1 00:00:01,280 --> 00:00:04,000 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production 2 00:00:04,120 --> 00:00:12,680 Speaker 1: of I Heart Radios How Stuff Works. Hello, and welcome 3 00:00:12,680 --> 00:00:15,280 Speaker 1: to the podcast. I'm Holly Fry and I'm Tracy B. 4 00:00:15,400 --> 00:00:18,320 Speaker 1: Wilson and Tracy. Today's episode is going to delve into 5 00:00:18,360 --> 00:00:20,919 Speaker 1: the start of the study of occupational disease and the 6 00:00:20,960 --> 00:00:24,880 Speaker 1: woman behind that beginning. That's an important field, it is, 7 00:00:24,920 --> 00:00:27,120 Speaker 1: and it's one of those interesting things that we see 8 00:00:27,200 --> 00:00:30,720 Speaker 1: is so important today but a hundred years ago not 9 00:00:30,840 --> 00:00:35,280 Speaker 1: so much. Well, occupational health has also been affecting people 10 00:00:35,360 --> 00:00:37,919 Speaker 1: for much, much, much longer than it has existed as 11 00:00:37,960 --> 00:00:41,040 Speaker 1: a field, like Yes, and it is one of those 12 00:00:41,080 --> 00:00:43,440 Speaker 1: things that even while I was researching this episode, I 13 00:00:43,479 --> 00:00:47,960 Speaker 1: found myself going, why why didn't anybody study this? There's 14 00:00:48,080 --> 00:00:51,760 Speaker 1: there's pretty obvious cause and effect for some of this stuff. Welle. Yeah, 15 00:00:51,800 --> 00:00:54,760 Speaker 1: but a number of previous episode topics are going to 16 00:00:54,880 --> 00:00:58,760 Speaker 1: get mentioned as we uh go through this story. Yes, 17 00:00:59,800 --> 00:01:03,200 Speaker 1: uh so. Dr Alice Hamilton's was a trailblazer in science 18 00:01:03,240 --> 00:01:06,440 Speaker 1: and medicine, and she dedicated her life to improving the 19 00:01:06,440 --> 00:01:10,399 Speaker 1: workplace standards for laborers in an effort to reduce illnesses 20 00:01:10,520 --> 00:01:14,280 Speaker 1: that came ardly from working with toxic chemicals, and this 21 00:01:14,319 --> 00:01:17,240 Speaker 1: episode was requested by our listener Emily, who actually sent 22 00:01:17,319 --> 00:01:19,960 Speaker 1: us a book to kickstart research, which is very kind 23 00:01:20,000 --> 00:01:22,600 Speaker 1: and it's actually a really fun book. So thank you, Emily. 24 00:01:23,000 --> 00:01:27,240 Speaker 1: So on February eighteen sixty nine, Alice Hamilton was born 25 00:01:27,319 --> 00:01:30,720 Speaker 1: in New York City. Her parents were Montgomery Hamilton's and 26 00:01:30,720 --> 00:01:35,600 Speaker 1: Gertrude Pond. The family had really strong roots in Fort Wayne, Indiana. 27 00:01:35,840 --> 00:01:39,000 Speaker 1: That was where her grandfather had been a land speculator 28 00:01:39,000 --> 00:01:42,520 Speaker 1: and entrepreneur after immigrating from Ireland to the United States, 29 00:01:42,880 --> 00:01:45,400 Speaker 1: and he had bought and sold a lot of property 30 00:01:45,440 --> 00:01:48,160 Speaker 1: in Fort Wayne. Yeah, I read one account that basically said, 31 00:01:48,200 --> 00:01:50,920 Speaker 1: like almost any piece of property you stand on in 32 00:01:50,960 --> 00:01:53,320 Speaker 1: Fort Wayne today at some point passed through his hands 33 00:01:53,360 --> 00:01:56,800 Speaker 1: in terms of ownership. Alice was born in New York 34 00:01:56,840 --> 00:01:59,040 Speaker 1: because her mother, Gertrude, had wanted to go to have 35 00:01:59,080 --> 00:02:01,320 Speaker 1: the baby at her only home, which was in New York. 36 00:02:01,640 --> 00:02:03,920 Speaker 1: But when Alice was still very very tiny, she and 37 00:02:03,960 --> 00:02:06,240 Speaker 1: her mother went back home to Fort Wayne to live 38 00:02:06,240 --> 00:02:08,480 Speaker 1: on the property that they had there, which is a 39 00:02:08,480 --> 00:02:12,160 Speaker 1: family called Old House, and the Old House itself had 40 00:02:12,200 --> 00:02:15,160 Speaker 1: been built in eighteen forty and Alice once described it 41 00:02:15,480 --> 00:02:19,399 Speaker 1: as having been built quote for beauty, space, dignity, not 42 00:02:19,560 --> 00:02:23,480 Speaker 1: for comfort and convenience. The family had staff, and so 43 00:02:23,639 --> 00:02:27,079 Speaker 1: that inconvenience was borne by them, but Alice was very 44 00:02:27,120 --> 00:02:30,400 Speaker 1: aware of the inherent wastefulness in building rooms so large 45 00:02:30,720 --> 00:02:33,440 Speaker 1: that there had to be someone constantly tending to the fires, 46 00:02:33,760 --> 00:02:37,120 Speaker 1: and having so many stories before running water that maids 47 00:02:37,120 --> 00:02:40,359 Speaker 1: had to continually be carting water up flights of stairs 48 00:02:40,680 --> 00:02:44,560 Speaker 1: on Montgomery. Gertrude and the children didn't live in Old House, 49 00:02:44,600 --> 00:02:46,919 Speaker 1: although they spent a lot of their time there. They 50 00:02:46,960 --> 00:02:50,200 Speaker 1: had a slightly smaller home on the same property called 51 00:02:50,280 --> 00:02:53,440 Speaker 1: White House, and a home called Red House was where 52 00:02:53,480 --> 00:02:57,400 Speaker 1: Alice's uncle lived. The one thing that Alice saw is 53 00:02:57,440 --> 00:03:00,480 Speaker 1: a great benefit in those overly large hall elmes was 54 00:03:00,520 --> 00:03:03,360 Speaker 1: the ability to find some quiet space to be alone 55 00:03:03,480 --> 00:03:06,200 Speaker 1: and get away from the bustle of a very large family. 56 00:03:06,600 --> 00:03:10,000 Speaker 1: Alice and her sisters Edith, Margaret, and Norah, and her 57 00:03:10,040 --> 00:03:12,720 Speaker 1: one baby brother, Arthur, who came along a little later, 58 00:03:13,000 --> 00:03:17,120 Speaker 1: were home schooled by their parents. Gertrude Pond Hamilton's thought 59 00:03:17,160 --> 00:03:20,920 Speaker 1: that the hours of public schools were unreasonable, and her father, 60 00:03:21,000 --> 00:03:23,280 Speaker 1: Montgomery thought that the subjects that they taught at those 61 00:03:23,320 --> 00:03:26,720 Speaker 1: schools were far too boring for his children. Uh. Edith 62 00:03:26,800 --> 00:03:30,000 Speaker 1: incidentally went on to become a well known author and classicists. 