Oral History Interview with Eunice Austin, July 2, 1980. Interview H-0107. Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007).
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Abstract
Eunice Austin describes a lifetime of laboring in Catawba County, North Carolina. Austin began her laboring life as a mill worker, like many young white southerners. In subsequent positions, she looped socks and made buttons, and after finding work in a furniture factory, inspected and assembled chairs. In this interview, Austin shares details from and reflects on her life, a happy one in her opinion. She offers a glimpse into life in the rural South in the twentieth century, details about manual labor in dominant southern industries like textiles and furniture-making, and the changing roles of women and African Americans.
Excerpts
Grandmother leaves her boy at home when she goes to work
A limited courtship
World War II brings change to the textiles industry
A pleasant social atmosphere at textile and furniture factories
Employers listen to complaints, then do nothing
Gender roles at a furniture factory
Race relations at a furniture factory
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Subjects
Women in the textile industry
Textile workers--Training of
Farm life--North Carolina--Bynum
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Documenting the American South undergo an editorial process to remove
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