The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1906-06-24
FIRST WOMAN LINEMAN.
Ohio Girl Can Splice Wires Like 6
Veteran.

From the New York World.
Once upon a time it occurred to funny
artist that a drawing on woman's inva-
sion of hitherto manly occupations would
make a good page. No sooner thought of
than done-there were lady carpenters
lady blacksmiths. lady farmers and lady
whatnots in his drawing. And down in
the corner, to accentuate his work, the
artist put telegraph lineman astrde
of the cross arm of telegraph pole read
ing a newspaper.
Il see by the papers" he was musing,
that women are doing mems work. but,
begobs, I think my jobs safe!''
Well, it isn't so any more. Here's the
woman lineman fiow-Miss Grace Brenne-
mann, and mighty good one she Is.
She can splice line, put on a new in
sulator, replace fuse or repair dropped
switchboard. Climbing pole is childs
! play to her; she sits astride her cross
arm with all the aplomp and confidence
of the best of the men. And she doesn't
do 1t for dare or for fun, either.
Stern necessity Is the impelling cause.
Her father had the job before her, but
long-drawn-out illness incapacitated him.
So. to keep the position in the family,
Miss Brennemann took his place. So well
did she fill 1t, too, that she has 1t yet.
Grace Brennemann lives in the little
hamlet of Lindsey, o. She is just 20 years
old. Before she became woman lineman
beg pardon, -woman-she was a
"hello' girl at the local switchboard in
her town. Her father Is the manager of
the little local circuit which comprises
some 200 telephones. AS manager of the
little system he did all the outside work
tn, ion, xtifI, fbn -lront aud
pair of the line, which extended out into
the country in all directions.
Nearly all the subscribers are farmers,
and they are dependent upon the tele-
phone for all communications with the
village and with each other, especially
in the winter months, when the snow lies
deep upon the countryside The telephone
has come to them, as to farmers all over
the land, thing of the most vital i'm
portance. Nowadays the farmers wife and
children forget their isolation by long
chats over the phone with their friends.
To keep all these distantly removed
people in touch with one another was
Miss Brennemann's duty day and night.
To make things more convenient the CEN
trail office was her home and she was
on duty "a hours a day. Hardly night
passed that she wasn't called from her
warm bed to answer some far-distant call
perhaps a message for medicine or call
for doctor, or just some lonesome sound
far away in the snowdrifts of an isolated
homestead craving the sound of the voice
of a friend.
Butit wasn't so hard while Brennemann
was able to attend to the outside work
Early and late it kept him busy-breaking
through the wooded country, climbing
poles and trees, keeping the communica-
ton open at all risks The hard work
proved too much for him, however and
he fell i'll with nervous prostration. 1t
was then up to his daughter for there
wasn't man in the neighborhood well
enough versed in telephone construction
and repair to do the work. The girl took
her fathers place.
She started in bravely. Soon she became
as proficient as her father. She climbed
poles, repaired Instruments, spliced wires
and put in fuses with all the skill of
veteran lneman. Early and late she could
be seen driving about the sparsely settled
country in her buggy. her coil of wire and
her bag of tools by her side, on the look
out for repairs. -
"Why, it isn't anything so wonderful
Miss Brennemann 81 had to
do 1t, that's all. You see we had the tele-