It was a busy afternoon at the General Electric plant in 1952. On the banks of the Blackberry River, in a building that had been a 19th-century stone mill, GE opened a branch in 1946 to make starters for fluorescent lights. Twelve Norfolk women were employed at first, but the number soon grew to 145 with workers from neighboring towns, and production soared. GE reported that the Berkshire women were turning out starters at a fast clip and their “deft fingers” were perfectly suited for the tasks of spot welding, soldering and hand-press operation. GE closed its Norfolk branch in April of 1975, when the plant was sold to the New England Miniature Ball Company, which is located there today.

—Ann Havemeyer