Yesterday Josie and I marched in the NYC Labor Day Parade with the Remember the Triangle Coalition — 2011 will be the 100th anniversary of the fire that changed New York City. We had an amazing experience, even in the rain.

josie and the fire truckcan you hear the people sing?

I am obsessed with the Triangle Factory Fire. I devoured the brilliant book by David von Drehle, I’ve written about it for The Forward, and I’ve participated for a couple of years in a wonderful art project called Chalk, in which volunteers fan out across the East Village, Lower East Side and Brooklyn to write the victims’ names and ages (they were all so young, mostly girls) in front of where they used to live. Last March Josie chalked with me, which was wonderful. She chalked for Kate Leone, one of the youngest victims, who was 14. Josie has developed her own interest in labor history, the fight for women’s suffrage, and the fire. It started when she read a children’s book (one that she found on her own) called Gotcha! (part of a trilogy about a girl named Rosie whose mother works in the garment factories), by Carol Matas, in which a little immigrant girl becomes an activist for workplace safety and worker’s rights. I LOVE that Josie and I share this fascination. (I just got Jacqueline Davies’ new YA novel about the Fire, Lost, but want to make sure Josie’s old enough to read it — if there’s “lovey stuff” in it, or it’s too graphic or gruesome, it’s a non-starter — she’s still only seven.)

susan & josie

susan & josie

Anyway, Josie made a friend (what else is new) in the parade, she got to help make sashes (the names of the 146 victims were written on sashes worn by the marchers) and enjoyed carrying her stick. Josie wore a sash for Kate Leone. (I marched in memory of Jennie Stein, who lived very close to our apartment.) As I’ve written before, Jonathan’s distant relative was Max Steuer, the lawyer who defended the factory owners. I’ve exchanged email with Susan Harris, a granddaughter of Max Blanck, one of the factory owners. I was happy to meet her at last in the parade; she came in from California with some of her family. She does beautiful embroidery of victims’ names on vintage shirtwaists as a way to address her familial history. She loaned Josie a gorgeous vintage lace dress to march in.

It was good to march with current garment workers, good to share this experience with Josie, and good to think about how some beauty came out of tragedy. We wouldn’t have workplace safety laws if not for the awareness of worker exploitation that came out of the fire. (But someone needs to remind Wal-Mart.)

josie making sashes

josie making sashes

diane, fabulous on a firetruck

diane, fabulous on a fire truck

marcher with banner

marcher with banner

stiltwalker (her sash is for the 5 unclaimed, unnamed victims)

stiltwalker (her sash is for the 5 unclaimed, unnamed victims)

balloon arch released at the end of the parade...

balloon arch released at the end of the parade...

riding in the fire truck with clara

riding in the fire truck with clara

shirwaists & firetruck

shirtwaists & fire truck

7 Comments

  1. Gina September 13, 2009 at 6:45 pm

    Amazing. You’re making me cry!

  2. susan harris September 16, 2009 at 10:58 am

    I love it! You’re the best!
    And Josie, well…what can one say about a beautiful seven year old activist with eyes that shine pure love in every little moment! I’m so honored to have met the both of your lovely people.

  3. the little secret September 29, 2009 at 10:21 am

    […] luscious. And for Josie, who is fascinated by political injustice (witness her interest in the Triangle Fire and books about suffrage and civil rights), there’s even a thrilling revolution in which […]

  4. triangle fire anniversary March 26, 2010 at 2:08 pm

    […] on answering the producer’s questions about the fire and its import, something I’ve written about before. But I wish I’d volunteered more info about how amazing I think the Chalk […]

  5. the general slocum disaster June 16, 2010 at 1:15 pm

    […] anecdotes I hadn’t heard before. And it occurs to me: I’ve written a lot about the Triangle Factory Fire, but never about The General Slocum disaster. Why not? Maybe because at least something healing […]

  6. josie in the NYT March 21, 2011 at 8:38 am

    […] credit!) I’ve written about Chalk several times — in The Forward back in 2007, on my blog in 2009 when Josie marched with today’s garment workers in the Labor Day Parade, and on my […]

  7. triangle anniversary activities March 22, 2012 at 11:23 am

    […] is the 101st anniversary for the Triangle Factory Fire. (I have written many times of my obsession with the fire. Josie and I will once again be participating in CHALK.) Here’s […]

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