EVENT SUMMARY: | BOOK CLUB I
The following article summarizes the original event which is listed below the summary.

Book Notes: a dream job turned nightmare

February 15, 2019, at 2pm
 

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 I

Book Club to discuss The Radium Girls

Fri, Feb 15 2019, 2pm

Location
1666 Coffman St. Falcon Heights, MN 55108
 

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

Event Date: May 6, 2024, at 9:30am

We are fortunate to have UMRA member and former Minnesota Landscape Arboretum director Peter Moe to lead this approximately 3.7-mile hike at the Arboretum on Monday, May 6. Plan to have lunch together after the hike at the Eatery café inside the Oswald Visitor Center. 


Event Date: May 6, 2024, at 12:45pm

This session will continue the discussion begun in the May 8, 2023 session.  See that article for details.


Event Date: May 14, 2024, at 11am

If you currently live in your own home or apartment, have you looked ahead to when you might want to consider a senior living option? Do you have any idea what those options might be? How much they cost? What they provide? UMRA’s May 14 workshop will provide an overview of the world of senior living and the basic information you need.


Event Date: May 15, 2024, at 10am

You’re invited to join the final Family History Interest Group meeting for 2023–24. This will be an opportunity to ask questions related to family history, share insights, talk about recent projects, and suggest topics for next year. 


Event Date: May 17, 2024, at 2pm

Stephanie Daily will lead the discussion of Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law by best-selling author Mary Roach when the UMRA Book Club meets via Zoom at 2 p.m. on Friday, May 17. 


Event Date: May 20, 2024, at 9:30am

The May 20 hike will start at the Historic Lift Bridge in Stillwater and go along the river to the new bridge, cross over and then back on the Wisconsin side, a total of approximately 5 miles. Most of the route is paved. We will eat lunch after at Brian's Bar and Grill in Stillwater.  Car pooling will be available.


Event Date: May 21, 2024, at 10:30am

Climatologist and meteorologist Mark Seeley joined the U of M faculty in 1978 and has been a weekly commentator on Minnesota Public Radio since 1992. We are honored to welcome him as our guest speaker for UMRA’s May Luncheon Forum and 2024 Annual Meeting. He is always entertaining and informative.


Event Date: May 24, 2024, at 2pm

UMRA’s Fourth Friday Book Club welcomes back, for the second time, author Julie Schumacher, U of M Regents professor of creative writing and English, for a conversation about her novel The Shakespeare Requirement.


Event Date: June 3, 2024, at 9:30am

We are in for a treat on June 3! Lynn Anderson, will lead us on trails at two parks near her Monticello home. Bring a bag lunch and we will gather in Lynn's yard along the Mississippi River for eating and socializing after the hike.


Event Date: June 14, 2024, at 7:10pm

Get out to the ballpark with fellow UMRA members for the annual U of M Day at Target Field as the Minnesota Twins take on the Oakland Athletics on June 14 at 7:10 p.m.


Event Date: June 17, 2024, at 9:30am

Please join us at 9:30 on June 17, 2024 for a walk around Lake Como in St. Paul before attending the UMRA Summer Social and Picnic starting at 11 at the Como Pavilion. A perfect opportunity to get in a walk before we gather to celebrate summer.


Event Date: June 17, 2024, at 11am

Picnic under the covered, open-air Como pavilion, gaze at the water, spy some birds, catch up with friends and former colleagues, and meet new members. We’ll have lunch with plenty of time for visiting and then compete in teams as we are challenged by our Quiz master(s)!


Event Date: June 24, 2024, at 8am

Healthy aging, mindfulness, fighting ageism, and more will be the focus of the third annual Age-Friendly University Day to be held on the U of M Twin Cities campus.