We Kept Our Towns Going

This book was received from NetGalley in exchange for a review.

We Kept Our Towns Going tells the stories of the Gossard corset and bra factories in Ishpeming and Gwinn, Michigan. Moving chronologically, Wong follows the factories through their years of operation and beyond. The importance of these factories in Michigan's Upper Peninsula and beyond is shown through oral histories of individuals who worked or lived near the Gossard factories. This is a history of labor in an area not usually focused on, and Wong tells the story well.

Wong takes us through all the details of production in the Gossard shops. She describes the layout of the building; what went on on each floor; how the machines worked and how the women helped keep them working; how the materials were brought in and finished garments went out. Wong also uses the women's recollections to show how the different work structures operated, from how piecework worked and how it was paid out, to the office workers and truckers.

The communities in Michigan's UP were mainly centered around mining. Wong shows how this helped create the perfect environment for the Gossard factories to succeed in. Miners were often laid off for periods at a time, and the wives and daughters of the miners wanted or needed to help their families. The Gossard was perfect for these women.

Throughout each chapter we hear from former employees, children of former employees, other members of the communities, etc. to help us better understand the importance of the factories to their communities. Wong highlights the economic benefits to families and the towns from the first opening in the 1920s until the final closure in 1976.

The longest chapter in the book highlights the lead up to unionization of the Gossard plants and the strike that took place in 1949. I fully admit I didn't quite follow all of the strike negotiations. Whether that is due to the text lacking or my own gap in understanding unions though, I'm not sure.

The last chapters show the changing world of the 1960s and 1970s and the slow decline in the Gossard's work in the UP. Fashions changed and the garments produced were no longer in fashion. While the company tried to move with the times, ultimately the last Gossard factory in the UP closed in the late 1970s. Wong then takes us through what happened to the factory building, the workers, and the towns.

The story of the Gossard factories is bookended by the story of a quilt, made from Gossard fabric and made to highlight the women and the factories that supported the towns for over half a century. The quilt can be seen online at: https://quiltindex.org//view/?type=fullrec&kid=12-8-6495

Overall this is a fascinating story of a little told place and job. The oral histories are what makes the book stand out. The women, and some men, so clearly loved their jobs and what those jobs did for their communities. These stories should be more well known, and with Wong's book, they can be, if only a little bit more.