Down day...

Hello again blog followers!,
Catherine here. Today was a bit of a down day, however we did do some different things so I'll tell you about those. Today Dr. Shefveland and I toured the rest of New Lanark (except for one building, drat), were introduced to several interesting staff members, and learned a lot of good information for my research. We picked up several extremely good leads for my paper's aspect of public health, and poverty reduction, so that's excellent. As well, we learned that New Lanark has several oral histories for us to work with, which is SO very exciting! We learned a couple of different anecdotes, one of which concerned a woman who was accidentally scalped by a ringer machine for drying washed clothes, and another about a foreman beating a young boy in the mills, until Robert Owen came along, dragged him through the mill by the scruff of his neck, and then sacked him on the spot, to make an example of him, and to show his displeasure about a young child being beaten as punishment. We're really excited to see if we can find and cite those stories from the archival materials, and to see if there is any other information concerning hygiene, public sanitation, etc, before Robert Owen's arrival, and after, as well as poverty levels before and after his arrival. My paper will likely be a change over time paper, beginning with Robert Owen's initial goals, and perhaps some background information about the conditions at New Lanark before he was in charge, and then the second half will be how his ideals have endured over time, including a discussion about the  Co-Operative Alliance movement, and how that is still alive and well today. I'm hoping as well to go inside the buildings and take pictures of the interiors, not only for my research, but also to show you all what I'm working in and around. Aside from all of that, we are heading into Glasgow tomorrow to spend the night, and on Thursday we are taking a quick flight to London to go to the British Museum and maybe the Tower of London, so I am super excited about that! Pictures from that will definitely make an appearance, and I'll talk to you guys later. Stay Tuned! ---Catherine Carver