Lunch Bucket, ca. 1900. Maine State Museum, gift of Mrs. Milton Philbrook, 80.11.1.
Lunch Bucket, ca. 1900. Maine State Museum, gift of Mrs. Milton Philbrook, 80.11.1.
Workers, including many children, labored long hours often requiring them to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner on the job. In the mid-1800s in Lewiston, Maine, children labored from 5:00 a.m. until sundown. They received 30 minutes for breakfast at 6:30 a.m., and another 30 minutes for lunch at 12:30 p.m. Whether the pace of work was frantic, as it often was, or slow, the children always had to be alert and ready to perform their tasks.