63 00:03:30,040 --> 00:03:33,120 Speaker 1: You mean recognize the name of Hamilton's and the sisters 64 00:03:33,200 --> 00:03:35,560 Speaker 1: had all been born pretty closely, within six years of 65 00:03:35,600 --> 00:03:37,880 Speaker 1: each other, and they were very very close to one another. 66 00:03:38,600 --> 00:03:41,200 Speaker 1: Their brother, Arthur, who went by quint was born much 67 00:03:41,280 --> 00:03:45,400 Speaker 1: later when Alice was seventeen. Alice described this upbringing, being 68 00:03:45,440 --> 00:03:48,240 Speaker 1: taught at home and not really having friends outside of 69 00:03:48,280 --> 00:03:51,400 Speaker 1: their family, as one that turned them all into book 70 00:03:51,440 --> 00:03:55,560 Speaker 1: worms eventually. Quote and since we saw so little of 71 00:03:55,600 --> 00:03:58,520 Speaker 1: any children outside our own family, the people we met 72 00:03:58,560 --> 00:04:01,920 Speaker 1: in books became real to us. But to be clear, 73 00:04:01,960 --> 00:04:05,960 Speaker 1: there were other children around. Eleven cousins lived on the 74 00:04:06,000 --> 00:04:09,160 Speaker 1: property where old house and the other home set, so 75 00:04:09,200 --> 00:04:14,320 Speaker 1: sort of a giant family compound kind of yes. Uh. 76 00:04:14,360 --> 00:04:17,440 Speaker 1: And it wasn't until Alice was a teenager of seventeen 77 00:04:17,839 --> 00:04:21,200 Speaker 1: that she received any formal education, when she attended Miss 78 00:04:21,200 --> 00:04:25,400 Speaker 1: Porter's School in Farmington, Connecticut. And that was and still 79 00:04:25,520 --> 00:04:29,080 Speaker 1: is a private preparatory school in Connecticut, and Alice's time 80 00:04:29,120 --> 00:04:32,160 Speaker 1: there was the prelude to entering the University of Michigan 81 00:04:32,160 --> 00:04:36,440 Speaker 1: Medical School. Alice thought that the school was awful, and 82 00:04:36,520 --> 00:04:40,159 Speaker 1: she selected courses that would either be fairly easy. She 83 00:04:40,200 --> 00:04:42,880 Speaker 1: already had a lot of linguistics education from her parents, 84 00:04:42,880 --> 00:04:44,919 Speaker 1: so she took a lot of that, or she picked 85 00:04:44,960 --> 00:04:47,839 Speaker 1: courses for which she could just memorize the needed information 86 00:04:48,240 --> 00:04:51,480 Speaker 1: without really digesting and understanding it. But that meant that 87 00:04:51,520 --> 00:04:55,479 Speaker 1: when she decided to go into medicine she was woefully lacking. 88 00:04:55,720 --> 00:04:58,880 Speaker 1: She needed to take extra classes to get properly prepared 89 00:04:58,920 --> 00:05:02,799 Speaker 1: for it. She had take physics, chemistry, biology, and anatomy 90 00:05:02,839 --> 00:05:06,960 Speaker 1: courses after she finished at Miss Porter's. Once those were complete, 91 00:05:07,000 --> 00:05:10,000 Speaker 1: she enrolled at the University of Michigan. Even though this 92 00:05:10,080 --> 00:05:13,320 Speaker 1: was decades after Elizabeth Blackwell became the first woman to 93 00:05:13,400 --> 00:05:16,240 Speaker 1: graduate for medical school in the United States, it was 94 00:05:16,320 --> 00:05:19,520 Speaker 1: still pretty unusual for a woman to pursue a career 95 00:05:19,560 --> 00:05:23,080 Speaker 1: as a physician. But it turned out that Alice really 96 00:05:23,200 --> 00:05:26,080 Speaker 1: loved both the freedom and the challenge of being on 97 00:05:26,120 --> 00:05:30,120 Speaker 1: her own and learning so much about clinical and lab work. Eventually, 98 00:05:30,160 --> 00:05:33,599 Speaker 1: she decided she wanted to do research instead of practice medicine, 99 00:05:34,120 --> 00:05:37,600 Speaker 1: and when she finished medical school in eight she worked 100 00:05:37,640 --> 00:05:40,960 Speaker 1: as an intern in Minneapolis Minnesota at the Hospital for 101 00:05:41,040 --> 00:05:44,080 Speaker 1: Women and Children, and after two months there, she moved 102 00:05:44,080 --> 00:05:46,320 Speaker 1: to her next training position, this time at the New 103 00:05:46,320 --> 00:05:49,760 Speaker 1: England Hospital for Women and Children, which is located near Boston. 104 00:05:50,600 --> 00:05:54,200 Speaker 1: Her education continued after that. She studied in Leipzig and 105 00:05:54,279 --> 00:05:57,039 Speaker 1: Munich over the course of a year. Because Germany was 106 00:05:57,120 --> 00:06:01,200 Speaker 1: really where her chosen fields of bacteriology and pathology were 107 00:06:01,240 --> 00:06:04,080 Speaker 1: most advanced. This was a tricky thing for her to 108 00:06:04,120 --> 00:06:08,040 Speaker 1: negotiate because German schools were not open to women at 109 00:06:08,080 --> 00:06:11,320 Speaker 1: that time. Alice and her sister Edith, who traveled to 110 00:06:11,360 --> 00:06:13,800 Speaker 1: Germany with her, had to promise that they would be 111 00:06:13,880 --> 00:06:18,240 Speaker 1: invisible to the male students. After gaining a solid level 112 00:06:18,279 --> 00:06:20,479 Speaker 1: of knowledge in Europe, Alice came back to the United 113 00:06:20,520 --> 00:06:24,400 Speaker 1: States to attend Johns Hopkins University for a year. Once 114 00:06:24,440 --> 00:06:27,559 Speaker 1: all of that schooling was done, Hamilton's made the switch 115 00:06:27,600 --> 00:06:30,720 Speaker 1: in roles from student to educator and she began teaching 116 00:06:30,720 --> 00:06:35,280 Speaker 1: at the Northwestern University's Women's Medical School. In addition to 117 00:06:35,320 --> 00:06:39,039 Speaker 1: her teaching, she also joined Chicago's Hull House and moved 118 00:06:39,040 --> 00:06:41,640 Speaker 1: in there. That is the settlement house founded by Jane 119 00:06:41,680 --> 00:06:45,680 Speaker 1: Adams that we discussed in our episode about Adams Alice 120 00:06:45,680 --> 00:06:48,920 Speaker 1: Hamilton has actually mentioned very briefly in that episode, and 121 00:06:48,960 --> 00:06:51,479 Speaker 1: as part of her life at Hull House, Alice founded 122 00:06:51,520 --> 00:06:54,440 Speaker 1: a well baby clinic for the community, and she also 123 00:06:54,480 --> 00:06:58,200 Speaker 1: made the connection between typhoid spread and poor sewage disposal 124 00:06:58,320 --> 00:07:02,200 Speaker 1: during the nineteen two epidemic in Chicago. Hull House made 125 00:07:02,200 --> 00:07:05,159 Speaker 1: a big impact on Alice, and her ongoing work there 126 00:07:05,240 --> 00:07:09,400 Speaker 1: really shaped her worldview. She once famously said of it quote, 127 00:07:09,520 --> 00:07:12,760 Speaker 1: life in a settlement does several things to you. Among others, 128 00:07:12,840 --> 00:07:15,520 Speaker 1: it teaches you that education and culture have little to 129 00:07:15,560 --> 00:07:19,920 Speaker 1: do with real wisdom, the wisdom that comes from experiences. 