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We Kept Our Towns Going: The Gossard Girls of Michigan's Upper Peninsula Paperback – March 1, 2022

by Phyllis Michael Wong (Author)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 37 ratings
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WITH A FOREWORD BY LISA M. FINE, MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY—Michigan’s Upper Peninsula is known for its natural beauty and severe winters, as well as the mines and forests where men labored to feed industrial factories elsewhere in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. But there were factories in the Upper Peninsula, too, and women who worked in them. Phyllis Michael Wong tells the stories of the Gossard Girls, women who sewed corsets and bras at factories in Ishpeming and Gwinn from the early twentieth century to the 1970s. As the Upper Peninsula’s mines became increasingly exhausted and its stands of timber further depleted, the Gossard Girls’ income sustained both their families and the local economy. During this time the workers showed their political and economic strength, including a successful four-month strike in the 1940s that capped an eight-year struggle to unionize. Drawing on dozens of interviews with the surviving workers and their families, this book highlights the daily challenges and joys of these mostly first- and second-generation immigrant women. It also illuminates the way the Gossard Girls navigated shifting ideas of what single and married women could and should do as workers and citizens. From cutting cloth and distributing materials to getting paid and having fun, Wong gives us a rare ground-level view of piecework in a clothing factory from the women on the sewing room floor.
Previous page
  1. Print length
    196 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Michigan State University Press
  4. Publication date
    March 1, 2022
  5. Dimensions
    6 x 0.7 x 9 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1611864208
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1611864205
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

Phyllis Michael Wong’s new book We Kept Our Towns Going: The Gossard Girls of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula renders visible the voices of the subaltern. One of the myths of US history is that white women didn’t begin working outside of the home until the early 1970s. This myth has been perpetuated by the lack of storytelling about white women working outside the home. Wong’s pioneering book offers a rare glimpse into this invisible world. This is an astonishing book that will challenge and transform your understanding of what we as Americans think about working women.—Angela J. Hattery, professor of women and gender studies and co-director of the Center for the Study and Prevention of Gender-Based Violence, University of Delaware
 
 

In my years of study of Upper Peninsula history I often wondered when the story of the Gossard girls would be told. Now, through Phyllis Michael Wong’s diligent and thorough efforts, the story has arrived—a major milestone in the history of women in the UP.—Russell M. Magnaghi, professor of history emeritus, Northern Michigan University, and author of Upper Peninsula of Michigan: A History
 

This is a brilliant presentation about the cultural and economic history of women in the garment industry in the UP of Michigan. These are important and moving stories, very well researched.—Douglas B. Roberts, former chair, board of trustees, Northern Michigan University; former director, Institute for Public Policy and Social Research, Michigan State University; and former State Treasurer of Michigan
 

Relentlessly researched, beautifully written, and chock-full of intimate life stories from some of America’s most impactful glass-ceiling breakers, We Kept Our Towns Going is an engaging yet poignant reminder that our nation’s battle for gender equity, immigrant rights, and labor unions is replete with unsung heroes. Unsung no longer, the Gossard Girls profiled in these pages are worthy of study and celebration as our nation aims to finally and fully eradicate the inequities they so courageously faced.—Framroze M. Virjee, president, California State University, Fullerton

About the Author

PHYLLIS MICHAEL WONG has held roles as a historian, an educator, and thirty-year member of the university level academic world, including as First Lady at Northern Michigan University (2004–12) and San Francisco State University (2012–19).

