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Article: "I'd Rather Be Dancing": Wisconsin Women Moving On.(rural women's work, recreation and migration to cities in the twentieth century)(Statistical Data Included)
- Article from:
- Frontiers - A Journal of Women's Studies
- Article date:
- January 1, 2001
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2001 University of Nebraska Press. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Some years ago, while sitting with my aunt drinking coffee, I asked her why she left her Wisconsin farm for the city of Milwaukee. What was there to do, she asked in return. Meet a boy down at the bridge? What did she do in the city, I asked. She said she had first worked in a candy factory and roomed with the family of a young friend. The year was 1916. What did you do after work, I persisted. We went dancing, she replied, every night except Monday. Why never on Monday, I asked. Because, she responded with a smile, the dance hall was closed on Monday.
Dancing is one way to transcend place and space. Migrating is another. Rural women embraced both types of ...