Stoic Ladies

Since colonial times and the beginnings of the paper industry in New England in the late 18th century, women had always been a part of the work force, cutting and sorting rags or in "parting packs," i.e., separating the sheets between the different processes of pressing.   So it was natural that when paper became a prime industry in northeast Wisconsin that these same roles were followed.  These unnamed women, provided the very foundations of the mill, engaging in such dusty, disagreeable work for little pay.