Half-remembered anecdote about young vs old workers

April 19, 2017 2:28 AM

Many years ago, I read an essay or memoir that included this anecdote: the author, a writer, had gotten a job at a local quarry (I think in England), and described two groups of workers, young versus old.

The young men were all in good shape (I think maybe recent military experience, which makes me think this is just after WW2), in shirtsleeves, and worked very hard and moved 'x' tons of stone a day; and the old men wore heavy coats and (this detail stuck with me) scarves and moved slowly and carefully....and moved the exact same number of tons of stone a day. It's a classic story of experience vs energy and as I get older I would love to have it on tap.

posted by Mogur to Writing & Language (5 answers total)

This half-reminds me of the way that Matthew Stewart tells the story of Taylor's 'scientific' study of productivity and the subsequent management theory built up around it. Stewart's debunking it in this piece (and in his book, the Management Myth), but he makes a good display of little details, although he doesn't mention scarves. In Taylor's story, it's not a quarry but pig-iron bars. And Taylor's contrast about workers is more to do with finding out what kind of motivations people have to work. But hey, this is probably just a different anecdote altogether.
posted by Joeruckus at 8:50 AM on April 19, 2017 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Could it have been from "The Rabbit," by Ted Lewis? Autobiographical, post-war, set in an English quarry.
posted by MonkeyToes at 3:05 PM on April 19, 2017 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: I think Ted Lewis may be the author, I'll check it out!
posted by Mogur at 5:01 PM on April 19, 2017

If it is, please post the relevant passage. I'd appreciate having it on tap as well.
posted by MonkeyToes at 6:04 PM on April 19, 2017 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: Sure thing!
posted by Mogur at 7:33 PM on April 20, 2017