August 20, 2008 ~ Future President's Visit
Today has been the kind of day that I am proud of my howntown. Today the town I was born in and still live fairly close too was visited by Presidential Hopeful Barack Obama. It was an invitation only event but I will say that I was very impressed. I was not there in person, but watched it online from a local news channel. I have chosen to support the Obama platform and I do believe that it will improve the current state of this country.
I am going to tell you about my hometown and why this visit was so important for us as a community. When I was growing up the city of Martinsville , VA had three of the largest industrial manufacturing plants in the world...there was Dupont (Nylon manufacturing), Bassett, Hooker, American, and Stanley Furniture were all based here, and then we had Tultex ( a textile plant). Jobs were plentiful, and most people enjoyed a middle class lifestyle. Going to town on Saturday was a wonderful thing and we had plenty of choices for shopping and eating out. But in the late 1990's all that changed. First it started with the textile industry, Sara Lee closed its sewing plant , only to be followed by Tultex and Pillowtex. Then a few of the furniture factories closed, and downsized. Then Dupont closed it's doors . So figuring that over half of the population of my county worked in one of these factories, the economic impact was dramatic and crippling to say the least. Since the closing of all these factories, my community has tried to rebuild and invest in educational opportunities. But still ever few months more jobs are lost, mainly due to the importing of textiles and furniture. So now finally after nearly a decade of struggle we are gaining some national attention.
Personally my family has been impacted by three of the plant closings. My mother was a 22 year employee of Sara Lee and was laid off. For months she was unemployed and then required to take a job at minimum wage to survive. Minimum wage was about 1/3 of what she had been earning in the factory. Then my husband's factory closed when our oldest daughter was one, we lost income, insurance ( which was a major deal, she was a preemie and still had to be monitored very close), and self respect. Then when our second daughter turned one, another furniture plant closed and we were devastated. My husband loved working for this company and had hoped to retire from there, but it was not to be. They decided to turn their attention to importing furniture form China and cease domestic production. When I talk about losing our self-respect, I guess the word I should use is pride. Now we must have government assistance to provide for our family. Without the health insurance for my girls we could not afford my eldest daughter's medicine. The cost of our insurance premiums for family medical coverage has tripled sine the first plant closing 8 years ago. My husband now lives worrying if the factory he works for now is going to close, and how to continue his education while still trying to keep our family afloat. I worry about finding a job, and still being a good mother, especially where Alexis is involved. Alexis is a special needs child. So just speaking for my family, we need a change.
Just remember to vote. Every voice is important and if if we disagree on the candidate to vote for, your vote still matters.