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The Looks Mill
Oonserd„ S. C.
Septsibor 12, MSS
L L. v.
BILLS AND LOTTIE NAM
Oadell 3trest Jell* tad Lottis are known as
the alter girls, although ao lo is forty-two sod /Antis
is etout forty-six. They have been together for =Oh
e long time, their lives form one pattern not', end
telking with the two of than is liko talking to one
person.
The girls don't look silks, but sites being with
tLea, it's Lard to remember which is whisk'. 'Attie is
saatingly thin, vary uset in grossing mod applying
00-0040. Her Wawa's ars shaped so they give her fool'
en expression of perpetual distress.. very slight
distress. Her votes is faintly weeruless in ematrest
to Zellela, whieh is straight:forward tud hearty.
Loll*, who is shorter sad not suite ee this, is more
Trvaoious in *Very way. Whoa she talks sad laughs she
fleshes hex blua.grey eyes cad opens her mouth wide
so thet ter false teeth glom in her yellowed fee*.
Thi6 is ell the more notiosable Deena** nelle has a
11-hterh jAw.
:Avirt Barbee, who X4441A in the house. said (in
the ?:44Kliee of the girls) that you couldn't believe it
tut Belle and Lottle were geed looking when they wove
young. She urged them to got mat eon* pictures to prove
it to se, until Sells produced large photogrrph ef
horeelf veering t floppy white bet rad pineal...nee, end
two omen Jetarte of Untie. Belle htndad so the seri,
wistfal photograph of ?Attie, remerking, elwryt thought
*het would mete t good etleader.*
Before they were born, Sells and Lottle's tether
moved into Ooneerd from e ftrm ant in Caberrus '7ounty,
rad stated to work in the mill. She Pelters ere good
people, the girls will tell you proudly, end then preoeed
to rattle off the nesse of solid Concord attires, who
are their kin.
ten she wee eleven yerrc old, Lottie 'es pat to
pork in the Looks 2111, end !the hts been t spinner
there for the pest thirt.five years. 3he loves it,
she levier's, and would rather work thrre thin anywhere
else in the world. "by it's more like home them this,'
the glinoed nroundtb roorilostny P night 1 would ?Abele
have juet sta,yed thpre all night then to souse bore.*
oells went in the mill VIIC11 she vp.o nine peers cld.
'ly mother "'FA Mil °cubing my brir for me rhen I
started to work," ete said brightly. ..But 1 L:ried to
go LACIEU*0 Lettle u Qr n n4 1 vratod to do every..
thing she done. Most of the time I stayed in the mill
ten hours a day, but I didn't work steady all the time.
I used to play with the other ohildreu in the mill;
then sometimes I would get gad about othing and I'd
get Ay little old bonnet and Amason home. The ovemter
would go to ?spa laughing and say '7411, toll her to
come back to work when she's over being mad.' And I
would. Ataybo someday* I would tell liana I wanted to
stay hone to play, end she would let me.* Mitt Boll*
loomed to *pia, etaatiag on a box so she would be
tall *nought, at a wags of 10# a dig.
Thihags went alaag vary well fax the girls. They
liked working, but whip they tired of it they 'veld
stop aad go to 'shoal for a while. They even had a
year of high sehool and besrdimg sebeol combined at
duaderland hallo out from Goaeord. This is a miserable
year in %has lives, and they refer often to 'whim we
were off at *whoa.*
After that poor they had to go book to the mill
booms* of the deaths in their family. "In two years
we had to pay for five funerals, aid you know how they
°cost,* Lottie said. However, during war flame, whoa
they ware making four or five dollars a. day, they were
ablo to save. It was fortwieto they did, booms, in
1921 Dello had to go off to a T. M. samitisama for
fourteen months. Lotto paid MO a month to keep her
there. Lottle doesn't know bow she would have managed
if gr. zvmert, the saperintendent at the mill, hadn't
helped. Belle bra never been able to go beak in the
mill, and unless Mho is extremely oareful with herself,
the fatly* tuberculosis may return at any time. she
now hes sn agency for r oosmetio company which brings
in something, bat she any* mhe would *a lot rather work
in the mill than canvass.*
The eeoond tragedy befell the leiter girls last
winter. In December Lottie slipped on the wet mill
floor (it had just been mopped) end sprained her book.
The mill insurance company paid her 80Z of her wases
for five weeks end three days, and et the end of that
time the mill doctor told her dhe could go beak to
work. Although She received no farther ooepensetion,
she wrs not able to go beck to the mill for several
-aore weeks. ben she did, her brok ere still so weak
she took alai* with her to relieve her during the day.
:no dry in 4rrob Untie went to the mill, but vies
told to o.›Ase home beeoase they didn't need her that
morning. 1i be oeme down the concrete steps leading
from the mill to the sidewalk, she fell end broke her
pelvic bone. For six weeks Kle lay in E oast from her
'plot to her feet. Belle unabl- to ore for her
clone, so they id to zet womm ia to help zAth the
nursing. etting well hes been lon, flow process.
