Book Notes: a dream job turned nightmare
Anyone who has gone off to start a new job can relate to 14-year-old Katherine Schaub walking down the street to one of the best-paying jobs in town in 1917. Not a factory job, but a “glamorous” job in a studio! A reader of The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America’s Shining Women by Kate Moore is immediately hooked. We have to know how Katherine’s dream job turns into such a nightmare.
Many readers might be put off by the graphic descriptions of the ailments suffered by Katherine and the many other young women who painted luminous dials on watches, unaware the paint was radioactive. However, most of our book club members found the story fascinating. First, because the author presented so much detail, and second, because the girls were so remarkably resilient. Once health problems arose, each girl tried to carry on while being treated.
The girls’ long, winding legal battles to receive compensation gave proof that some companies will go to extreme lengths to avoid responsibility. Participants in our discussion noted the resemblances to the Reserve Mining case in Minnesota in the mid-1970s.
The ripple effect of the girls’ efforts to become healthy, the work of the doctors and dentists who treated them, and the legal battles fought by their attorneys are evident today in workplace regulations and better safety procedures.
On the whole, UMRA’s Book Club members thought it was a compelling book on a repeating theme: slowly developing dangers in the workplace or community that take too long to be recognized or are deliberately denied or concealed.
The radium-dial Luminous Processes plant in Ottawa, Illinois, was still denying compensation to injured workers or their families in 1978!
—Paula Knutzen and Pat Tollefson, Book Club members
Book Club to discuss The Radium Girls
Fri, Feb 15 2019, 2pm
Judy Helgen will lead a discussion of The Radium Girls by Kate Moore when the UMRA Book Club meets on Friday, February 15, at 1666 Coffman in Falcon Heights. For more information, contact Pat Tollefson at [email protected].
Upcoming Events
Our July 15 "hike" is going to be a kayaking adventure on Bde Maka Ska (formerly Lake Calhoun) and Lake of the Isles! If you don't have a kayak (or paddleboard), Wheel Fun Rentals, located next to the new concession stand rents single kayaks at $15 an hour and double kayaks at $25. The second hour is free if we rent before noon. Life jackets are provided with the rental.
Laura Ericksen will lead the discussion of How Stella Learned to Talk by Christina Hunger, a true story by a speech-language pathologist who taught her dog, Stella, to communicate using buttons associated with different words.
Our August 5 hike will be a reprise of our hike last summer at William O'Brien State Park. This is a beautiful park with a winding trail and a great view of the countryside. The hike is about 5.5 to 6 miles and we'll go at a moderate pace with frequent water breaks. After the hike, we will eat lunch at Rustic Roots Winery, a half mile north of the park.
Kathy Cramer will lead the discussion of The Bookbinder by Pip Williams, a book set in 1914 Oxford chronicling the life of Peggy who works in the University bindery, but craves a life beyond binding books but to being a scholar herself.
Enjoy a two-hour cruise on the Jonathan Padelford, leaving from the Harriet Island dock in St. Paul, boarding time at 5:30 p.m. We will have a brief program on board by Patrick Nunnally from the River Life Program of the Institute on the Environment.
August 31 is the due date for annual reports and updates. Annual Reports, Toolkits, web page updates, operating document updates and archives collections are all due each year on this date.
Autumn is a wonderful season in Minnesota so plan to join UMRA at the Andersen Horticultural Library at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. Kristen Mastel, head librarian and curator, will reveal its treasure trove of publications and artifacts relating to plant history, horticulture, and natural history. After the tour, those who are interested may stay to eat lunch together, sitting outside if the weather is nice. Later, you are invited to a one-hour tram tour of the entire Arboretum that includes natural areas of flowering shrubs, bogs, and forests, family garden and landscaping showpieces, and the red barn farm
After a summer break the UMRA Photo Club will next meet September 10, 2024 in the meeting room of the Hennepin County St. Anthony Branch Library. For those interested in lunch, meet at the Great Dragon at 11:30 am. For September the THEME will be Curves
We will continue to discuss the pros and cons of Medicare Advantage. You will also hear about notable non-health plan and non-broker resources.