130 00:07:20,120 --> 00:07:22,120 Speaker 1: And it was during this work at Hull House and 131 00:07:22,200 --> 00:07:25,120 Speaker 1: offering medical treatment and assistance to the poor families in 132 00:07:25,160 --> 00:07:28,840 Speaker 1: the community, that Alice started to see firsthand just how 133 00:07:28,880 --> 00:07:33,040 Speaker 1: closely linked disease was to poverty, and she started to 134 00:07:33,080 --> 00:07:35,920 Speaker 1: realize just how dangerous working conditions were for the poor, 135 00:07:36,360 --> 00:07:39,160 Speaker 1: who were often immigrants with little power to improve their 136 00:07:39,160 --> 00:07:44,280 Speaker 1: workplaces or to move into less hazardous careers. In she 137 00:07:44,320 --> 00:07:47,360 Speaker 1: wrote her first paper on the subject of occupational disease, 138 00:07:47,800 --> 00:07:50,280 Speaker 1: and her works importance and her level of knowledge on 139 00:07:50,280 --> 00:07:53,360 Speaker 1: the topic were pretty quickly acknowledged. This is the time 140 00:07:53,400 --> 00:07:56,360 Speaker 1: when workers in the United States were routinely handling toxic 141 00:07:56,400 --> 00:07:59,840 Speaker 1: substances with little to no protection. We have talked on 142 00:07:59,880 --> 00:08:03,800 Speaker 1: the podcast before about things like fossy jaw and mercury poisoning, 143 00:08:03,840 --> 00:08:07,440 Speaker 1: and those were not uncommon among poor laborers, but in 144 00:08:07,480 --> 00:08:10,600 Speaker 1: the United States there really wasn't any formal work being 145 00:08:10,640 --> 00:08:13,480 Speaker 1: done to study these kinds of issues in the workplace. 146 00:08:14,000 --> 00:08:16,040 Speaker 1: And we're going to talk about the next stage in 147 00:08:16,080 --> 00:08:19,480 Speaker 1: Hamilton's career, which came because of the recognition that she 148 00:08:19,560 --> 00:08:23,240 Speaker 1: achieved for that early work in studying occupational disease. But 149 00:08:23,320 --> 00:08:32,400 Speaker 1: first we'll pause and have a little of sponsor break. 150 00:08:33,640 --> 00:08:37,920 Speaker 1: In Alice Hamilton's was appointed to lead an Occupational Disease 151 00:08:37,920 --> 00:08:42,160 Speaker 1: Commission which was formed by Illinois Governor Charles Deneen, and 152 00:08:42,200 --> 00:08:45,320 Speaker 1: that commission was established to study industrial disease. It was 153 00:08:45,360 --> 00:08:49,640 Speaker 1: the first of its kind in the United States. Lead, arsenic, 154 00:08:49,760 --> 00:08:54,480 Speaker 1: carbon monoxide, brass, cyanides, and turpentine were all to be 155 00:08:54,520 --> 00:08:57,440 Speaker 1: studied over the course of a year per the Governor's office, 156 00:08:58,080 --> 00:09:00,880 Speaker 1: and Hamilton's, in addition to being the leader of this initiative, 157 00:09:01,280 --> 00:09:05,319 Speaker 1: focused on lead in particular, and so she started researching 158 00:09:05,360 --> 00:09:09,640 Speaker 1: the connection between industry and disease, pioneering the field of 159 00:09:09,679 --> 00:09:14,080 Speaker 1: occupational epidemiology. She later wrote quote, it was while I 160 00:09:14,120 --> 00:09:17,240 Speaker 1: was living in Hull House and working in bacteriological research 161 00:09:17,480 --> 00:09:20,479 Speaker 1: that the opportunity came to me to investigate the dangerous 162 00:09:20,559 --> 00:09:24,839 Speaker 1: trades of Illinois, not those where violent accidents occurred, but 163 00:09:24,960 --> 00:09:28,319 Speaker 1: those with the less spectacular hazard of sickness from some 164 00:09:28,400 --> 00:09:32,160 Speaker 1: industrial poison. It was a voyage of exploration that we 165 00:09:32,280 --> 00:09:35,680 Speaker 1: undertook our little group of physicians and student assistants, for 166 00:09:35,760 --> 00:09:38,840 Speaker 1: nobody in Illinois knew even then where we should make 167 00:09:38,880 --> 00:09:43,839 Speaker 1: our investigation beyond a few notorious led trades. American medical 168 00:09:43,880 --> 00:09:48,480 Speaker 1: authorities had never taken industrial diseases seriously. The American Medical 169 00:09:48,520 --> 00:09:51,680 Speaker 1: associations had never held a meeting on the subject, and 170 00:09:51,720 --> 00:09:55,520 Speaker 1: while European journals were full of articles on industrial poisoning, 171 00:09:55,559 --> 00:09:59,040 Speaker 1: the number published in American medical journals up to nineteen 172 00:09:59,040 --> 00:10:02,800 Speaker 1: ten could be counted on one's fingers. And the work 173 00:10:02,840 --> 00:10:06,640 Speaker 1: on this project was extensive. Dr Hamilton's and her team 174 00:10:06,720 --> 00:10:11,280 Speaker 1: spoke with laborers and pharmacists about factory conditions and instances 175 00:10:11,320 --> 00:10:15,360 Speaker 1: of lead poisoning. They also reviewed medical records and hospitals, 176 00:10:15,400 --> 00:10:18,160 Speaker 1: and they went to factories to see for themselves what 177 00:10:18,280 --> 00:10:21,400 Speaker 1: the conditions were like. And, as you might suspect, this 178 00:10:21,480 --> 00:10:25,160 Speaker 1: line of investigation was not exactly welcomed by some of 179 00:10:25,160 --> 00:10:27,839 Speaker 1: the people in power in the industries that she wanted 180 00:10:27,880 --> 00:10:31,960 Speaker 1: to research. In her autobiography, she describes some of the 181 00:10:32,000 --> 00:10:35,959 Speaker 1: attitudes about illness and injury that she encountered. Quote, as 182 00:10:36,000 --> 00:10:38,880 Speaker 1: I look back, some striking pictures come to me of 183 00:10:38,920 --> 00:10:42,400 Speaker 1: that anarchic period. One is the picture of the works 184 00:10:42,440 --> 00:10:45,680 Speaker 1: manager of a big white lead plant, a gentleman of 185 00:10:45,760 --> 00:10:49,400 Speaker 1: breeding and something of a philanthropist. He is looking at 186 00:10:49,440 --> 00:10:52,800 Speaker 1: me indignantly and exclaiming why that sounds as if you 187 00:10:52,840 --> 00:10:55,600 Speaker 1: think that when a man gets lead poisoning in my plant, 188 00:10:55,679 --> 00:10:59,120 Speaker 1: I ought to be held responsible. Another is that of 189 00:10:59,160 --> 00:11:01,720 Speaker 1: a Hungarian men at Hull House telling me of a 190 00:11:01,840 --> 00:11:04,560 Speaker 1: terrible accident and a steel mill on the South shore 191 00:11:04,960 --> 00:11:07,440 Speaker 1: in which her husband had been injured. He and the 192 00:11:07,480 --> 00:11:11,079 Speaker 1: other victims were being held in communicato and the company hospital. 