A woman’s boot recovered from the 1874 MIll River flood on display at the Williamsburg Grange; a brown plaid dress, typical of those worn by mill workers during the mid-1800’s; vegetable ivory buttons made on Main Street in Leeds; and the power of the Mill River inspired Amherst artist Nancy Meagher to write a children’s book about a fish, Leeds Button Factory workers and the 1874 Mill River Flood. The protagonist is a fish named Millicent who admires the dresses worn by Leeds Mill River Button Company workers. The fish yearns to be part of the community above water. She recognizes the usefulness of the button mill girls and would like to be useful, too. When the Williamsburg dam bursts, the Mill River crashes through Leeds and the world above and below the water changes. Millicent finds a way to rescue tub load after tub load of flood victims: a small boy, chickens, buttons, and the button factory girls, Annie and Caroline. The whimsical story line of Millicent takes a tragic historical event and pays homage to the real factory girls, Annie Chamberlain and Carolyn Bonnie. Meagher hopes to instill a curiosity in young people about the history of Leeds, the importance of being involved in their community, and being comfortable in their own skin. Meagher also produced an animation of the book. The Mill River Greenway Initiative has the video posted on their website: https://millrivergreenway.org/k-12-education/

Millicent and the Day it Rained Buttons is for sale at Gallery A3 in Amherst and Historic Northampton.