May 16, 1937: Angry Laborers Cause Damage in Home of Hosiery Mill Foreman

By Margaret Leidy Harner from her book One Day at a Time: A Social History of Boyertown, PA.

May 16, 1937: A labor dispute is brewing in Boyertown and the situation is heating up! Three bottles filled with used crankcase oil were hurled through front windows into the home of William Gross on Washington Street in Boyertown about 3:00 this morning, with a loud crash that awakened the neighborhood. Gross is the foreman of the Fashion Hosiery Mill, whose workers are challenging the company’s wage scale.

An automobile was then heard racing away from the scene. Three panes of glass in the front door and a small window were broken and three broken bottles that had contained the oil were found in the front room, where the splattered oil had ruined the walls and furniture, with about $100 worth of damage. State police are investigating and no arrests have yet been made.

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