193 00:11:11,679 --> 00:11:14,600 Speaker 1: No one was allowed to see them. She knew nothing 194 00:11:14,760 --> 00:11:17,760 Speaker 1: except that her husband was not dead. Yeah, she has 195 00:11:17,800 --> 00:11:20,120 Speaker 1: a lot of accounts. If you read her autobiography, there 196 00:11:20,120 --> 00:11:24,040 Speaker 1: are many similar stories that she witnessed A lot of 197 00:11:24,080 --> 00:11:26,880 Speaker 1: Hamilton's writing on the issues she was researching at this 198 00:11:26,960 --> 00:11:30,599 Speaker 1: time mentioned the various people who were ignorant and indifferent 199 00:11:30,640 --> 00:11:33,640 Speaker 1: in allowing dangerous circumstances to continue to be the norm 200 00:11:33,720 --> 00:11:36,920 Speaker 1: in factories, from the owners to the foreman, to the 201 00:11:36,920 --> 00:11:40,400 Speaker 1: company doctors, and even the workers. She wrote quote, the 202 00:11:40,400 --> 00:11:43,599 Speaker 1: employers could, if they wished, shut their eyes to the 203 00:11:43,679 --> 00:11:47,640 Speaker 1: dangers their workmen faced, for nobody held them responsible, while 204 00:11:47,640 --> 00:11:51,679 Speaker 1: the workers accepted the risks with fatalistic submissiveness as part 205 00:11:51,760 --> 00:11:54,600 Speaker 1: of the price one must pay for being poor. She 206 00:11:54,679 --> 00:11:59,000 Speaker 1: also cataloged the various excuses she was given by employers 207 00:11:59,000 --> 00:12:02,960 Speaker 1: and her investigation about illness and disease among their workers. 208 00:12:03,000 --> 00:12:07,040 Speaker 1: Some took racist positions, claiming that the various immigrant groups 209 00:12:07,080 --> 00:12:11,280 Speaker 1: were filthy and never washed. Others claimed that various illnesses 210 00:12:11,320 --> 00:12:13,840 Speaker 1: weren't the result of anything related to their work, but 211 00:12:13,920 --> 00:12:18,400 Speaker 1: were caused by alcoholism among the employees. She wrote, quote, 212 00:12:18,440 --> 00:12:21,240 Speaker 1: there is no form of industrial poisoning which I have 213 00:12:21,400 --> 00:12:25,600 Speaker 1: not heard some man attribute to whiskey. Even though Hamilton's 214 00:12:25,600 --> 00:12:28,000 Speaker 1: and her colleagues had been appointed to a commission by 215 00:12:28,040 --> 00:12:30,960 Speaker 1: the governor, they didn't have any actual authority to just 216 00:12:31,000 --> 00:12:34,120 Speaker 1: walk into plants and start asking questions. And there was 217 00:12:34,160 --> 00:12:37,400 Speaker 1: also no real set of guidelines or procedure for how 218 00:12:37,400 --> 00:12:40,480 Speaker 1: they should do this work, so they simply started looking 219 00:12:40,520 --> 00:12:43,360 Speaker 1: for themselves for places that would fall under the umbrella 220 00:12:43,400 --> 00:12:46,040 Speaker 1: of their mandate, and then they would just ask to 221 00:12:46,200 --> 00:12:49,520 Speaker 1: enter and look around and speak with someone in authority. 222 00:12:49,559 --> 00:12:51,880 Speaker 1: And Alice does mention in her writing that she was 223 00:12:51,880 --> 00:12:55,040 Speaker 1: always greeted with kindness and that in some cases foreman 224 00:12:55,440 --> 00:12:58,920 Speaker 1: or factory owners already had their own worries about employee 225 00:12:58,920 --> 00:13:01,120 Speaker 1: health and they were actually really glad to have someone 226 00:13:01,160 --> 00:13:05,200 Speaker 1: helping them figure out the problem. This commission wasn't intended 227 00:13:05,240 --> 00:13:08,800 Speaker 1: to be a whistleblowing operation, though Alice wasn't supposed to 228 00:13:08,840 --> 00:13:11,640 Speaker 1: identify any of the factories and her reports by name 229 00:13:12,080 --> 00:13:15,640 Speaker 1: or give details that could identify them, and she submitted 230 00:13:15,640 --> 00:13:19,080 Speaker 1: the reports in the manner that was requested. She wasn't 231 00:13:19,120 --> 00:13:22,280 Speaker 1: completely comfortable with that, though. She worried that people weren't 232 00:13:22,280 --> 00:13:25,400 Speaker 1: being helped in a direct way while government agencies reviewed 233 00:13:25,400 --> 00:13:28,360 Speaker 1: the findings of the report, so she started a habit 234 00:13:28,400 --> 00:13:30,560 Speaker 1: of telling the men in charge of the factories where 235 00:13:30,600 --> 00:13:33,960 Speaker 1: she found concerns exactly what she felt was wrong. She 236 00:13:34,040 --> 00:13:37,200 Speaker 1: gave these men her own recommendations for the simple steps 237 00:13:37,240 --> 00:13:40,280 Speaker 1: they might take to improve conditions, and later she wrote 238 00:13:40,320 --> 00:13:44,600 Speaker 1: about how surprised she was that this informal quote primitive 239 00:13:44,880 --> 00:13:47,960 Speaker 1: method actually worked. In one case, she had visited a 240 00:13:48,000 --> 00:13:50,400 Speaker 1: white lead works that was opened with the intent of 241 00:13:50,480 --> 00:13:53,320 Speaker 1: being safe, but then there hadn't been a protocol in 242 00:13:53,400 --> 00:13:57,040 Speaker 1: place to remove waste materials from production, and there were 243 00:13:57,120 --> 00:14:00,040 Speaker 1: piles of it around the factory, and she spoke to 244 00:14:00,120 --> 00:14:02,760 Speaker 1: the manager, but he was not very enthused about being 245 00:14:02,760 --> 00:14:06,160 Speaker 1: told what to do. The plant owner wasn't really an option. 