Worker City, Company Town: Iron and Cotton-Worker Protest in Troy and Cohoes, New York, 1855-1884

Bryan D. Palmer, Daniel J. Walkowitz
1979 Labour (Halifax)  
Buchans for the last 30 years," leads a rendition of "Solidarity Forever," one gets a sense that musk has long enjoyed a central place in toe social life of the community. Not surprisingly, these self-made industrial folk songs are made from the raw materials closest to the musical tastes of the people of Buchans, and as a result the album features a lively blend of traditional Newfoundland melodies and contemporary country and western music. The Songs of the Buchans Miners adds to our
more » ... ding of Canadian workers in several ways. The case of Buchans seems to contradict the sociological image of the contemporary single-industry town as a place where unions are "seldom militant" and rarely "community-oriented," and where citizens experience "an overriding ambivalence and resignation." At least in the case of the early 1970s in Buchans, this generalization seems questionable. 1 The album also gives us some insight into the way in which original workers' folk songs continue to be produced. When the need arose in Buchans, talented local musicians came forward to give expression to the shared ideas and experiences of the working class community. Despite the powerful centralizing forces of commercial radio and recorded music, the people of Buchans have reminded us that "unofficial" or "popular" local cultural traditions are still very much alive. Breakwater
doi:10.2307/25139935 fatcat:nsuk632cqnhifaym2dlqzyfwem