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Moe FonerMoe Foner
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Session:         Page of 592

He didn't know what he was doing, so he took out books about the past and he started reading. He became absorbed in the history of the Lawrence strike. He became a bug on it. He said the Lawrence Historical Society had to do something about the Lawrence strike -- that was in the back of his mind. He was very close to Ralph. He and another woman whose parents had been in the strike, they reproduced 1500 copies of Paul's article and distributed it around. So when Paul went back, he was invited to the radio show -- the big hot radio show there, the talk show -- the schools invited him to talk. He was like a folk hero! Later the mayor, Lawrence LaFebre, told me this story, because when we opened the exhibition we did a minor version of Bread and Roses then, when the exhibition opened. It opened after Bread and Roses Day.

Q:

What do you mean?

Foner:

The exhibition opened after Bread and Roses Day in Lawrence, and I'll explain what happened.

LaFebre came to the exhibition in New York and we went to dinner. He was telling me this story. He says, “I go home for lunch every day. I'm eating lunch and I listen to this talk show, because it's the most popular talk show.” He says, “I'm listening to this guy from New York talking about the strike. My parents came down from Canada -- they worked in the mills during the strike. They're talking about the background, people are calling in and asking him questions. They're beginning to talk about the ‘For God and Country,’ they're debating it. I call up the station, and I can't get through. So I get in my car and I go over there. I go in to the station and I say to Tony, the guy in charge, ‘I want to go on.’ He says, ‘Why?’ ‘I want to say something.’” He gets on and he said, ‘This is Mayor LaFebre. I want everybody to call in and ask questions. This is out past. If you have anything in your homes about this strike -- if you've got buttons, leaflets -- bring them out. Now is the time to talk about it.’”

So Paul comes back and he tells me this story. I say, “Paul, what are they prepared to do?” He says, “To do anything.” So I said, “Will they come to New York? Will LaFebre come to New York?” He says, “No. He won't, but we can get his aide.” So I said, “Let's get a meeting with Paul Sherry at the United Church [of Christ] -- Paul Sherry of the United Church, me, Paul Cowan, Rachel Cowan will come too -- with these people from Lawrence”. We discussed with them a proposal for a Bread and Roses Day in Lawrence, an entire day. They say, “Fine.” I say to the United Church, “You'll come in it?” “We'll come in.” Bread and Roses will come in. “We'll work on it from here, you work on it





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