something Willie Levi loved to do. When he was at the state school in Mexia, Texas, he belonged to a choir called the Sunshine Singers. They would tour round with a repertoire of hymns: “The Old Rugged Cross”, “What a Friend We Have in Jesus”. He sang more in church on Sundays: “Surely Goodness”, “Amazing Grace”. Along with the hymns he liked to shake his tambourine, to keep the beat. He could get music out of almost anything. If you gave him a comb, he could play it.
The new job seemed okay at first. At the meatpacking plant in West Liberty he worked 12-hour days, but he was used to that. They would get there by 4.30am, lab coats and rubber boots on by 4.45, first bird out of the coop and flipped onto the shackle by 5. This was the section he worked in. The birds were usually angry, but once he’d hung them up he would give them a pat and croon a word or two. That went on for turkey after turkey, hundreds in a day.
Money, though, was a problem. He hardly had any. Granted, there was not a lot to spend it on in Atalissa, besides Mountain Dews and Honey Buns at the Mini Mart. But it was impossible to put aside any savings. His pay was meant to be $750 a month; he received $65. The rest was taken by Henry’s for bed, board, clothes, medical care and rare outings. And it stayed the same for more than 30 years.
When he walked into town he still smiled, as uncomplaining as ever. No one could tell the horrors from his face. But some had had suspicions for a while. In 1979 a reporter from thehad made inquiries. Nothing changed. The federal Labour Department noted in 1998 that Henry’s was underpaying its workers, but did not impose a fine. The Iowa Department of Human Services was alerted, but concluded that the men were Texans and therefore not theirs.
Source: Healthcare Press (healthcarepress.net)
RIP Willie. The obits are the best part of this great magazine.
A touching story. Glad they were liberated. Few people get lucky
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