Once the symbol of a robust steel industry and blue-collar economy,
Youngstown, Ohio, and its famous Jeannette Blast Furnace have
become key icons in the tragic tale of American
deindustrialization. Sherry Lee Linkon and John Russo examine the
inevitable tension between those discordant visions, which continue
to exert great power over Steeltown's citizens as they struggle to
redefine their lives.
When "the Jenny" was shut down in 1978, 50,000 Youngstown
workers lost their jobs, cutting the heart out of the local
economy. Even as the community organized a nationally recognized
effort to save the mills, the city was rocked by economic
devastation, runaway crime, and mob scandal, problems that persist
twenty-five years later. In the midst of these struggles the Jenny
remained standing as a proud symbol of the community's glory days,
still a dominant force in the construction of both individual and
collective identities in Youngstown.
Focusing on stories and images that both reflect and perpetuate
how Youngstown understands itself as a community, Sherry Lee Linkon
and John Russo have forged a historical and cultural study of the
relationship between community, memory, work, and conflict. Drawing
on written texts, visual images, sculptures, films, songs, and
interviews with people who have lived and worked in Youngstown, the
authors show the importance of memory in forming the collective
identity of a place.
"Steeltown, U.S.A." is a richly developed portrait of a place,
showing how images of the Jenny and of Youngstown have been used in
national media and connecting these representations to the broader
public conversation about work and place: Bruce Springsteen's song
"Youngstown," the book Journey to Nowhere, and other pop culture
artifacts have helped make Youngstown the symbolic epicenter of
American deindustrialization. And while many people see the need to
get over the past and on with the future, in rushing to erase the
difficult parts of Youngstown's history they might also forget the
powerful events that made the city so important, such as the
struggles for economic and social justice that improved the lives
of steelworkers.
This multifaceted study of the meaning of work and place in one
community pointedly depicts the relationships among economic
development, media representations, and community life. As we see
how people's faith in the value of their work dwindled away in
Youngstown, their stories can help us understand not only how the
meaning of work has changed but also why the changing meaning of
work matters.
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