Making a Living: Work and Environment in the United States

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments As is always the case with a book, I could not have written this one but for the support, assistance, patience, and good humor of many di√erent people. I now have been privileged to work with Sian Hunter at the University of North Carolina Press on two separate projects. This time around, like before, she helped me broaden the scope of my research and deepen my interpretation . Anonymous readers also provided several sets of reviews that challenged me to make critical, necessary changes. And other sta√ at unc Press, including Nathan McCamic, Paul Betz, Ellen Bush, and Liz Gray, were models of professional competence when it came to an appraisal, copy editing, and all the additional, important steps along the road to publication. The archival research for this book was generously funded by the History Department, Division of Social Sciences and Humanities, and Provost’s Of- fice at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. I received one of the university ’s Healey Grants, as well, and an O≈ce of Research Administration/ Scholarly Research Forum Grant, which allowed me to make one last trip to Detroit. Archivists at the Center for Lowell History, National Archives, Kansas State Historical Society, West Virginia University, and Walter Reuther Library at Wayne State University were kind and knowledgeable, especially Martha Mayo, a walking trove of Lowell history. For articles, books, and various primary sources acquired through interlibrary loan and virtual catalogue , I relied on the diligent labors of Rose Paton and Debbie Friedman. My dual interest in labor and environmental history was first nurtured at the University of Louisville, where I had the good fortune as an undergraduate to be mentored by John Cumbler. Taking his courses and engaging him in many conversations outside of class convinced me that the two fields could and should be brought together. I also received early encouragement for the endeavor from the late Hal Rothman. In his last year as editor at Environmen- x Acknowledgments tal History, he published an essay I wrote on mineworkers and opposition to strip mining, even though (in my mind) it still bore marks of unseasoned scholarship. That article helped me get a book contract as well as a job, and it opened the way to this second book, too, so it was no small thing what he did. Finally, I stand on the shoulders of my family, past and present generations included, whose dutiful work carried me to graduate school and an academic career. My Grandpa Leo, for one, was on the night shift at Dana Auto Parts in Toledo, Ohio, and, by rights, a member of uaw Local 12, which meant my father as well as some of my uncles and aunts attended the union’s summer camp at Sand Lake, mentioned in chapter 5. My stepfather, Bob, for another, has made a living, with a good amount of satisfaction I think, landscaping yards and remodeling homes. I learned a lot from him over the years, and that is why his name is on the dedication page. My teaching, research, and writing are also sustained by the concern and care of my mother, my sisters, my daughter, Phoebe, and my partner in thoughtful conversation, Susan Loucks. Each of them deserves all the gratitude I can muster. making a living This page intentionally left blank ...