Celebrating Labor Day

Gossips observes Labor Day by recalling a few jobs that no longer exist.

Pinsetter

Photo: Lewis Hine

Pinsetters cleared fallen pins, reset pins, and returned bowling balls to players.

Switchboard Operator

Switchboard operators connected calls by inserting phone plugs into the appropriate jacks.

Ice Man

Photo: New York Public Library

Before there were refrigerators, ice men delivered blocks of ice for ice boxes, where food was kept cold.

Linotype Operator

Photo: Library of Congress

Linotype was the method of setting type and making up the pages of newspapers used from the 1880s until computers took over a hundred or so years later.

Bobbin Boy

Bobbin boys worked in textile mills. Their job was to bring bobbins to the women at the looms and to collect full bobbins of spun cotton and wool thread from the spinning machines. They were also expected to fix minor problems with the machines.

Factory Lector

Photo: Library of Congress

Factory lectors were employed primarily in cigar factories to read books and newspapers aloud to the workers, to entertain them while they performed the monotonous task of rolling cigars.
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