The Washington times., 1901-09-08
An Opener Of Houses.
Novel Occupation Adopted Successfully by
Young Woman.

| OuiiS
The average summer wanderer and his
| brood get back to town with September's
| first days. Those fortunate ones owning
country houses on Long Island and lodges
| in the Adirondacks, says the New York
! SUM- linger for the two most charming
months of the year amid such environ
ment, when the professional tourist has
vanished and the voice of the summer
| is stilled.
| But the great mass of city people. es
| pecially those families of which children
| make part, come back to their homes to
| be ready for the opening of the school
year. Then there are others tired of the
| quiet anxious to exchange the chirp of
| the cricket and the song of the katydid
| for the noises of the city and its allure
ments in the way Of theatres, shops, and
| above all the markets. filed with luxuries
of which many of them have been denied
all summer long. -
Il am always glad to be at home once
| am fairly settled, said a woman at
summer hotel the other day, but l hate
the getting home and putting the house in
order. The prospect of opening up
house or an apartment that has been
closed all summer long is not cheerful
one and sometimes it is much worse when
1t has been occupied by a masculine mem
ber of the family who has attempted to
keep bachelors hall during the vacation.
Invariably, too. Il spell of hot weather
sets in just at that time and 1t makes
things doubly disagreeable and disheArt-
ening. 1t is impossible to leave things of
this sort to servants, and then servants
are scattered during the summer and
have TO be hunted up always when one
gets back to town.
You can avoid all that trouble this
year" said a woman who sat in the
group, IF You are willing to pay well for
comfortable house on your arrival. with
perfect cleanliness guaranteed, a stocked
iarder, dinner ready, and even servants
hired for you in advance. This is one of
the comforts that are part of the TWEEN
tieth century.
''One young woman with brains anxious
to branch out in a new line of work has
made it her vocation. She attends to the
opening up of houses and apartments that
have been closed all winter. and she also
undertakes the closing of residences on
the departure of a family. She is abso-
lutely reliable and is responsible for ev-
erything. She is busy AL the year round,
for she prepares country houses at
Christmas and Thanksgiving for house
parties and closes them after the family
departs.
In this way the working staff of serv-
ants at the town house or country cot
tage is not disturbed in its regular work.
a hostess can give a dinner party the
night before she starts for one Of the
many living places necessary for a fash
ionable establishment nowadays, and she
can have cards out for luncheon at the
new dwelling place if she wills.
THE house opener has her own staff OF
trained helpers and pays them good prices
for their work. She sees that rooms aud
beds are aired and made ready, halls
swept and covers removed from furniture
and statuary. Brass work. silver. and
glass are polished and table linen and sill
yer and china made ready for use. She
is on hand to greet the owners return
with her helping maids ready or else
with new staff Of servants installed in
their places. This valuable service is do
ing away with the old custom of putting
up at hotel while the house is got ready
for the famiiys occupancy. The value |
of the new service consists in the abso-
Lutte lack of care on the part of the re-
turning travellers, for the young woman
who has invented the voea ton does not
wait for orders, but goes about and sees
that things are properly done