Working Women at Waltham Watch
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The Offi cial Newsletter of The Waltham Historical Society, Inc. WALTHAM, MASSACHUSETTS NOVEMBER 2008 The Edmund L. Sanderson Lecture Series presents Working Women at Waltham Watch By Tom McIntyre The Waltham Historical So- ciety is pleased to announce the next in our Edmund Sanderson Lecture Series. Mr. Tom McIntyre will speak on November 18th on “The Working WOmen of Waltham Watch.” This lecture will focus on both the women who worked at Waltham and Sanderson Lecture Series Tuesday evening November 18, 2008 the services provided women There was a feeling that they RTN Federal Credit Union employees on the one hand, had to be protected and cared Community Room and the watches that Waltham for. Many of the women work- 600 Main Street Watch produced, to be worn ing at the Waltham Watch Waltham, MA 02453 by women on the other hand. lived at home with their In the lecture you will learn parents. Still, a large number about the beginnings of the lived independently in the The Weathervane is an offi cial Watch factory, and Aaron town of Waltham. publication of the Waltham Historical Society Dennison’s utopian dream of The Watch Company plant 190 Moody Street providing for every worker’s operated on the “Waltham Waltham, Massachusetts 02453 need. He was particularly System,” a system originally 781-891-5815 www.walthamhistoricalsociety.org attentive to the needs of the developed by the operators women employed in the of the Boston Manufaturing © Copyright 2008, all rights reserved Membership in the Waltham Historical factory. With his sisters the Company in Waltham. Society includes subscription to this mainstay of his family’s busi- The American Watch Co. newsletter among other rights and ness, he appears to have been privileges. continued improving the infl uenced by his recognition Waltham System, providing Articles and images submitted for of their importance in the suc- comprehensive benefi ts to the publication, unless otherwise specifi ed, cess of the endeavor.. become the property of the Waltham employees that were equal to Historical Society. Authors submitting In the late 1800’s young or greater than those provided material for publication are requested to sign articles and include name, address, women living away from in modern industrial plants. phone number, e-mail if any, and release to home were a diffi cult issue print images of any individuals depicted. with which to cope. continued on page two The Edmund L. Sanderson Lecture Series presents Working Women at Waltham Watch continued from page one Among their efforts included the One hundred and fi fty to two Mr. McIntyre also plans to bring Adams house. This house served hundred women employees were a small exhibit of the watches as a place where young ladies served by a cafeteria created and mentioned in the lecture to the could live a proper life while maintained by the factory. Wom- talk, and has generously offered working at the watch factory as en in the factory were considered to comment on any watch that at- skilled assembly workers. and treated as equals of their tendees would like to bring. male co-workers on the work This lecture looks to be very fl oor, but as was the custom in the interesting so please join us on late 1800s, were still segregated in November 18th, and listen as Mr. many areas within the Company Tom McIntyre relates the story of and community. Working Women in Waltham at the height of the Waltham Watch popularity. The lecture begins at 7:00 pm at the Community Room of the RTN Federal Credit Union, 600 Main Street, in Waltham. The doors Although the Adams house open at 6:45, and will be locked did not provide suffi cient space at 7:15 pm. Please be prompt to for the housing needs of all the ensure you don’t miss any of this young women, it did provide exciting presentation. Phone 617- an example, and economic 448-6706 for more information. benchmark for other facilities in Waltham that housed the remain- Mr. McIntyre is currently re- der of the women workers. tired, and is spending most of his REMEMBER: Realizing that healthy workers time on activities related to the DUES ARE PAST DUE were productive workers, the fac- National Association of Watch Your support helps us tory in Waltham provided nurs- & Clock Collectors, Inc. On their continue bringing you the ing stations in the factory for both Board of Directors of that orga- lecture series, events such as male and female employees. nization, he has been instrumen- tal in recent upgrades to their the Kaminski appraisal eve- At the same time, a number computing resources and on-line ning, and the Weathervane of beds were maintained by the presence and capabilities. newsletters. If you have not Company at the Waltham Hos- already done