The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1895-06-06
IN HAT Innings.
Love Notes Thus Sent Forth by
Reading Factory Girls.
~ This Means Husbands Have 13een -.
cured--Funny Phases Of the Corre-
spondence which Sometimes
Follows.

As in all other manufacturing towns,
the factory girls Of Reading have lots Of
fun inserting littlo notes in packages or
articles they manufacture and send out
to all parts Of the world. The best fun Of
/. this kind, writes Reading (Pa.) corre-
spondent Of the New York Sun, is en-
joyed by the girls who work in factories
turning out articles used exclusively by
men. Hence hat factory girls receive
possibly the largest mail.
II have known at least dozen girls
who have become the wives Of men
who found their little notes in the hats
they bought" said the forewoman Of q
hat factory. Several girls have their
sisters 1T work at home making copies
Of the following note:
"'I hope you will be well pleased with
this hat. have tried to line and trim It
satisfactorily. If you have few min
utes' time to spare and care to do It
please write and tell me how you like
your hat. OF course, you must be q
single man; as am single girl. Low
ers are scarce in this town.
"The girls slip the notes under the
lining of the hats, allowing just an
end to stick out under the sweat band.
A note so placed would not be seen un-
less the sweat band were turned down.
OF course hundreds of hats are sent out,
and possibly the notes are never seen,
but very many are found and answered.
The girls receive answers from all over
the United States, principally the west.
The letters they receive would make
quite a collection. Generally they are
read out aloud in the shop. Very
many replies from the west say that
, girls are very scarce out there. Some
men want to correspond with view to
matrimony; others just for pastime.
One man recently wrote that he wanted
hat trimmed by the same girl.
"A few days ago a letter was re-
ceived from southwestern Colorado for
q girl who died here eight months ago.
She had put in her trimmed hats lot
of notes. The writer had nearly worn
out his hat before he discovered the
note. He offered to send the girl
money to come out to him II she'd
marry him. Poor Mary, she had died
| Of pneumonia. The picture Of the man
| in the letter looked as If he would
make any girl good husband. Mary's
! sister had opened the letter. She
answered IL. They are now correspond.
ing.
''If girl exchanges q few letters
with an unknown correspondent, and
! the mans answers suit, she generally
sends q letter to the towns chief OF
police or mayor and asks confldentially
all about the character of her CORE
| spondent. In nearly every instance
the officials send courteous replies and
| tell the girl all she wants to know. Pho
tographs are exchanged and little gifts
are received, generally curiosities from
far-away states. One Of our girls receives
letters from man up at Puget Sound
and from another in southern Cali
fornia, and from another in Havana
and from another now in Yucatan.
The girls have gone into the stamp
collection business, and our factory
album is quite curiosity in its way
OF course the girls can't answer ell the
letters they receive. The cowboys
write very odd letters. One ranchmar
said he owns one thousand acres and
five thousand head Of cattle, and wants
wife. The letters generally have full.
descriptions Of the men. They all ash
for photographs Of the girls. Some d
the girls send pictures OF actresses
as handsome as they can get them
but very often the girls depend upon
their own faces, because many of them
are really pretty and winning.
"One factory girl made a practice o.
sending photographs Of deceased
maiden aunt, with side curls ani
fancy headdress, telling her correspond
emit she has kind heart and is very re
spectacle. One correspondent returned
the picture, saying he was not making
collection of freaks.
"Some girls who have been married
few years receive answers to theil
notes.
IT know two young Indiana men wht
came east for brides and secured them
In all other instances the girls wen
west or south and became happy wives
80 far as I know. Last year two girl
who made vests for a wholesale house
and slipped notes into the bottoms O
the watch pockets, secured husbands
Another girl OF my acquaintance, wh'
works in a stocking factory, slipped I
note into the toe of a No. II sock, ant
about sixteen months later heard from
the buyer, who was an iron ore mine
up in Michigan. They are still CORE
spending, l think. Girls who pacl
note paper occasionally write thei
name and address with lead pencil OF
one of the sheets. Sometimes they ge
replies if the note paper falls into tn
hands Of romantic young men. Blu
frequently married men answer thes
notes."