One Fight At A Time

In the Roaring (19)20s, rising hemlines meant a high demand for hosiery. Knitters (usually men) operated a “sensitive, precise knitting machine which used 14,000 needles to produce twenty-four or more silk stockings. . . . As the flat pieces of silk material left the knitting machine, toppers [usually women] would attach the foot of the stocking to the top or leg.”

In response to the increased demand, manufacturers implemented a two-machine system: each knitter would manage two machines, with the aid of two less-skilled helpers. In a precursor to today’s worries about automation and AI, the unions were concerned that the system would decrease the demand for labor. In most parts of the country and despite years of erosion of support for unions, an agreement was reached between the workers and the manufacturers. However, the agreement did not extend to Kenosha, Wisconsin.

In 1928, the Allen-A Company announced it would use the two-machine system. The unionized workers threatened to strike, arguing that the system would cause “physical and emotional harm, pose and employment threat and reduce the quality of the product.” The company terminated their employment. And a picket began. A federal judge issued an injunction against the union activity; instead of standing down, the union amassed 2,000 strikers and supporters at the factory.

Among the picketers was Mertice Hudson, a nineteen-year-old who managed to get arrested at least seven times. The seventh arrest made national news: on August 21, 1928, Mertice, along with Amanda Rittmer, was arrested. Both refused bail and went on a hunger strike. On September 8, 1928, a jury acquitted them within five minutes. Upon release, Mertice and Amanda promptly returned to the picket lines.

The strikers did not prevail in the 1929, but just a few years later, organizers transformed Kenosha to a union town.

We may not win every fight, but every fight against the authoritarians is one worth having.

Mertice Hudson was born 26 November 1909 to Will and Amanda Hudson. Her paternal grandfather was a Civil War veteran; her father was one of eleven children. Mertice first married in 1934, to Leo Orlowski, eighteen years her senior. They divorced in 1945. She married Edward Schmidt two years later. He predeceased her by eight years; she died in 1979.

Amanda Rittmer was born in 1907 to Henry and Anna Rittmer. Her father was from Germany; her mother was an Iowa native. Amanda married James R. Bennett, a knitter at the Allen-A Company. Her husband died in 1969; she survived him by nearly forty years.

 Sources:

Leon Applebaum, “Turmoil in Kenosha: The Allen-A Hosiery Dispute of 1928–1929,” The Wisconsin Magazine of History, 70 (Summer, 1987): 281–303, imaged, JSTOR (https://www.jstor.org/stable/4636080). The author notes that by the late 1920s, many viewed “labor unrest as part of an international communist conspiracy.” All links visited 31 August 2025.

“Death of Clark Hudson,” The Lake Geneva (Wisconsin) Regional News, 24 Jun 1915, p. 1, col. 5; imaged, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com/image/588481768).

“Jury Acquits Girl Hunger Strikers in Five Minutes,” Blackwell (Oklahoma) Journal-Tribune, 9 Sep 1928, p. 1, col. 3; imaged, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com/image/603525543).

“Girl Pickets in Hunger Strike,” The Daily Worker, 12 Sep 1928, p. 2, col. 8; imaged, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com/image/878753626).

“Hunger Strikers Picket Again,” Muskogee (Oklahoma) Daily Phoenix and Times-Democrat, 13 Sep 1928, p. 3, cols. 6–7; imaged, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com/image/901073297)

“Youth Wages A Long Labor War,” The American Guardian (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma), 26 Oct 1928, p. 3, cols. 2–4; imaged, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com/image/594528133).

“Hudson–Orlowski Nuptials Held,” Kenosha (Wisconsin) News, 9 Oct 1934, p. 4, col. 5; imaged, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com/image/596043800).

“Wisconsin, U.S., Divorce Records, 1907–2015,” database, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com/search/collections/61485/records/50041649), entry for Kathryn Orlowski and Leo Orlowski, 7 May 1945.

“Hudson–Schmidt Nuptials Told,” Kenosha (Wisconsin) News, 26 Aug 1948, p. 4, col. 3; imaged, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com/image/596385551). The marriage announcement notes that “Mrs. Schmidt is a[n] employee of the Wisconsin Telephone Company[.]”

“Kathryn N. Schmidt,” Kenosha (Wisconsin) News, 29 Jun 1979, p. 10, col. 1; imaged, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com/image/597452973). The obituary lists a surviving daughter, five stepdaughters, and two stepsons.

“James R. Bennett,” Kenosha (Wisconsin) News, 27 Sep 1969, p. 8, col. 3; imaged, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com/image/597517277).

1910 U.S. census, Kenosha, Wisconsin, Kenosha, enumeration district (ED) 144, sheet 14–A, dwelling 321, family 329, Mertice (0) in household of Clark Hudson; imaged, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7884/records/158731923). Mertice is listed as Clark’s granddaughter.

1920 U.S. census, Kenosha, Wisconsin, Kenosha, ED 32, sheet 6-A, dwell. 127, fam. 126, Myrtice (10) in household of Will H. Hudson; imaged, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com/search/collections/6061/records/28234905).  

1920 U.S. census, Jones, Iowa, Lowell, ED 72, sheet 7-B, dwell. 142, fam. 142, Amanda (12) in household of Henry Rittmer; imaged, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com/search/collections/6061).  

1930 U.S. census, Kenosha, Wisconsin, Kenosha, ED 30-27, sheet 22-B, dwelling 452, family 503, Catherine (20) in household of William Hudson; imaged, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com/search/collections/6224/records/59219687).  

1930 U.S. census, Kenosha, Wisconsin, Kenosha, ED 30-3, sheet 25-A, dwell. 258A, fam. 564a, Amanda E. (23) in household of James R. Bennett; imaged, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com/search/collections/6224/records/59216205). By 1930, Amanda had one son.  

FindAGrave (www.findagrave.com/memorial/113553550/amanda-b-bennett), Amanda B Rittmer Bennett (1907–2002), memorial 113553550; maintained by Kenosha Stone Whisperers (ID 51287846).