Babies In The Mill - Music Video

Can you believe that less than 100 years ago, little kids didn't head out to school in the morning, but went to work for 8 or more hours in dirty, dusty and dangerous conditions!?
This song was written by Dorsey Dixon and I first heard it from a friend and mentor, Hedy West. Dorsey Dixon actually was a factory hand and the lyrics to the song come from his own personal experiences.
I recorded this version of "Babies In The Mill" for my "Come From A Coal Town" CD supported by a grant from the Leeway Foundation in Philadelphia. This grant helped me tell the unknown stories of my relatives and ancestors and child labor is part of that story. My grandmother was a factory dress worker and several of my uncles worked the the breaker of the coal mines, a pretty scary place where tons (literally) of coal fell from a shute and the younger boys had to sort the pieces of coal by hand.
Photos seen here are by Lewis Hine, a groundbreaking labor photographer whose work was instrumental in the development of child labor laws in the US. You can hear more of the songs from the "Come From A Coal Town" Cd, here:
• God Grant You Many Yea...
Thanks to Mike Beck for guitars and Judy Terwilliger for fiddle on these tracks. "Babies In The Mill" was recorded at the very awesome Sweetcreek Studios, Bucks County, PA.