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Title
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Mildred Reece
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Description
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Letter from factory at Donnelly Garment Company. Reece describes steady work and the ways in which the Donnelly Garment Company and Nell Donnelly Reed helped her family through difficult financial struggles. Reece also expressed her belief that the wages she earns are higher than at other factories.
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Creator
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Reece, Mildred
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Contributor
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n/a
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Subject
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Clothing trade--Missouri--Kansas City--History
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Clothing Trade--History
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Reed, Nell Donnelly, 1889-1991
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Donnelly Garment Company
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Date Original
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July 15, 1937
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Location
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Kansas City, Missouri
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Collection name
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James A. Reed Collection,K 0443
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Identifiers
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Box 34
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Source
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The State Historical Society of Missouri-Kansas City
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Publisher
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n/a
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Access Rights
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The Donor hereby gives and assigns to the University all rights of copyright which the Donor has in (a) the Materials and (b) in such of his works as may be found among any collections of Materials received by the University from others.
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Type
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Text
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Format
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Letter
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Transcript
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Kansas City, Mo.
July 15, 1937
To whom it may concern:
I have been employed by the Donnelly Garment Company since December of 1934. And I’m sure I haven’t lost more than five or six days because of lack of work. I have lost a lot of time because of illness, either myself or a member of my family. I would be safe in saying, I would not work for another garment company other than Donnelly’s. Because of the experience I have had in other factories and from the experience my friends have had, I know there isn’t another factory with the same working conditions as we have at Donnelly’s.
There is no end to what Mrs. Reed does for us. When it seems there can be nothing left for her to do, we learn of something else she has done.
I’d like to give an example of her generosity.
My mother was ill at my home for some time, my husband had been ill for a short time, off and on. We got so behind with our bills and almost lost our insurance. I was so worried, I went to the management and explained my lot to them. They advanced me enough money to get on my feet again and deducted a small amount from my wages each week until it was paid back. I shall never be able to thank them enough for that.
I, myself, was off from work for over five months. Became ill the last of October of ast [last] year. Christmas came and I had been off two months. I hadn’t expected to get the usual gift Mrs. Reed gave to her employees. But they called me to come down and gave me a five dollar bill and twelve pound turkey, the same as all the employees received. I was truly grateful, after loosing [losing] so much work.
I feel that I could write a book, all about the nice things both big and small that Mrs. Reed has done for us. The many priviledges [privileges] allowed us, that other factories don’t allow. The girls get tired and want a cold drink or something to eat, they are free to go to the cafeteria and get it.
Another thing I want to say Before I came to work for Donnelly’s; a relative of mine called me on the telephone and asked why I didn’t try to get a job working for Donnelly. And she mentioned the wages a friend of hers was making there and I laughed at her. I had worked in factories back in my home town of Joplin and Webb City and in the factories here and I had never made any such wages as she mentioned and I really didn’t believe her. But I heard from others about Donnelly’s being such a nice place to work so I tried my luck and want to say it was a mighty lucky day for me and my family, the day I became an employee of this company. For there has been very few weeks that my pay check hasn’t been much more than my husband’s, and he works for the railroad.
I could go on and on singing praises to Mrs. Reed.
The insurance and hospitalization she pays for us, our Christmas party for the employees children, our Country Club she is making ready for us and, oh, so many things.
And I know there isn’t one girl out of fity [fifty] who doesn’t feel just as I do, that Mrs. Reed is not only our employer, but our friend.
Mildred Reece
800 E. 11th