246 00:14:06,240 --> 00:14:08,959 Speaker 1: He was elderly and not really actively involved in running 247 00:14:08,960 --> 00:14:12,120 Speaker 1: the factory. But then she remembered that she actually knew 248 00:14:12,160 --> 00:14:15,400 Speaker 1: the owner's daughter. The two women had gone to school together, 249 00:14:16,000 --> 00:14:18,760 Speaker 1: and so by reaching out through that channel, Alice was 250 00:14:18,800 --> 00:14:22,200 Speaker 1: able to explain to her former schoolmate problems going on 251 00:14:22,320 --> 00:14:25,280 Speaker 1: in the lead works and encourage a little bit of change, 252 00:14:25,480 --> 00:14:28,640 Speaker 1: and that worked. The factory not only changed its operating 253 00:14:28,680 --> 00:14:31,720 Speaker 1: procedures to include removal of the waste products on a 254 00:14:31,760 --> 00:14:36,120 Speaker 1: regular basis, leadership actually asked Alice to stop by periodically 255 00:14:36,480 --> 00:14:39,320 Speaker 1: and inspect things for them and just touch base, and 256 00:14:39,360 --> 00:14:42,960 Speaker 1: she continued to develop relationships both through these kinds of 257 00:14:42,960 --> 00:14:46,040 Speaker 1: ways and with managers and foremen as often as possible 258 00:14:46,320 --> 00:14:49,120 Speaker 1: so that she could keep their discussions about safety cordial, 259 00:14:49,480 --> 00:14:52,200 Speaker 1: and she continued to leverage any other means she could 260 00:14:52,240 --> 00:14:55,240 Speaker 1: to enact change in ways that her government work couldn't 261 00:14:55,280 --> 00:14:59,240 Speaker 1: really do. Ultimately, though the report that Alice compiled with 262 00:14:59,280 --> 00:15:03,120 Speaker 1: her colleagues did have significant impact, it made a clear 263 00:15:03,200 --> 00:15:05,760 Speaker 1: case showing that illnesses were often the result of on 264 00:15:05,880 --> 00:15:09,680 Speaker 1: the job conditions. In nineteen eleven, the State of Illinois 265 00:15:09,760 --> 00:15:13,680 Speaker 1: pass legislation that required three things of employers. One they 266 00:15:13,680 --> 00:15:16,600 Speaker 1: had to follow new safety guidelines to minimize the risk 267 00:15:16,640 --> 00:15:20,720 Speaker 1: of occupational disease. Two, if they employed workers in so 268 00:15:20,800 --> 00:15:24,680 Speaker 1: called dangerous trades, they had to provide monthly health screening 269 00:15:24,720 --> 00:15:27,960 Speaker 1: for those employees. And three, they had to report any 270 00:15:28,000 --> 00:15:32,000 Speaker 1: illnesses to the Department of Factory Inspection. In nineteen eleven, 271 00:15:32,120 --> 00:15:34,800 Speaker 1: after her work with the State of Illinois Commission concluded, 272 00:15:35,320 --> 00:15:38,240 Speaker 1: Alice Hamilton was asked to serve as a special investigator 273 00:15:38,320 --> 00:15:41,640 Speaker 1: for the Federal Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics 274 00:15:42,000 --> 00:15:44,360 Speaker 1: because of the reputation she had earned for her work 275 00:15:44,400 --> 00:15:47,040 Speaker 1: at the state level, and she served in that role 276 00:15:47,080 --> 00:15:50,680 Speaker 1: for almost a decade and continued her study and investigation 277 00:15:50,840 --> 00:15:54,280 Speaker 1: of lead in industry, as well as rubber, viscast rayon, 278 00:15:54,480 --> 00:15:58,760 Speaker 1: and other substances. Hamilton's continued to break barriers in her career, 279 00:15:58,880 --> 00:16:01,080 Speaker 1: and we will get to another of those right after 280 00:16:01,120 --> 00:16:03,440 Speaker 1: we pause for one of the sponsors that keeps us going. 281 00:16:11,440 --> 00:16:14,280 Speaker 1: During World War One, Hamilton's turned her attentions to the 282 00:16:14,320 --> 00:16:19,000 Speaker 1: industries associated with war for investigation. She studied factories where 283 00:16:19,120 --> 00:16:22,400 Speaker 1: munitions were made, and she submitted reports outlining the dangers 284 00:16:22,680 --> 00:16:25,680 Speaker 1: of the various chemicals involved and how those dangers might 285 00:16:25,680 --> 00:16:29,720 Speaker 1: be addressed for work or safety. Many safety procedures were 286 00:16:29,840 --> 00:16:32,600 Speaker 1: established because of the work she did during those years. 287 00:16:32,640 --> 00:16:35,400 Speaker 1: She also commented at one point that she felt like 288 00:16:35,440 --> 00:16:39,040 Speaker 1: because the government was so quick to act on those recommendations, 289 00:16:39,080 --> 00:16:41,680 Speaker 1: it kind of gave her work a level of credibility 290 00:16:41,680 --> 00:16:44,560 Speaker 1: that it hadn't really had before. Nearing the end of 291 00:16:44,560 --> 00:16:47,520 Speaker 1: her work in the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Hamilton's was 292 00:16:47,560 --> 00:16:50,320 Speaker 1: offered a position teaching at Harvard Medical School as an 293 00:16:50,360 --> 00:16:53,520 Speaker 1: assistant professor of Industrial Medicine. That made her the first 294 00:16:53,560 --> 00:16:56,640 Speaker 1: woman on the faculty there. And there's some irony in 295 00:16:56,680 --> 00:17:00,640 Speaker 1: that appointment, the school wasn't accepting women as students at 296 00:17:00,680 --> 00:17:03,280 Speaker 1: the time. When she was interviewed on the subject, Alice 297 00:17:03,280 --> 00:17:05,920 Speaker 1: Hamilton was always quick to point out that she shouldn't 298 00:17:06,000 --> 00:17:09,000 Speaker 1: have been the first woman on the faculty. She was 299 00:17:09,040 --> 00:17:12,280 Speaker 1: I was like, yes, I am uh. We should have 300 00:17:12,280 --> 00:17:16,959 Speaker 1: been doing this before. Uh. And despite the attention that 301 00:17:17,040 --> 00:17:20,879 Speaker 1: her groundbreaking position gained the school, she was denied a 302 00:17:20,960 --> 00:17:24,120 Speaker 1: number of benefits that were available to other faculty members. 