Henry Queen and Florine Queen Interview

Partial Transcript: JUDITH HELFAND: if you could both introduce your selves and tell me your names, and then we'll talk about your lives here on the mill village.

Segment Synopsis: Henry Queen and Florine Queen discuss living in a mill village, and the impact of the textile workers' strike of 1934 on their mill villages.

Keywords: Parkdale Mill; baseball team; mill villages

Subjects: Baseball players; Belmont (N.C.); Gastonia (N.C.); Textile Workers' Strike (Southern States : 1934); Textile workers

Partial Transcript: JUDITH HELFAND: And why Belmont? Why did Belmont-- why was Belmont such a focus of activity?

Segment Synopsis: Henry Queen and Florine Queen discuss the different mills in Belmont, N.C., and the nature of union organizing in Belmont.

Keywords: mill managers; union organizing

Subjects: Belmont (N.C.); Eagle Yarn Mills (Belmont, Gaston County, N.C.); Textile factories

Partial Transcript: JUDITH HELFAND: Now you started to talk about people that did want to join, the workers that did want to join the union.

Segment Synopsis: Henry Queen and Florine Queen discuss what kind of workers were targeted by union organizers, union organizing and union meetings.

Keywords: union organizing

Subjects: Labor union meetings; Textile workers--Labor unions

Partial Transcript: JUDITH HELFAND: How did management deal with the beginnings of this organizing prior to this big strike?

Segment Synopsis: Henry Queen and Florine Queen discuss the reaction of mill management to union organizing and to the textile workers' strike of 1934.

Keywords: mill managers; union organizing

Subjects: Belmont (N.C.); Textile Workers' Strike (Southern States : 1934); Textile workers--Labor unions

Partial Transcript: JUDITH HELFAND: Now I've, I've seen pictures of what they call the flying squadrons, the strikers that would go from one mill to another.

Segment Synopsis: Henry Queen and Florine Queen discuss the flying squadrons and the textile workers' strike of 1934.

Keywords: flying squadrons

Subjects: Textile Workers' Strike (Southern States : 1934)

Partial Transcript: JUDITH HELFAND: Now what happened to your mill village-- were there people picketing at Perfection?

Segment Synopsis: Florine Queen and Henry Queen discuss the impact of the textile workers' strike on the Perfection mill village, her father's work as a deupty, and murder of a young boy.

Subjects: Law enforcement; Textile Workers' Strike (Southern States : 1934)

Partial Transcript: JUDITH HELFAND: Why was it different than at Belmont?

Segment Synopsis: Henry Queen and Florine Queen discuss the shut down of the mills in Belmont, N.C. and the role of women textile workers in the labor movement.

Keywords: aftermath of the strike

Subjects: Belmont (N.C.); Blacklisting, Labor; Women in the labor movement; Women textile workers

Partial Transcript: JUDITH HELFAND: Now at that time, were you working in the mill when it was 10 hours before it went to eight hours?

Segment Synopsis: Henry Queen and Florine Queen discusses the Textile Workers' Strike of 1934 and look at pictures from that time.

Keywords: eight hour workday

Subjects: Photographs; Textile Workers' Strike (Southern States : 1934)

Partial Transcript: JUDITH HELFAND: How did the town deal with this death? I mean this must have been just a horrible thing.

Segment Synopsis: Henry Queen and Florine Queen discuss the murder of a striker.

Keywords: violence during the strike

Subjects: Textile Workers' Strike (Southern States : 1934)

Partial Transcript: JUDITH HELFAND: Now why do you think -- did it take a lot, do you think it took a lot of courage, on the part of the workers to try and organize here?

Segment Synopsis: Henry Queen and Florine Queen discuss union organizing at Perfection Mills and the role women played in the union.

Keywords: stretch-out; union organizing; women mill workers

Subjects: Textile workers--Labor unions; Women textile workers

Partial Transcript: JUDITH HELFAND: I have pictures.

Segment Synopsis: Henry Queen and Florine Queen look at photos and discuss the textile workers' strike of 1934 and the Loray Mill Strike.

Keywords: Labor Day parade; Loray Mill strike

Subjects: Photographs; Textile Workers' Strike (Southern States : 1934)

Partial Transcript: JUDITH HELFAND: Now when you were working as a section hand, all these other years did they try to organize again?

Segment Synopsis: Henry and Florine Queen discuss later attempts at union organizing and the legacy of the strike.

Keywords: legacy of the strike; union organizing

Subjects: Textile workers--Labor unions

Partial Transcript: HENRY QUEEN: Like I said early I didn't realize the signifgcane of what could happen or what would happen.

Segment Synopsis: Henry Queen and Florine Queen discuss how the strike added a level of excitement to life in Belmont, life on the mill village and working at the mill.

Keywords: mill villages

Subjects: Textile Workers' Strike (Southern States : 1934); Textile workers