so, please send The NAWCC discussion site pital. These beds were reserved your dues or contribution at http://mb.nawcc.org repre- exclusively for employees of today. If you have not paid sents the public dialog face of the Waltham Watch Company at no your 2008-2009 dues a red organization while the web site charge to the employee. dot appears on your mail- www.nawcc.org is the view of Facilities such as these expanded ing label. We will all benefi t the organization’s structure and on the recognition of the impor- by your prompt attention to content. (The NAWCC.org link is tance of the family in the life of this request. in the process of being upgraded.) the factory worker. Photos of the Watch Factory and employees Watch Factory in 1870s 1876 International Exhibition House Tour 2009 Preparations for the Waltham Historical Society’s 2009 House Tour are now underway. The 2009 Tour will be held on Sunday, June 14, 2009. To have your home included, please contact Louise Hamilton at 781- 899-7625. The Waltham Dog Pound Building We need your help now! As you may be aware, Recently the property at 92 extraordinary effort in cleaning the Waltham Historical Felton Street was offered as the building, removing hazardous Society has been seeking a possible site for our collec- materials, and addressing struc- more space to accommo- tion. If you had ever been tural issues that initially made the date our large (and grow- past the building in recent property unattractive. ing) collection of Waltham years, you might wonder The past two years have seen artifacts and records. In why we would consider such the property brought from the the past few years, the City a space suitable for our uses. depths of neglect to a potential has generously worked to The City, under the super- site for some of the City’s great- make available to us space vision of Mayor Jeannette est treasures. The condition of that might otherwise be McCarthy, has made an the property at present, is still far left under-utilized. from move-in condition. How- ever we have been connecting with various community-minded individuals and businesses who have encouraged us to pursue leasing the building. Your Board of Directors has been meeting to discuss the op- tions available that can make this possible. Questions have been raised, and been answered to the satisfaction of the Board. A few issues remain to be addressed. First on the list is the status of the CPA funding the Society hopes will come to fruition. With the funding, we would be able to move forward with rehabilitat- ing the space using high quality, architecturally appropriate plans and materials. Currently, the proposal is still under review by the City’s Law Department and cannot be assumed by us to be available. Next on the list are questions that can only be answered by professionally trained architects familiar with this type of project. Under our current fi nancial cir- cumstances, we are hard pressed to fi nd funding for such a service. If you know of an architect willing to assist with the prepa- ration of plans and guidance through the labyrinth of steps required to obtain an occupancy permit, please point them in our direction. Now is the time that we need your support most. Without the funds from the CPA, making the building habitable for the Soci- ety’s holdings will require more and more funding. The building is currently the site of the former Dog Pound. With your help, we would like to see it return to the glory of it’s earlier life as gem of architectural integrity known as the Waltham Water Works. The Building at 92 Felton Street served as the Waltham Water Works before becoming the City Animal Please do what you can to help Control Offi ce. us in our time of need. If we can Another issue is the increased Others have suggested fi nd- see a strong show of support, the cost of operations that accompa- ing a major corporate sponsor to Board believes this opportunity is nies occupancy of any property. underwrite the costs of a portion one that will rarely be made pos- Currently, we occupy space of the expenses. sible. You can make a difference. where the sole expenses are rent Each of these recommendations Donations may be made to: and insurance. To move into a is under serious consideration. The Waltham Historical Society space like the Dog Pound, our As a fi rst step, we are asking your 190 Moody Street maintenance expenses alone will guidance and support at our up- Waltham, MA 02453 exceed our current requirements. coming November 18th meeting. What avenues are available to us The Board of Directors will ask to address these issues in a man- for a vote of the membership pres- ner that will not jeopardize the ent to give the board permission future of the Society? on whether to proceed or drop our After reviewing all balance initiative.