Scott
Molloy’s latest acquisition is boot made by Irish industrialist
By Olivia Ross
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| Scott Molloy, left, and Mark Dionne each holding Rhode Island labor memorabilia. URI photo by Mike Salerno. |
Images of Providence at the dawn of public transportation,
personal notes exchanged by Rhode Island labor leaders, and information about
any number of labor strikes can be found in the Special Collections room at the
Robert L. Carothers Library and Learning Commons on the University of Rhode
Island Kingston campus.
Scott Molloy, URI professor emeritus and Rhode Island labor
and Irish history expert, donated most of his own collection, which contains
thousands of documents and resources pertaining to Rhode Island’s labor union
and public transportation history, to URI.
One of his quests for historic materials was particularly
challenging as it related to his book, “Irish Titan; Irish Toilers: Joseph
Banigan and Nineteenth Century New England Labor.”
EDITOR'S NOTE: Scott has been a friend for decades. He and Cathy went to Rhode Island College during the turbulent 1960s. - Will Collette
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| An original pair of Banigan boots that Molloy purchased online in impeccable condition. URI photo by Mike Salerno. |
“The paper trail left by Banigan was slim. It wasn’t until
recently that I stumbled across the find of my life because of a suggestion
made by my wife, Marsha,” said Molloy, whose book is among the collection in
the URI library.
“Marsha was poking around on EBay and found a pair of
Banigan boots made in the 1890s on sale for $99,” explained Molloy. “I stopped
collecting and downsized after retiring in 2016, but I made an exception when I
realized the rarity of this exquisite pair of footwear, which was in such
remarkable condition and adorned with a Banigan trademark. I guess you could
say that the Banigan boot has come home.”
Molloy has several other Banigan artifacts in addition to
the shoe and will likely put them on display at the Woonsocket Museum of Work
and Culture, which he helped decorate with many union items more than a
generation ago.
Banigan hired a predominantly immigrant Irish workforce and
taught workers rubber boot and shoe manufacturing skills, which transformed
them into skilled tradesmen who earned greater salaries. In 1885, about half of
his 1,000 employees owned their own homes in Woonsocket, a feat Molloy said was
unprecedented at the time.
Beyond information about Banigan, Molloy’s library includes
goods made by Rhode Island union workers. “There is a certain thrill in holding
a pair of boots manufactured by union members. These are tangible pieces of
history, and the craftsmanship is evident,” said Molloy.
According to Molloy, who was the 1995 URI Foundation
Teaching Excellence Award winner, the materials at URI took long and varied
routes to get to Kingston.
The expansive collection started when Molloy purchased a
stack of half-century old transit union contracts for just a couple of dollars.
“My search allowed me to learn how to read between the
newspaper lines and the company reports,” explained the Exeter resident.
“Eventually, I
advertised nationally for pertinent materials and hundreds of items came my
way. The first collection of 10,000 items went to The Smithsonian Institution
in 1991. The next hoarding of local ephemera got deposited at URI and
out-of-state materials went to auction.”
As a former Rhode Island Public Transit Authority bus driver
and head of its union, Molloy was fascinated by labor history and began his
collection. Soon after starting, he realized that his co-workers were
uninformed about the origin of their good wages, benefits and working
conditions.
To preserve their history, Molloy began interviewing almost
every transit retiree, many of whom were in their eighties and nineties. He
scoured union records, company files, frequented the Rhode Island Historical
Society Library and visited countless flea markets, antique shows, bookstores
and personal contacts for additions to the collection.
Within the vast URI collection, researchers and history
buffs can find documents pertaining to several different aspects of Rhode
Island history. From tickets to the Narragansett Pier Railroad to newspaper
clippings covering a trolley derailment in Providence, the collection captures
critical moments and the quirky elements of labor history.
“Like any historical pieces, you can usually see the
evolution of all kinds of things by a careful examination of both the good and
the bad,” said Molloy.
Olivia Ross, an intern in the Marketing and Communications
Department at URI and public relations major, wrote this press release