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Michigan State University Press (March 1, 2022)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 196 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1611864208
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1611864205
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 11.5 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.7 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 37 ratings

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Phyllis Michael Wong

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Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
37 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Heidis
5.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable and Interesting - Loved It!
Reviewed in the United States on September 27, 2023
Verified Purchase
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I loved learning about the women who worked at the Gossard factories in the towns of Ishpeming and Gwinn in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Reading about their experiences reminded me of listening to my Mom and her friends talking about how life was like back in the 1930's, 1940's and 1950's. I definitely could relate to the women workers who found jobs at the undergarment factory in order to help out their families financially. All of the workers who the author interviewed stated that they enjoyed working at the factories and that their co-workers became like a family to them. The jobs were the best paying jobs for women in that area at the time.
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Gale Nasser
5.0 out of 5 stars A sensitive review of a part of Women’s History
Reviewed in the United States on June 20, 2022
Verified Purchase
I liked all the research and history about a part of life that could be forgotten and was important to all of us. These women keep our country going during very difficult times. The role of everyday women in the life of society was compassionately portrayed. In my opinion, society is still functioning because of the women. They have been the foundation on which our lives still rest. Gale Nasser
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Kathryn H
4.0 out of 5 stars Such a fascinating story well worth reading.
Reviewed in the United States on March 31, 2022
An amazing journey into not only the history of the undergarments produced by the Gossard Girls (and men, though the name doesn't seem to include them) and how the styles changed, but also the many, many, many different personal tales of what the company meant to these individuals and how they remember different details from that time period, saved and transcribed here for all to know so that those details don't get lost in history, as they almost had. Full of research and really, letting the people who worked there have their voices heard, was just amazing to read snippets of their stories. Not that this changes any rating of the book, but I wish there was a picture included of the infamous quilt made from the leftover material as well. That would have been interesting to see. Such a fascinating story well worth reading.
*I received a copy of this book from NetGalley. This review is my own opinion*
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MichiganJim
5.0 out of 5 stars Delivered as requested
Reviewed in the United States on July 16, 2022
Verified Purchase
I ordered this as a gift and the recipient was surprised and delighted.
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Nancy Adair
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Social History, Women’s History, Local History
Reviewed in the United States on March 1, 2022
Many years ago, we took a side route through Michigan’s Upper Peninsula to drive through the town of Gwinn. One of the saints of our church had been born and raised there. I knew little else about the town.

Gwinn had been built for the mining company workers, a ‘model’ town, a planned town. About the time of our friend’s birth, a building was taken over by the H. W. Gossard company, a manufacturer of ladies undergarments. Gossard already had a factory in Ishpeming. The two factories had a huge impact on local economics. Gossard jobs allowed women to support their families with extra income, or while their mining husbands were out of work, or to save money before marriage. Many girls left school to work and help out the family.

Gossard treated the workers well, even offering free, hot lunches. The piecework sewing was demanding, and physically abusive, but the Gossard Girls were proud of their work and their contribution. They were like ‘family’.

When union organizers arrived, it took years to generate support for a union. It did accomplish a pay raise, but the nature of the work also altered. Over time, the isolated location of the factories became a burden, with transportation costs rising in the 1970s. The factories were closed.

We Kept Our Towns Going by Phyllis Michael Wong is the story of the factories and the Gossard Girls, filled with detailed interviews with the women. The wealth of information may be overwhelming for the casual reader, but for those interested in learning in depth about the nature of the factory work, the growth of unions, and the lives of ordinary working women will appreciate this book. Wong interviewed scores of women who talk about the details of their working lives, rich in details that offer a deep look into decades of women’s history.

I was particularly interested in the use of fabric scraps related in the book. Women made miniature bras for boys to hang in their cars! And, after the factories closed, a stash of fabric scraps were made into quilts! You can find them documented on the Michigan State University Museum Quilt Index.

I received a free egalley from the publisher through NetGalley. My review is fair and unbiased.
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Theresa S.
3.0 out of 5 stars A little repetitive
Reviewed in the United States on April 17, 2024
Verified Purchase
I found the book a little dull. It could have been so much more interesting. I wanted to love it but the writing just didn’t hit the right notes. I grew up in that area of the UP so it’s possible my expectations were too high.
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Janice J Teeter
3.0 out of 5 stars Small town UP
Reviewed in the United States on May 11, 2023
I grew up in the western UP but have never heard of this company or what it did for that area. It was interesting but to my taste the writing was quite dry and repetitive.
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