A pailleuse (Pile Maker's Hall) was a workshop for manufacturing bottle casings made of straw, known as paillons (stalks). Back when bottles were made of glass, straw was once used for shipping wines, beer, etc. It was a very profitable industry because the raw material, rye, was abundant and cheap and, above all, because the labor, women and children, was very poorly paid.
These women worked 12 hours a day, and it took about 2,500 straws to earn 1.25 francs. They went on strike several times to obtain a decent wage, but to no avail. In 1907, they joined the major strikes of the tappers. For them, it was a long struggle that lasted until 1919. The activity ceased after the war, due to a lack of demand from the major Bordeaux winegrowers. In Morcenx, there were up to five straw blowers: one at the exit of Morcenx-Bourg and the others at Morcenx-Gare.