Our Mill Town Jobs Helped Make Us Who We Became

Our Mill Town Jobs Helped Make Us Who We Became

 “Colleen, we’re taking you off the floor and putting you into screen-printing,” said my shift supervisor at Oresman Bros. Factory, on Pulaski St., in the Crompton section of town. He apparently had great faith in my ability. I didn’t know screen-printing was a skilled position. He introduced me to Tom, the taciturn man in charge…

A West Warwick Native Walks Back into Her Childhood

A West Warwick Native Walks Back into Her Childhood

‘The Principal’s Daughter’ As Guest-Speaker, I Don’t Plan on ‘Pulling a Larry Wilmore’…   You know—the alleged comedian of “The Nightly Show” fame who some say ‘bombed’ at the 2016 White house Press Conference Dinner, as he skewered several, with the result an audible groan —or worse yet for ANY comedian—no response– came up from…

West Warwick-ites—Please, Get Me Names….

Hello West Warwick-ites!               I am excited to take part in PBS’s “Our Town” segment, about our hometown—West Warwick. As a writer, I intend to shine a spotlight on exceptional people, sort of like CNN Heroes–those who have achieved in high profile careers, like judges?…movie stars?…entrepreneurs?..or people who’ve met incredible challenges in life. Or they’re just…

“In Honor of Mill-Working Girls” by Colleen Kelly Mellor

“In Honor of Mill-Working Girls” by Colleen Kelly Mellor

I’m product of the mill                 As they are of me— We’re interwoven, Like cotton, wool, and lace Spun by young women Standing at looms Long hours,                                                               Regardless of their time of the month              …migraines… Or unrelenting pregnancies….   They’re ancestral sisters Who believed themselves ‘ lucky’ To tend machines That produced such fine material For…