Los Angeles herald., 1906-08-21
HOW THE RICHEST WOMAN IN THE WORLD LIVES
Mrs. HetV Green Simple Retirement for the Summer at Bellows

Falls, Vermont
CFrom the Boston Post)

Today, in the rapidly decaying home
stead of the Green family at Bellows
Falls, VT, Mrs Hetty Green is living
the simple life" The richest woman
in America, as the years begin to
descend upon her i'm an increasing
burden. has come back to the old New
England home to rest awhile.
Hetty Green, the mistress Of 100000
900 to $50, 900 900 and one of the most
noted litigants in the courts Of the
country, is with her daughter Sylvia.
All of the windows in the old-time
colonial mansion were closed tightly,
the blinds of all but four of the win
dows, and these on the sides of the
house, were drawn close, and every door
Of the home closed and fastened at the
time the newspaper representative
called, on the hottest day of the past
week.
Viewed from the Westminster side OF
the house, it looks like deserted pile of
old gray brick that might crumble at
the first knock
The fence about the place has been
broken down, the pieces having been
carted away by persons who needed
firewood, and the lawns a bout the resi-
dence have been allowed to run Wild so
that the word deserted" seemed to be
written all about
In small corner of the second floor
of this deserted-looking mansion Mrs
Green and her daughter are living; and
below on the first floor there sleeps at
night the young girl domestic whom
they brought with them from their fiat
in Hoboken, N. j.
After having sent in his card. the re-
porter was compelled to wait fully fif-
n "a
sus of the United States appeared
Dressed in a black skirt that gave
most pronounced evidence of severe
wear, a waist of the same hue, and her
gray locks crowned by the smallest,
fattest and most unfashionable of bon
nets, Mrs. Green, on appearing, quickly
shut the front door behind her and in
sisted on stepping to the lawn to in
quire the reason for the call.
After a few words relating to the
beauty of the oldtime location and to
the oddity of her being able to leave her
enormous business interests in New
York for such a long spell during the
summer, Mrs Green seemed to throw
all her former distrust aside, and began
a tour of the place in comTan of the
visitor
At every turn, as they passed about
the grounds, she could not conceal the
fact that she had a vast pride for the
old place, but when asked as to why she
did not keep it up in better shape, she
said:
"Oh. 1 am here but such a short time
during the year that it would hardly
pay me to fix 1t up for the benefit of
others, and l cannot keep any one here
to watch out for it all the while"
Mrs. Green then went on to relate her
against the boys of Bellows
Falls, who, she said, tried in many
ways to injure her property while cele-
brating the Fourth.
"I know that the people up here talk
about me and the way that 1 live, as
they do everywhere that 1 have had a
home, but the people here are all right.
They simply don't understand all the
worry and trouble that 1 have.
Il have plenty of money, but every
where 1 go the opinion seems to be that
must either give it away or let them
take it from me as they feel like doing. |
II have made it a rule through my
life, however, that rather than allow
any person to cheat me out of 10 cents,
will spend $100 to prevent it or to re-
cover what belongs to me.
There is no need of me making any
splurge with my money up here, or
anywhere else, for that matter, as 1
live just as 1 please, and will continue
to do SC if 1 have ten times as much
money as now"
During the time that the reporter and
Mrs. Green were walking about the es-
tate the iceman came on the grounds
with a, great cake of ice.
In an instant her attention became
riveted on that cake of ice. Calling to
the iceman, she said: See here! That
cake of ice seems very small to me.
How much does il weigh 2"
well, there is fifty-five pounds here,
missis, I just weighed it on the scales
out there"
Now, you can't tell me that" re-
Joined Mrs. Green, for that cake is
smaller than the one you left last
week, and 1 want the full weight or
won't pay for it. Remember, now, if
you bring any more ice here, want the
full weight"
THAT is the way that they are trying
to cheat me all the time. 1 know per-
fectly we'll that | am not getting the
full weight, and 1t is the same with