303 00:17:24,359 --> 00:17:27,840 Speaker 1: For example, she wasn't allowed into the faculty club, and 304 00:17:27,880 --> 00:17:31,040 Speaker 1: she wasn't allowed to participate in the commencement procession, and 305 00:17:31,080 --> 00:17:33,600 Speaker 1: she would not receive any football tickets. Those were all 306 00:17:33,640 --> 00:17:36,840 Speaker 1: benefits that any other faculty member would have had. But 307 00:17:36,920 --> 00:17:40,720 Speaker 1: as part of her hiring negotiation, Dr Hamilton's wanted to 308 00:17:40,760 --> 00:17:43,840 Speaker 1: teach only one semester each year, and that way the 309 00:17:43,920 --> 00:17:45,800 Speaker 1: remainder of the year would be spent on her work 310 00:17:45,840 --> 00:17:49,440 Speaker 1: at Hull House and on her ongoing research into toxicology 311 00:17:49,640 --> 00:17:53,840 Speaker 1: in Alice was appointed to the League of Nation's Health Committee, 312 00:17:53,920 --> 00:17:57,000 Speaker 1: that made her the only woman chosen for it. That 313 00:17:57,160 --> 00:17:59,920 Speaker 1: same year, she was invited to the Soviet Union top 314 00:18:00,080 --> 00:18:03,000 Speaker 1: her expertise on the management and treatment of occupational disease. 315 00:18:03,040 --> 00:18:07,280 Speaker 1: There Hamilton's continued to use her various positions to work 316 00:18:07,640 --> 00:18:10,600 Speaker 1: not just for the betterment of occupational health, but also 317 00:18:10,680 --> 00:18:14,919 Speaker 1: for social reform and healthcare. Her work with impoverished communities 318 00:18:14,960 --> 00:18:18,920 Speaker 1: continued to drive her efforts, including work in epidemic disease, 319 00:18:19,080 --> 00:18:23,600 Speaker 1: infant mortality reduction, and addiction, and she also advocated for 320 00:18:23,640 --> 00:18:25,679 Speaker 1: family planning at a time when that was not a 321 00:18:25,760 --> 00:18:28,879 Speaker 1: very welcome topic because she saw how much women in 322 00:18:28,920 --> 00:18:32,720 Speaker 1: impoverished communities really didn't have education on the matter, and 323 00:18:32,760 --> 00:18:35,360 Speaker 1: also in some cases their health was put at risk 324 00:18:35,480 --> 00:18:39,560 Speaker 1: by having pregnancy after pregnancy, after pregnancy. She also worked 325 00:18:39,560 --> 00:18:42,880 Speaker 1: in the interest of women's labor rights, even when that 326 00:18:42,920 --> 00:18:46,119 Speaker 1: position stood in opposition to legislation that was introduced for 327 00:18:46,160 --> 00:18:50,080 Speaker 1: equal rights. Hamilton was concerned that the wording of bills 328 00:18:50,200 --> 00:18:53,600 Speaker 1: introduced for equality in the workplace would diminish protections for 329 00:18:53,640 --> 00:18:56,320 Speaker 1: women in the workplace, so she became an advocate for 330 00:18:56,359 --> 00:18:59,760 Speaker 1: women in labor industries like textile mills, food packaging and 331 00:18:59,800 --> 00:19:03,640 Speaker 1: processing plants, as well as hospitality. In nineteen fifty two, 332 00:19:03,640 --> 00:19:06,240 Speaker 1: she became an advocate for the Equal Rights Amendment once 333 00:19:06,280 --> 00:19:10,480 Speaker 1: she felt that equality legislation wouldn't diminish protections for women 334 00:19:10,520 --> 00:19:12,720 Speaker 1: at work, and part of the reason she was so 335 00:19:12,800 --> 00:19:16,040 Speaker 1: adamant about those protections was that she had collected data 336 00:19:16,119 --> 00:19:18,560 Speaker 1: that showed that there were ways in which women were 337 00:19:18,560 --> 00:19:21,320 Speaker 1: more vulnerable than men when it came to certain issues 338 00:19:21,359 --> 00:19:25,720 Speaker 1: of industrial poisoning. Her research indicated that women were more susceptible, 339 00:19:25,720 --> 00:19:29,800 Speaker 1: particularly to lead poisoning, and all industrial poisonings had the 340 00:19:29,840 --> 00:19:34,480 Speaker 1: added complication of potentially causing birth defects and or sterility. 341 00:19:34,720 --> 00:19:39,960 Speaker 1: In she wrote the first text on toxicology, titled Industrial 342 00:19:40,000 --> 00:19:43,040 Speaker 1: Poisons in the United States. Nine years later, in nineteen 343 00:19:43,040 --> 00:19:47,399 Speaker 1: thirty four, she wrote another text book, Industrial Toxicology. The 344 00:19:47,480 --> 00:19:51,439 Speaker 1: year after Industrial Toxicology was first published, Hamilton's time at 345 00:19:51,480 --> 00:19:55,520 Speaker 1: Harvard ended because she reached mandatory retirement age. In the 346 00:19:55,520 --> 00:19:58,040 Speaker 1: sixteen years that she was there, she was never promoted 347 00:19:58,080 --> 00:20:01,159 Speaker 1: beyond the title of assistant professor, and instead had been 348 00:20:01,200 --> 00:20:04,160 Speaker 1: employed on a series of three year contracts that renewed 349 00:20:04,200 --> 00:20:07,480 Speaker 1: over and over. After leaving Harvard, Hamilton's who was sixty 350 00:20:07,520 --> 00:20:10,720 Speaker 1: six at the time, hadn't actually retired from her life's work. 351 00:20:11,160 --> 00:20:14,320 Speaker 1: She moved to Haadline, Connecticut with her sister, Margaret, who 352 00:20:14,480 --> 00:20:16,919 Speaker 1: like all four of the Hamilton's sisters, had not married, 353 00:20:17,520 --> 00:20:20,800 Speaker 1: and Alice continued to consult on the topic of toxicology 354 00:20:20,800 --> 00:20:24,479 Speaker 1: in industrial settings, including acting as an advisor to New 355 00:20:24,560 --> 00:20:29,200 Speaker 1: York State Industrial Commissioner Francis Perkins. Even outside of consulting, 356 00:20:29,320 --> 00:20:33,320 Speaker 1: Dr Hamilton's stayed busy. In y three, she wrote her autobiography, 357 00:20:33,440 --> 00:20:38,240 Speaker 1: exploring the Dangerous Trades. She revised her textbook Industrial Toxicology 358 00:20:38,320 --> 00:20:41,040 Speaker 1: in nineteen forty nine when she was eighty, and as 359 00:20:41,160 --> 00:20:43,879 Speaker 1: Joseph McCarthy stirred up the Second Red Scare in the 360 00:20:44,000 --> 00:20:46,399 Speaker 1: U S and the late forties and early fifties, she 361 00:20:46,520 --> 00:20:48,439 Speaker 1: spoke out against it. At that point she was in 362 00:20:48,480 --> 00:20:52,600 Speaker 1: her eighties. That activism continued into her nineties, when she 363 00:20:52,640 --> 00:20:55,240 Speaker 1: wrote to President Kennedy to urge him to get American 364 00:20:55,280 --> 00:20:59,960 Speaker 1: troops out of Vietnam. On February nineteen sixty nine, Hamilton's 365 00:21:00,000 --> 00:21:04,200 Speaker 1: celebrated her one dred birthday the following year. She died 366 00:21:04,280 --> 00:21:08,680 Speaker 1: on September twenty, nineteen seventy, after having a stroke. Three 367 00:21:08,720 --> 00:21:13,040 Speaker 1: months after her death, on December seventy, the Occupational Safety 368 00:21:13,040 --> 00:21:16,680 Speaker 1: and Health Act of nineteen seventy became law. It's opening 369 00:21:16,720 --> 00:21:21,160 Speaker 1: paragraph reads an Act to assure safe and healthful working 370 00:21:21,240 --> 00:21:25,159 Speaker 1: conditions for working men and women, by authorizing enforcement of 371 00:21:25,200 --> 00:21:28,720 Speaker 1: the standards, development of the Act, by assisting and encouraging 372 00:21:28,760 --> 00:21:31,360 Speaker 1: the States and their efforts to assure safe and healthful 373 00:21:31,440 --> 00:21:36,200 Speaker 1: working conditions, by providing for research, information, education, and training 374 00:21:36,240 --> 00:21:39,040 Speaker 1: in the field of occupational safety and health, and for 375 00:21:39,080 --> 00:21:42,000 Speaker 1: other purposes. Yes, so that was kind of the culmination 376 00:21:42,040 --> 00:21:44,320 Speaker 1: of her life's work, and she just missed seeing it 377 00:21:44,359 --> 00:21:47,760 Speaker 1: happened by a few months. Today, the Centers for Disease 378 00:21:47,760 --> 00:21:50,880 Speaker 1: Control and Prevention give out the Alice B. Hamilton Awards 379 00:21:50,920 --> 00:21:53,920 Speaker 1: for Occupational Safety and Health, and on her birthday in 380 00:21:53,960 --> 00:21:57,600 Speaker 1: ninety seven, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health 381 00:21:58,000 --> 00:22:01,960 Speaker 1: Ridge Avenue Facility in Cincinnati, Ohio was dedicated to her 382 00:22:01,960 --> 00:22:06,160 Speaker 1: memory and named the Alice Hamilton's Laboratory for Occupational Safety 383 00:22:06,160 --> 00:22:09,920 Speaker 1: and Health. In two thousand two, the American Chemical Society 384 00:22:09,960 --> 00:22:13,320 Speaker 1: designated Alice Hamilton's and her work in industrial medicine a 385 00:22:13,560 --> 00:22:16,960 Speaker 1: National Historic Chemical Landmark. And to close, I wanted to 386 00:22:17,000 --> 00:22:21,560 Speaker 1: offer up a fairly famous quote from Dr Allis Hamilton's autobiography, 387 00:22:21,600 --> 00:22:24,439 Speaker 1: and it reads, quote, I chose medicine not because I 388 00:22:24,480 --> 00:22:28,000 Speaker 1: was scientifically minded, for I was deeply ignorant of science. 389 00:22:28,560 --> 00:22:30,600 Speaker 1: I chose it because as a doctor, I could go 390 00:22:30,680 --> 00:22:34,399 Speaker 1: anywhere I pleased, too far off lands or to city slums, 391 00:22:34,600 --> 00:22:37,240 Speaker 1: and be quite sure I could be of use anywhere. 392 00:22:38,160 --> 00:22:41,159 Speaker 1: That's such a great sentiment, it is. And it's like 393 00:22:41,280 --> 00:22:44,399 Speaker 1: her heaps me too. Uh. One of the things that 394 00:22:44,440 --> 00:22:47,000 Speaker 1: I think is really interesting about her story is that 395 00:22:47,040 --> 00:22:50,119 Speaker 1: it's sort of it shows how when there's progress in 396 00:22:50,240 --> 00:22:53,000 Speaker 1: some field, it's not like there's a switch that gets 397 00:22:53,040 --> 00:22:56,879 Speaker 1: flipped where everything is fixed now, like the Radium girls 398 00:22:56,960 --> 00:23:00,320 Speaker 1: were after this, and like I think she was part 399 00:23:00,400 --> 00:23:04,160 Speaker 1: of some of the investigation of that, and like that 400 00:23:04,280 --> 00:23:08,880 Speaker 1: was well after Illinois had passed laws related to this. 401 00:23:09,119 --> 00:23:12,440 Speaker 1: Like it's it's an example of sort of the trajectory 402 00:23:12,560 --> 00:23:15,240 Speaker 1: of things that that take a while. And of course 403 00:23:15,240 --> 00:23:20,200 Speaker 1: there are plenty of occupational issues that still exists today. Yeah. 404 00:23:20,200 --> 00:23:23,240 Speaker 1: In her autobiography, which we mentioned was written in the forties, 405 00:23:23,280 --> 00:23:25,479 Speaker 1: there's a funny moment where she talks about how, like 406 00:23:26,080 --> 00:23:28,840 Speaker 1: to her, it's almost amusing that people started using like 407 00:23:28,880 --> 00:23:33,280 Speaker 1: the the safety first wording, when she's like, when I 408 00:23:33,280 --> 00:23:35,720 Speaker 1: started doing this, that would have been like an athema 409 00:23:35,800 --> 00:23:38,639 Speaker 1: nobody would have said those words. So she was seeing 410 00:23:38,640 --> 00:23:41,840 Speaker 1: the progress and could appreciate her impact even if she 411 00:23:41,880 --> 00:23:45,640 Speaker 1: did not get to see that the Osha law finally 412 00:23:45,680 --> 00:23:49,400 Speaker 1: signed into reality. That law is older than I thought 413 00:23:49,480 --> 00:23:52,480 Speaker 1: it was. Yeah, yeah, it's one of those things I 414 00:23:52,560 --> 00:23:56,840 Speaker 1: think people don't always know, like the origin point for OSHA, 415 00:23:56,880 --> 00:23:59,520 Speaker 1: Like we used that acronym as a word all the time, 416 00:24:00,040 --> 00:24:01,800 Speaker 1: but when you really think about, like someone had to 417 00:24:01,840 --> 00:24:04,480 Speaker 1: go and investigate all of these things into trumine, that 418 00:24:04,520 --> 00:24:07,359 Speaker 1: there was a very clear link between some of the 419 00:24:07,400 --> 00:24:09,320 Speaker 1: work that was happening and some of the illnesses that 420 00:24:09,359 --> 00:24:12,480 Speaker 1: were resulting, uh and document all of it so that 421 00:24:12,520 --> 00:24:15,600 Speaker 1: there could be a clear case made. And it was 422 00:24:15,720 --> 00:24:18,639 Speaker 1: largely uh, you know, her instigating it in the United 423 00:24:18,680 --> 00:24:21,280 Speaker 1: States at least, there was, as we mentioned, uh, stuff 424 00:24:21,320 --> 00:24:22,840 Speaker 1: going on in other parts of the globe where they 425 00:24:22,840 --> 00:24:26,959 Speaker 1: had already begun that kind