The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1905-12-01
MISS WILSON,
CIVIL ENGINEER.

CIVIL ENGINEER.
Although Miss Elmina Wilson, of
this city, is not the only woman who
has been graduated from a school OF
civil engineering, she is one of the
very few who are following that pro.
fession with success. 1t is now twelve
years since she received her first en-
gineering degree from the Iowa--State
College at Ames.
When asked what determined her
choice of profession, Miss Wilson
said that she studied surveying first
OF all as part of her equipment for
teaching. Then love for mathema.
tics and certain curiosity as to what
the outcome would be led her to go on
with the full engineering course.
Even the railway field work was
not shirked, and Miss Wilson walked
the ties for miles, carrying transit and
chain. She is very particular to state
that she went under the fences that
crossed the path of the surveying
parties of which she was a member.
1.-The men went over, but, of course,
[ went under," she says, with
twinkle in her eyes, twinkle which
suggests that she really has taken, =
flying view of the top-rail herself now
and then, in spite of her demurrer IN.
sistence.
When she was graduated in 1892
Miss Wilson was made instructor in
physics in her alma mater. She spent
one winter at Cornell, studying hy-
draulic laboratory work in order to
teach it at Ames. Two winters were
spent later at the .. Massachusetts In
stitute of Technology in Boston, and
the degree of G. E. was attained. Then
the title of assistant professor of ply
sizes was conferred on Miss Wilson.
Summer vacations were spent in
Chicago, where Miss Wilson was in
the employ Of Patton & Miller, achi.
tects, and the Jannett Bridge and
iron Company. As special work she
was engaged in the cheerful occupa-
tien of laying out cemeteries.
Last year Miss Wilson asked for
leave of absence from her college and
went abroad to study architecture at
first hand. With her sister, Miss
Ida Wilson, also graduate of the
Iowa State College engineering school
and now employed as an architect in
this city, she toured Italy, Greece,
Switzerland, Germany, France, Eng
land and Scotland. They did much
OF their journeying on bicycles.
Upon her return to this country
Miss Wilson resigned from the fac.
ulty at Ames and entered the employ
of the James E Brooks Company,
consulting engineers. She was i'm
mediately sent out to the Essex
Structural Steel Works at Bloomfield,
N. j., where she attended to shop de-
tails for several weeks. Later she was
assigned to work in the New York
offices.
When asked what she is doing just
now, Miss Wilson thought diligently
a moment and then said:
II can't think of any name for it
that would convey an intelligent idea
to an outsider. We call it getting
out STEEL for power house for q New
Orleans railway company. I make
drawings for the steel part of the
structure and then make my estimates
as to the number--of thousand pounds
it will take for each part"
Miss Wilson and her sister keep
bachelor hall and prove that women
in business can be excellent house.
keepers. Their parlors are full of
pretty water color and pencil sketches
of sights and scenes abroad, their own
work or that of the artists they met
in their travels. York .Nun