Commonwealth Speakers:Labor and Industry


Iron Pouring by Jean de Marco, 1941, aluminum, at the Danville post office. From David Lembeck's presentations on Pennsylvania New Deal post office artwork.

The industrial heritage of Pennsylvania and the U.S. is crucial to the identity of both. Our presentations in this category offer an opportunity to take a closer look at how labor and industrial history impact both the state and the nation.

Songs of the Labor Movement
Drawing on almost 40 years of performing traditional music, informed by walking the picket line singing union songs, Bruce Young's background provides a solid foundation for an interactive program of working-class music and songs. The labor movement has proven fertile ground for songwriters like Woody Guthrie and Joe Hill (of I.W.W. Little Red Book fame) and organizers like Florence Reese and Mother Jones of the U.M.W.A. Young will present material from these sources, and others, on fiddle, guitar, banjo and dulcimer. The presentation will give a hands-on feel for the times and troubles of people struggling to adapt to a new country and to earn simple respect as human beings.

Bruce Young, State College
Folk Musician & Dance Caller

Silk Weaver for the World
From 1913 to 1933, more silk was produced in Pennsylvania than anywhere else in the world. Forty-nine of Pennsylvania's counties had a least one mill. In Philadelphia, Reading, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Easton, there were hundreds. The silk industry was one of the top five employers in the state in the 1920s, but by 1989, when presenter Martha Fox's father closed his mill (the last one in the Lehigh Valley), the entire trade had vanished. This presentation will examine the process and challenges of making silk, how and why the industry came and went and its importance for women's labor in the state. The talk includes professional and amateur photographs from the 19th and 20th centuries and a video made by Fox's brother in 1987—a rare record of silk making in Pennsylvania.

Martha Capwell Fox, Catasauqua
Writer, Editor & Researcher

Iron Clads, Elevated Railroads and Portland Cement: The Genius of Jose de Navarro
Born in 1823 to a wealthy Spanish family, Jose de Navarro came to America as a young entrepreneur. It is puzzling that this dynamic man—who had a hand in many of the major economic and industrial developments of the 19th century—is so little known today. Navarro's most important contribution to American industry was his introduction of the rotary cement kiln. With characteristic boldness, he did this on the doorstep of the birthplace of the American cement industry (Coplay, PA). His other accomplishments include the founding of what became the Universal Atlas Portland Cement Company (whose largest plant was in Northampton, PA), the launching of the first ironclad submersible ship and the introduction of the Ingersoll Rock Drill to American mining and railroad building. He transformed the New York Elevated Railway from a bankrupt disaster into a commercial success and helped start the Edison Electric Company. De Navarro also was one of the chief building developers of New York City.

Martha Capwell Fox, Catasauqua
Writer, Editor & Researcher

Pennsylvania's Vanished Industries in Post Office Art
During the New Deal, thousands of post offices were built across the country. Many received artworks, murals and sculptures commissioned by the Treasury Department. Pennsylvania is fortunate to have the second largest collection of these artworks and the majority of these use industry as the predominant theme. Not surprisingly, anthracite coal is featured in the northeast, with bituminous coal and steel in the southwest. But, Pennsylvania was home to a number of other industries as well. Blessed with natural resources and a large labor force, Pennsylvania was a major producer of lumber and slate (for blackboards) and cement. The railroad, glass and textile industries also are represented. In a presentation illustrated with slides, David Lembeck will describe the industries depicted in these artworks, almost all of which have disappeared. While providing a statewide survey, each presentation will be tailored to highlight the art in a specific locality.

David Lembeck, State College
Member of Milton Post Office Preservation Committee

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