Well, let me tell ya ’bout this Mae Keane gal. Heard tell she worked at that Waterbury Clock Company, just for one summer it seems.
Folks say back in the day, around the 1920s, they had these fancy new watches. See, they glowed in the dark! And who made ’em glow? Gals like Mae, that’s who. They called ’em “Radium Girls”, or so I heard. They painted them watch numbers with this radium stuff, made ’em all shiny and bright.
- They hired these young women
- Told ’em to paint with this glowy stuff
- Nobody told ’em it was dangerous, I reckon
Now, this radium, they say it was real powerful. Made things glow, alright, but it wasn’t no good for ya. Them poor girls, they used to lick their brushes to make ’em pointy, see. Nobody told ’em not to, I guess. Didn’t know no better.
Mae, she was one of the last of them Radium Girls. Lived a long life, she did, all the way to 107, bless her heart. But a lot of them other gals, they weren’t so lucky. Many of ’em got sick and died, real young. This radium, it got into their bones, they say. Caused all sorts of problems. It’s a darn shame, it is.
I seen some pictures of Mae. One when she was young, working with that radium paint, and another when she was older, at her home in Middlebury, Connecticut. She looked like a regular woman, ya know? Just like you or me. But she went through somethin’ terrible, somethin’ nobody should have to go through.
Think about it, they were just tryin’ to make a livin’. Workin’ hard, doin’ what they were told. And it ended up killin’ ’em. It makes you think, don’t it? About what them big companies get away with sometimes. About how they don’t care about the little people, just about makin’ a buck.
They say Mae started workin’ at that factory in 1924. First day on the job, they probably just told her, “Here’s the paint, here’s the brushes, get to work.” Didn’t tell her nothin’ about the dangers. Didn’t care, probably. Just wanted them watches to glow.
It’s a sad story, real sad. Makes you angry, too. All them young women, dyin’ like that. And for what? So folks could tell time in the dark? Seems like a mighty high price to pay, if you ask me. The Waterbury Clock Company, the “Radium Girls”, Mae Keane, it’s all a part of history now, a sad part, but a part we shouldn’t forget.
This Mae Keane, she lived through it all. Saw her friends get sick, saw ’em die. And she lived to tell the tale. She was a strong woman, I reckon. Had to be, to go through somethin’ like that and still keep goin’. They say she was the last one, the last of the Radium Girls. That’s somethin’, ain’t it? A testament to her strength, maybe.
So next time you see one of them old glow-in-the-dark watches, you think about Mae Keane and them other girls. Think about what they went through. And don’t you ever forget it. It’s important to remember these things, to learn from ’em. So we don’t make the same mistakes again.
They hired working-class women, ya know? Gals who needed the money. Took advantage of ’em, that’s what they did. Promised ’em a job, didn’t tell ’em it was a death sentence. It ain’t right, it just ain’t right. The whole thing is a tragic mess if you ask me.
Dozens of ’em died, they say. Just dozens. Young women, full of life, gone too soon. And all because some company wanted to make a quick buck. It’s a cruel world sometimes, it really is. Makes you wonder who’s lookin’ out for the little guy, ya know?
So that’s the story of Mae Keane, as best as I can tell it. The last Radium Girl. A woman who lived through a terrible time, and who deserves to be remembered. Don’t you forget her name, now. Mae Keane. Remember it.
