Description

In the third installment of the Book Shop's "Sunday Salon" series, we take a look at the past, present, and future of how we work. We are joined by Jaime Sayen, author of "You Had a Job for Life," and Rachel Slade, author of "Making it in America."

Sayen's work is the story of Groveton, NH, and its century-long relationship with the paper mill that had been its economic engine since the early twentieth century. Purchased and revived by local owners in the postwar decades, the mill merged with Diamond International in 1968, fell victim to Anglo-French financier James Goldsmith’s hostile takeover in 1982, then suffered through a series of owners with no roots in the community until its eventual demise in 2007. 

Slade's work focuses on an unlikely pair with an unlikely quest: To make a good old-fashioned hooded sweatshirt right here on American soil. Why is that so hard? And what does it say about the state of American labor and manufacturing that the tasks seems almost impossible? Through the eyes of one Maine couple, we see the present and future of American manufacturing. 

Sayen, Slade, and co-owner of the Book Shop Sam Pfeifle will talk about how Groveton and these Mainers' struggle is emblematic of where we've been and how far we now have to go. 

This event will be held at Hastings House, at 14 Oak Street, in Beverly Farms.