Did you know that there is a National Historic Site in Troy, NY? Yep, as in the National Park Service. I was not aware of it until this past Saturday.
You may recall I posted an event on the
Town of Greenwich Facebook page last Friday regarding labor organizer Kate Mullany who lead the 1864 strike of collar laundry workers (women) in Troy, NY (aka the Collar City). 2014 marks the 150th anniversary of this event, lead by a teenager, which succeeded (after only 5 1/2 days) in granting the women better working conditions, higher wages, & shorter hours (the big 3). Kate Mullany went on to become the 1st woman appointed to a National Labor Union post in 1868. The
Kate Mullany House is located at 350 Eighth Street in Troy.
The event was sponsored by the
Rensselaer County Historical Society. It consisted of a slide show while guests made there own strike signs. Then we marched down 2nd Street shouting like strikers. My daughter, was a bit embarrassed when I started shouting, though she didn't seem to mind the others shouting "Don't iron, while the strike is hot!" Here's a look at what you missed.
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| Making our strike sign for the Kate Mullany event 2014 |
I tweeted about our sign above.
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| Some guests dressed the part |
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| Slide show of the collar industry & Kate Mullany |
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| RCHS Director, Ilene Frank, addresses the guests |
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| Rensselaer County Historical Society (RCHS) in Troy, NY |
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| Marching on 3rd St in Troy |
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| Participating in the march on 3rd St in Troy |
One of the photos I took I posted on my personal Instagram account (above).
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| We congregated in front of the NYS Dept. of Labor near the Farmer's Market |
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| Educating the public about Kate Mullany |
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| Strikers inside the winter Farmer's Market |
