One of the departments at Anaconda Wire & Cable Company that employed women was the weatherproofing department. There, the women operated the machines that covered copper cable with cotton braid impregnated with a weather-proofing substance.
In these photographs, however, the ladies are having some kind of party — complete with spaghetti and meatballs! From looking at the background of the photographs and matching them with other photographs in our collection, we know they are still at work, in the Anaconda caffeteria. And we know the names of two of diners: Sophie Karschmidt Hoss is in the plaid shirt and cap and Louise Capuano is wearing the checked shirt and vest. Who are the others? What is the celebration? We’d love to know!
Click on the photographs to look at them in Flickr (use the All Sizes link to enlarge the photograph). If you have any ideas, pass them along to us! If you don’t know, but are curious about the answers, come back to the blog and check this post. We’ll attach comments with any information we receive.
Janet Aluisio D'Alio has sent us a message from her aunt, who worked at Anaconda. She says "The lady in white looks like Leana Addrisso who no doubt cooked the meatballs etc that they were eating. She worked as one of the cleaning people and then I think worked at the coffee counter. She was from Dobbs Ferry." Thanks Janet & Co.!