“When I began my first interview with Evelyn Newton, who worked and lived in Henry River Mill Village, she said as we began: ‘Mr. Warlick, I’m just a mill worker, I don’t have a story,’” Warlick said. “I said, ‘Evelyn, you give me a little time and we’ll find some stories from you that are rich.’
“She proceeded to talk for three hours, and she was the one most surprised about how proud she was of the work she had done, the family she raised and the contributions she had made in her community. No one had ever asked her about her life, so it could be shared.
“If you are like Evelyn Newton and never thought you had a story, you are wrong. The Workers Legacy Project is eager to hear about your work or your family’s work in the mills so future generations will look back and appreciate and honor the life you lived by working in the mills of Burke County.”
Another goal was to produce a short video, and eventually a longer one to show members of the younger generation in Burke County so they can better understand their ancestors’ contribution to the area. The short version has been completed, and work has begun on the extended version.
They reached yet another goal by establishing a scholarship fund for descendants of Burke County mill workers at Western Piedmont Community College in its third year of funding through the Mary Warlick Workers’ Legacy Foundation.
