since 1916.

Joey Chestnut, winner of this years contest, inhaled 61 hot dogs!