Mill Mamas: Stories from Textile Women of Rutherford County, NC (2016)

Undergraduate: Kaitlyn Yelton

Faculty Advisor: Kenneth Janken
Department: American Studies

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The Mill Mamas Project is an oral history based research project that explores the experience of female textile mill workers who were also mothers--also known as "Mill Mamas"-- in Rutherford County, North Carolina, both prior to and after the mill shutdowns in 1999. The post-textile/rural economy of Rutherford County exemplifies the regional shift from agrarian-based economies to industrial-based economies during the 20th century, in which women played a vital role as textile workers. Rutherford County womens' experiences as mothers in the textile industry therefore serve as a microcosm of a much larger trend. The interviews show that women across different backgrounds had similar experiences and attitudes regarding labor and motherhood. "We did what we had to in order to make ends meet for our family," they said. One daughter of a Mill Mama stated, "Textiles raised us". The interviews show that mills were a way of life for each family involved.