of research. But Alice Hamilton 426 00:24:27,119 --> 00:24:29,680 Speaker 1: sure love her. I also noticed, in case anyone's curious, 427 00:24:29,680 --> 00:24:33,640 Speaker 1: when you look at biographies of her, uh, she isn't 428 00:24:33,720 --> 00:24:37,320 Speaker 1: very often addressed as Dr Alice Hamilton's and I think 429 00:24:37,359 --> 00:24:40,399 Speaker 1: that's because she didn't go into practice as a medical doctor, 430 00:24:40,440 --> 00:24:42,960 Speaker 1: but instead took this research route, but she did finish 431 00:24:43,040 --> 00:24:46,480 Speaker 1: medical school and wasn't empty, so we kind of switched 432 00:24:46,480 --> 00:24:50,080 Speaker 1: a little bit and included it periodically just to remind people. Um, 433 00:24:50,119 --> 00:24:52,080 Speaker 1: but I don't think she went by Dr Hamilton's on 434 00:24:52,119 --> 00:24:54,159 Speaker 1: the regular in her day to day life. Do you 435 00:24:54,240 --> 00:24:56,560 Speaker 1: have some listener mail to take us out? I do, 436 00:24:56,720 --> 00:25:00,639 Speaker 1: and it's actually about an episode that you did. But 437 00:25:00,840 --> 00:25:02,560 Speaker 1: it's a piece of physical male so I thought I 438 00:25:02,560 --> 00:25:03,840 Speaker 1: would read it so you would get to hear it 439 00:25:03,920 --> 00:25:06,920 Speaker 1: since you're not here in Atlanta. Uh. It starts Hello, 440 00:25:06,960 --> 00:25:09,680 Speaker 1: Holly and Tracy. I was delighted to hear your episode 441 00:25:09,720 --> 00:25:12,320 Speaker 1: on Juliette Gordon Lowe. I've been a Girl Scout troop 442 00:25:12,400 --> 00:25:14,560 Speaker 1: leader for three years, but have been involved for about 443 00:25:14,600 --> 00:25:17,199 Speaker 1: eight years. I have two daughters and Girl Scouts. It 444 00:25:17,280 --> 00:25:19,639 Speaker 1: is a major part of our lives. I love the 445 00:25:19,640 --> 00:25:22,160 Speaker 1: program and I've seen my girls grow and developed through 446 00:25:22,160 --> 00:25:25,480 Speaker 1: the various levels of scouting. Girl Scouting has also allowed 447 00:25:25,520 --> 00:25:27,360 Speaker 1: me and my girls to travel with our troops through 448 00:25:27,400 --> 00:25:30,160 Speaker 1: selling cookies. We have traveled to places that we could 449 00:25:30,200 --> 00:25:33,080 Speaker 1: never have gone on our own family budget. This was 450 00:25:33,160 --> 00:25:34,800 Speaker 1: such a fun episode for me to listen to you 451 00:25:34,880 --> 00:25:37,560 Speaker 1: as a girl Scout leader. Part of Girl Scouting is 452 00:25:37,600 --> 00:25:40,399 Speaker 1: teaching the girls the history of how Girl Scouts started 453 00:25:40,440 --> 00:25:43,600 Speaker 1: and who Juliette Gordon Lowe was. I have learned many 454 00:25:43,640 --> 00:25:45,919 Speaker 1: of the stories you shared about Juliette's life, but it 455 00:25:46,000 --> 00:25:48,680 Speaker 1: was also interesting to hear other tidbits that get left out. 456 00:25:49,320 --> 00:25:51,880 Speaker 1: I love Juliette Gordon Lowe and what she started. I'm 457 00:25:51,880 --> 00:25:54,200 Speaker 1: inspired by her life because she was in her fifties 458 00:25:54,280 --> 00:25:57,119 Speaker 1: before truly finding out what she loved. As somebody who 459 00:25:57,200 --> 00:25:59,880 Speaker 1: just turned forty and still figuring out what life has 460 00:25:59,880 --> 00:26:01,640 Speaker 1: a store for me, I looked to her to see 461 00:26:01,640 --> 00:26:04,639 Speaker 1: that big things still await you even when you are older. 462 00:26:05,200 --> 00:26:07,840 Speaker 1: I love that sentiment as well. I haven't closed a 463 00:26:07,880 --> 00:26:10,560 Speaker 1: print of my favorite Juliet Gordon low quote, and I 464 00:26:10,600 --> 00:26:12,159 Speaker 1: love this quote because of all the work I do 465 00:26:12,240 --> 00:26:15,119 Speaker 1: with young girls and teenagers through the Girl Scouts. I 466 00:26:15,200 --> 00:26:17,600 Speaker 1: also think it is the perfect quote for a history podcast. 467 00:26:17,880 --> 00:26:19,440 Speaker 1: Thank you so much for the research you do and 468 00:26:19,480 --> 00:26:22,200 Speaker 1: the entertaining episodes you and your team produce. I love 469 00:26:22,240 --> 00:26:24,800 Speaker 1: your podcast. I've listened for years and I've always wanted 470 00:26:24,840 --> 00:26:26,680 Speaker 1: to send you something. I'm glad I finally had the 471 00:26:26,720 --> 00:26:29,760 Speaker 1: perfect reason to write in and share uh yours and 472 00:26:29,760 --> 00:26:33,000 Speaker 1: girl Scouting Samantha, And she also writes ps Tracy wants 473 00:26:33,000 --> 00:26:35,240 Speaker 1: a girl Scout, Always a girl scout. It's one of 474 00:26:35,280 --> 00:26:40,080 Speaker 1: our sayings. And she wrote sent us to prints that 475 00:26:40,200 --> 00:26:42,080 Speaker 1: just have a cute quote. This is the work of 476 00:26:42,119 --> 00:26:44,840 Speaker 1: today as the history of tomorrow, and we are its makers. 477 00:26:45,400 --> 00:26:48,560 Speaker 1: I love it so Thank you so much, Samantha, because 478 00:26:49,400 --> 00:26:51,919 Speaker 1: we agree. Juliet Gordon Low is pretty cool, and the 479 00:26:51,920 --> 00:26:54,600 Speaker 1: Scouts do a lot of good work. And I really 480 00:26:54,600 --> 00:26:59,280 Speaker 1: really like the beautiful Prince again. The idea that you 481 00:26:59,320 --> 00:27:02,080 Speaker 1: can find your life is calling it any age, me too. 482 00:27:02,440 --> 00:27:03,959 Speaker 1: If you would like to write to us, you can 483 00:27:04,000 --> 00:27:06,680 Speaker 1: do so at History Podcast at how stove works dot com. 484 00:27:06,720 --> 00:27:08,879 Speaker 1: You can also find us pretty much everywhere on social 485 00:27:08,920 --> 00:27:11,760 Speaker 1: media as Missed in History and Missed in History dot 486 00:27:11,800 --> 00:27:14,080 Speaker 1: Com is our website where you can come and see 487 00:27:14,520 --> 00:27:17,960 Speaker 1: and listen to every episode that's ever existed. If you 488 00:27:18,000 --> 00:27:20,639 Speaker 1: would like to subscribe to the podcast, we would like 489 00:27:20,680 --> 00:27:22,600 Speaker 1: you to subscribe to the podcast. 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