StoryCorps Detroit Podcast: “I Work Like a Woman”

One woman talks with her daughter about being the first female repairer at a Detroit auto factory.

StoryCorps CarlenaMurdy

StoryCorps

Detroiter Carlena Murdy worked in an auto-parts factory at a time when being a woman in a trade-labor job was anything but common. 

“I actually had a very good reputation,” Murdy told her daughter Holly Gist-Richer. “My reputation was that I worked like a man. But I said, ‘No, I actually work like a woman.'”

In this episode of the StoryCorps Detroit podcast, Murdy talks with her daughter about being a machine repairwoman at Hydromatic Willow Run. She also tells how she became a leader and educator in the field.

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Click here to find more episodes of the StoryCorps Detroit podcast on wdet.org. Or subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play or wherever you like to listen.

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StoryCorps Detroit is hosted by Sascha Raiyn. This episode was produced by Laura Herberg and mixed by Brandon Woods. The interview featured in this episode was edited by Brandon Woods and originally recorded by StoryCorps at the Detroit Institute of Arts in the summer of 2017. The StoryCorps Detroit theme music is by Will Sessions.

 

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