Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1901-03-23
WOMEN AND THEIR WORK.
Some Uncommon Occupations success"
fully Pursued.

great zeal. Women are every '''''
walking i'm mems steps Women "oc.
tors. lawyers, ministers--of the SoSp"'
as wen as of grace-are legion ''u'
All these acquire their Pcsi''o''S
through choice. and after years v,
study. II is not Of these that ! w"ui"
speak but Of those others or "hoHn
one rarely hears those whose uh-
usual employments have been h'"St
upon them. and in who latent courage
mas been developed in proportion 10
the exigency.
In one of the small towns of FLORIDA
resides the only woman slddler in
America. She and her husband c'ni-
grated from Germany in the early
seventies. For years he followed ms
trade of saddle and harness maker,
while his frau performed the nun
dred and one tasks that fail to
housewives lot. In 1852 the hhShanh
died. ana instead of selling the good
VIII ana fixtures." as her neieh'or@
kindly suggested, the widow carried on
the business with the help OF an az
siStant. Gradually she mastered every
detail Of the trade, and finally cue
ceedcd In building up the most
lucrative business Of that kind IN the
county. not only maintaining tfc
standard of work done by her nus
hand. but long ago outstrippinS him in
Thrift and prosperity
Continuing within tie boundary Of
Mason and Diyon's line, on" iindS
both Georgia and Texas proud of wo-
men mail-carrlers. In the former state
Il woman not only personally delivers
the mail over a forty-milc route, rid
ing over the sparscly settled region "f
Montgomery county thrice weekly
during the entire year, but manages
u large farm rs well. doing much of
the manual labor. such as plouchnc.
narrowing. sowing. AMI harves ing.
and supporting by her energy and
courage family of four
Hopkinson Smith. in his Tom
Grogan." introduces his readers t. 4
woman contractor. nor did he draw
upon his imagination for his vivid
character study Not twenty miles
from Savannah as the crow flies thcr.
resides a widow Of forty. who for the
last ten years has made moro than -
comfortable incom" as y government
contractor bidding for the removal ~
wrecks. the anchoring Of hunya.
hnilding of jctties and dredging.
domestic traEedy-thc too common
one Of the ruin Of the house band
through drink-resulted in this woman
bringing her children to New York.
and, acting upon the suggestion Of
friends. she bid for the removal - 4
GCrelict not far from cape May. To
hCr surprise. she was the lowest bid
der. and i'll duc course She was noti-
fed to begin work. AS the contract
was small. calling Tor neither bond
nor guarantee she no trouble in hor-
rowing sl00. and in two weeks from
the date Of beginninG work the gov
eminent inspector had faVorably re
ported upon the completion Of tine
contract according to specified tions. II
and the little woman-little OF form
but great Of heart-had received her
voucher and check for her first gov
eminent contract. Naturally. this led
to other bids. Now she has returned
&c the old home. owns her own plant.
which includes plie-driVers. derriCks.
and allied aphernalia. Her mode
of living and the education of her
children attest her success. and she
laughs merrily when called the pioEeer
American woman contractor.
A fair Nirginian. whose family suf-
fered one misfortune after another,
came to New York to seek what she
pitifully called "a footing on the FIRST
rung of the journalistic ladder" Just
as hundreds of other ingenious. mis-
guided innocents have done. After
three months Of loneliness. diSan-
pointment. and struggle for survival
which she found cruel and fierce the
managing editor of a morning daily
wrote in answer to her appeal for
work that she might call upon MIN.
She did so. her poor little heart a
flutter with anticipation. The editor
was brief and to the point. What
can YOU do. Miss X, in the way If
newspaper work." Thercupon she
told him she had never done any
thing-eXcept break horses to saddle"
and, being nervous, overweight,
and just a womanly little woman.
despite her horse-traininC. she cried.
Don't" said the editor. kindly
You must learn the fruitlessness Of
tears in New York. Take courage:
the devil is dead And. Miss X. profit
W lily dtN itt. ittui ~ " Npul u''iut
and if you can break horses. do it
You'll make more money at that than
in chasing rainbowS in New York ="
The editor spoke sincerely. and not at
all in that gruff stentorian voice
which editors are credited with haV-
ing: so she took his advice in an allo-
pathic dose. Today. there are few
lovers of horses in the city who do not
know this same Virginia girl. who has
made a widespread reputation as IL
trainer of saddle horses
Perhaps the most unusual employ
ment is that of professional fin Ter
Mrs Blank (whom | know. though |
may not tell her name) began her
peculiar. though not original. work in
Boston. and eventually came to this
city. She belonged to that unfnrt-
innate class who have Smattefing
of accomplishments. but know nothing
well enough to turn it to use should
necessity arise. She had tried many
things in Boston. from addressing en-
Nelopes at 90 cents a day to selling
tickets on commission for charity
entertainments. before she went into
the finding" business. and though
her employment is certainly specula-
tive she seems satisfied with the re-
suits. Her beat is from Sixth ave-
nue.. along Fourteenth street to Broad