The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1906-08-17
BY Mrs. Charles j. corhett.

oi'h 49, " -
tatnly that Is one of the ~strangest DC
equations that eve appealed TO female
fancy, yet one thai is followed regu-
larly by Mrs. Charles j.. corbett. vi
Camden. n. j.
Her friends assert-and the assertion
has not yet been controverted-that
Mrs. Corbett is The only actual success
full female "steeplejacil' in the World.
She has certainly accomplished feats
that. for very daring, put to shame The
exploits OF many men.
Recently she attracted attention by
Offering to ascend. with her husband,
q lS5-foot chimney stack in Camden.
Owners of the stack would not permit
her to climb. Fortunately for her, her
record for intrepidity did not depend
upon this ascent.
She helped to paint the exterior OF
the gas tanlk of h public service cor
poration, of Trenton, n. j.. last ten;
she has climbed hundreds of ilagpoles
and church steepies in ORDER 10 paint
them.
For that purpose she climbed the 30
foot steeple of the Methodist church at
Moorestown. N. j. Last year. at Ches-
ter. Pa. she laid gold leaf on the iron
of a church spire $50 feet above the
earth.
1T is fun to swing with the wind in
q little chair far above the street" She
says. II do the work principally be-
cause l can make $40 a day ut it. but
I really enjoy the sensation"
Love-making on a church steeple
| sounds more romantic than real. doeSn
it? Yet that is how you might describe
the courtship of Mr.. Corbett my
sell.
This a occurred six years ago,
before | became a steeplejack. The
scene was Clayton, Mass. my girlhood
home.
Charlie was a rover then-he isn't
now, for l manage to make home lie
attractive for him, as we'll as helping
him to paint tlagpoles. church spires
and the like.
He had given up climbing masts in
the United States navy for this similar
work on land, and fate sent him to
Clayton to repair the steepie on the
Methodist church. say fate" because
It seems to me that we We're destined
to meet each other in this way.
II I la met Charlie in some other
way, don't you see, it isn't at all likely
thai we should have ever fallen in love.
He isn't handsome. It's his courage
that won me.
Yes, the m 1 set eyes on him
away up there. s~ilhouetted Ike a bird
against the clear sky. l conceived more
than a passing interest in him. And
the reason. maybe, was this: In my
girlhood days had shocked my elders
n amused the natives by shining
to the tops of high trees, and naturai-
ly l appreciated similar ability in an
other.
1t was the first time had ever seen
a real steeplejaclS. l managed to meet
Charlie and tell him how braHc !
thought him..
He vas more timiG at -love-maSins
thar at climbing to sreat heights, and
yet he got along We'll enough ~ invite
me to ascend the steeple with MIN be-
fore / had known him Il week.
Wooed High in the Air.
In a swinging chat. l was pulled to
the Very pinnacle. and thcre Charlie and
l stood calmly looking across the town
and enjoying the ceaery eff the hills
Dizzy? Not a particle. 1t was jolly
fun, and it amused me to see my friends
100 feet below, who l knew We're fear
full that l might fall.
Far from it. Mover did l feel less
like descending to earth. When we did
come own it only remained fol
Charles to propose and be accepted
It's too bad, for the sake of the cG-
! nance, that he didn't propose on the
| SlGCl mSS IAilils oul Az diNlIl
think.
A year later. when We sat at break
fast one morning in our little home il
Camden, Charlie made this remark
somewhat psttishly, for You know
young husbands like to be petted:
81 must paint a seventy-ive-foot
iagpole today. and a rotten one at that
Don't you feel sorry for me"
1t was n pole in front of a Phiia-
1elphia laundry that he referred to.
said, thinking to joke away his fears:
"Pshaw! OF course I'm not sorrj
COR you: I'd not be afraid to paint tha,
pole myself"
Then he bantered me, and the up
shot Of it was that l went with him
and painted my half OF the pole before
aight. l wore skirts and used a rope
(usr like my husband to keep me from
falling. In such cases l wind a stray
,r rope around h pole and arount
myself and descend by hitching dowr
The pole.
Enjoyed the Work.
1t was grand. We could, by working
.venly, Keep together and talk Will,
welding our brushes. That night
suggested that l work with my hus.
BAND. for any good steeple-jack make.
$40 a day, and, like most young mar.
lied people, we had the saving habit
Objection on his part only made IN,
more determined to do 1t.
Charlie, soon after this. began to talk
contracts. If he didn't have me to he'll
ailn he would nave had to pay $40
day to a man or spend twice as lon,
on a job himself-and he will tell 70,
that I can do as much work in a da,
as my man he eyer hired.
1t would take a long time to tell yol
Of all Of the jobs I nave worked on
The highest was the spire OF Il Cheste,
Pa, church. $50 feet high. l have los
count of the 1agpoles-some of Their
on the tops of buildings-that l hav
helped paint. The number ms int
the hundreds.
One of the most hazardous of m
stunts was painting h flagpole O
the Wilmington. Del, postotiice, whic
reached 12S feet high. 1t swayed wit
my weight, and I vas advised to com
down, but stuck to it till the pole wa
finished.
Perhaps my narrowest escape fror
death was while l was painting the hi
gas tan at Trenton. l was sitting /
q b~oatswain's chair only six feet fro1
the top Of the 15o-foot tank, and ha
not taken the precaution to strap my
self in. 1t was a windy day, IL
gust upset my bucket of paint, whic
{ had set OH q board.
Acting on impulse, 1 made a gras
L. 49, vi -.