Ralph Glenn oral history interview, circa 1976

Ralph Glenn, a native of Gastonia, North Carolina, reflects on the events of the Loray Mill strike of 1929. Mr. Glenn was attending Davidson College at the time of the Loray Mill Strike and was not an eyewitness to the strike. However, his interview provides deep insights into the historical context, growth, and influence of the textile industry in North Carolina during the early twentieth century. He speaks about the conditions of mill life in his hometown of Gastonia, and about native residents' wariness and distrust towards out-of-town mill workers. Mr. Glenn elaborates on the southern Piedmont area’s experience with unions and notes that many negative perceptions hardened after the events of the Loray Mill strike. Other issues discussed in the interview are the role of the communist-leaning National Textile Workers Union (NTWU) in the Loray Mill strike, the police and strikers' levels of participation in the violence of the strike, and the controversy surrounding the trial of some of the Loray Mill strikers.