Although six wonths hEve ione by since the ,ocifient,
Lottie GEL stead for only f short ti 4e id ehe rust
walk ver.; slowly and carefully.
1-ne retest worry, of coulee, hE's been how to
1431. Ihe inearence compeny of the i1iagreed to pEy
for El1 the actuEl expenses of her illness, but Lottiels
preecher thowght she Ehoul get 7)0 E 1;eek compensation
end he arranied the ccee iu-E. etretes court for her.
Lottie contends she fell because ner btok 1.F.s teeened
by hx previous fell in the mill; the 4li holCE it
is free of responsibility bee the occident aii not
Lien ia the Jail. Aetn»hile kielle End Lottie writ
fox the •ecicion. The say LLE insurence coa_paLy is
lookini for t loophole tnd they 1.120W it will fir t one
Lottie osn't 6rEA her socirl seculit.,) uil the
mattel i EettleO,
bu e UEVE I
says. iirven't s•eer able
LLE ,..„1-1/4'.4A.;14 tore
for five ,eohthe aria 1 Oohtt know itillat if he
dicn'tfive a credit
anything to live on.
Lettie
CA.)
J.-‘ worries e. .e on't hcve
li-zeGie LA5wo the mill hes let thea
pEny house, but she 6oeisalt know 4hou long
it will 17st.° The rent on the nix —room frrme house
it 00 anth, hrlf of which le p171: by ;re. rbee
rho rent three room. The houne ie Licat like the reot
of the row strraline down one eir:le of the 7,7ullied
white eend road. It ie seuTre house built up hi7h on
r brick foundrtion; it 11,E slrnting roof r.ndorch
perJsa thf front. Across tile ror fro. it is r grtssy
stretch of hill where people tie their r:ows. The girls
think it 1 lonesolie kind of pleoe, but they like it.
Kowever, they 1Jrould like to live in c plrce "'here you
ro,n step out of the ..Iauee in winter -lithout goin up
to or pnkle2 in mud.
The dorch of the houe 1 plener tly shrded with
vines, but rIle art in the rigidly net front root. The
relle nd printed ,'rey. ,he girls
sa?.!!de
rn effort to brighten the dinginesr v,ith colored
Picture of 17avlish r,rdene rnd weter T.4enee fro ,a the
ten cent 3tore. Tro feke ormge cendlee, l.rerTicker
flower btsket, t clock with r fey, greeting c7rds tuck
'round it riere the other tttefilpt rt r,3ornment. The
room wrs furnished 'pith r three...piece overstuffed auite
upholstered in grey velour, rn iron bed with cotton
spr rpdio on zi end trtle, rnotIv!r .4* ble with t
white cover, end 'trice cheJt of drrwers which 3e110
seld vs* mode of solid yams%
her %other's wedding fUrniture.
Both Lotlie sad Belle like to telk about the mill.
They hero seen owners, superintendents, overseers and
heads Gomm tad go; they remember the big fire which
destroyed tha mill thirty years ego; they like to tell
*bout boys from prominent *downtown* families who have
worked attar them from time to tie,. Belle tells vitt'
wrest umaseasnt about 10. RAph Odell, who was a son
of the owner when tihe first worked. *Be used to smell
so good from somethinc he pat on his heir, we would
lough snd sty you eould smell him before you oould see
kin coming.
The Welter girls think the mill is mach bettor
emd healthier pls.* to work in now that the government
hes 114e ease rules. They opprove of the Shorter boars;
the (Amex 111,Mte. Tbe Look* Mill ir sot A prod*,
reoording to tattle, but She *eye it in kept very oleos,
the sir is good; in winter it is herted rad in sumer
it is cooled.
neither Belle nor Little feel rig shame about
working for the mill err living is s *111 village. They
feel themselves very Rush r pert of the town. Before
Loftiest; tooldent, they took the Concord Laily Tribunti_
sad rest it orrefully to keep -up with whet west om in
been s pert of
town. They know detrile ,bout the lives of many Concord
people people who do not know the leiter girls exist.
Lottie thinks there is c °lot lees sternness going on
eround the mill sections then there la downtown, because
the mill people hse to work herder. The girls ere
44_54,a4, -a tte ,514,
members and -04-segulerly-to the Mainnon kresbyterlen
hurch„ one of the lerge mill oharches.
Tivire Berber. with her slew]. frEnknest
ennounced thrt Lottie end belle didn't heve to be old
maids. 'illy they've got pictures put rwey of good
looking men they mild heve bed, but they just didn't
want to lerve one another.' Lottie and Belle looked
at each other muickly, end then agreed yes, they
were lots happier with OPC other then they ever would
here been with men.