Kingsbury County independent. (DeSmet, Kingsbury County, S.D.) 1894-1929, 1906-08-17
By Mrs. Clinic j. Corbett.

equations that ever appealed To female
fancy. yet one hat is followed regu-
larly by Mrs. Charles J. Corbett. Of
Camden, n. J..
Her friends assert-and the assertion
has rot yet been controverted-that
Mrs. Corbett is the only actual success
fui female ''steeplejack" in he 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,
IL 1s5-foot chimney stack in Camden.
Owners Of the stack o not permit
her "a climb. Fortunately for her, her
record for intrepidity did not depend
upon this ascent.
She helped TO paint the exterior of
the gas tank Of the public service cor
poration. OF Trenton, N. j., last fa}l;
she has climbed hundreds Of flagpoles
and church steeples In order to paint
them.
For that purpose she climbed the 2s0-
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.
cit is fun TO swing with the wind in
n little chat far above the street" h
says II do the work principally be-
cause ! can make $40 a day at 1t, but
i really enjoy the sensation"
Love-making on a church stceple
sounds more romantic than real, doesn't
IL? Yet that is how you might describe
the courtship OF Mr.. Corbett and my
self.
This romance occurred six years ago,
before / became a steeplejack. The
scene was Clayton, Mass, my girlhood
home.
Charlie was a rover then--hc isn't
now, for i manage TO make home life
attractive for him, as we'll as helping
him to paint iagpoles, church spires
and the like.
He had given up climbing masts in
the United States ayy for this similar
work on land, and fate sent him to
Clayton to repair the steeple on the
Methodist church. I say fate" because
AZ seems 10 me that we were destined
to meet each other In this way.
II / had met Charlie in some other
way, don't you see, II isn't at all likely
that we should have ever fallen in love.
He isn't handsome. It's his courage
that won me.
Yes, the moment ! set eyes on h,il
away up there, ~silhouetted like q bird
against the clear sky, / conceived more
than a passing interest in him. And
the reason. maybe, was this. In my
girlhood days | had shocked my elders
and amused the natives by shining
TO the tops OF high trees, and natural
ly | appreciated similar ability in an
other.
1t was the first time ! had ever seen
a real steeplejack. ] managed 10 meet
Charlie and tell him how brave !
thought him.
He was more timsd at love-maliEns
than at climbing 70 great heights, and
Yet he got along we'll enough 10 invite
me to ascend the steeple with him be-
fore l had known him a week.
Wooed High in the Air.
In a swinging chair / was pulled to
the very pinnacle, n there Charlie and
l stood calmly looking across the town
and enjoying the scenery of the hills.
DIZZY? NOT a particle, II was jolly
fun, and il amused me 70 see my friends
120 feet below. who | knew were fear
fuI that might fall.
Far from II. Never did feel less
like descending to earth. When we did
come down IL only remained for
Charles to propose and be accepted.
It's too bad, for the sake of the ro-
nance, that he didn't propose on the
steeple-I was willing. But he didn't
think.
a year later, when we sat at break
fast one morning In our little home in
Camden. Charlie made this remark,
somewhat pettishly, for you know
young husbands like to be petted:
II must paint a seventy five-foot
dagpoie today. m a rotten one at that.
Don't you feel sorry for me?"
1t was a pole in front OF a Phiia-
.ielphla laundry that he referred to. /
.afa fkfnyfwcr ~ illxA a NO hi. fnu~u. |
"Pshaw! OF course I'm not sorry
COR you; I'd not be afraid to paint that
pole myself"
Then he bantered me, and the up
sshot OF Ii was that / went with him
and painted my half of the pole before
aight. / wore skirts and used a rope
lust like my husband TO keep me from
salling, In such cases ! wind a strap
pr rope around the pole and around
myself and descend by hitching down
he pole.
Enjoyed the Work.
IL was grand. We could, by working
svenly, Eeep together and talk while
welding our brushes, That night l.
suggested that | work with my hus- |
BAND. for any good steeple-jack makes
$40 a day. and. like most young
RED people. we had the saving habit.
Objection ON his part only made me
more determined 10 do Ii.
Charlie, soon after this. began 10 take
contracts. IL he didn't nave me TO help
aim he would have had TO pay $40 a
day TO a man or spend twice as long
IN a job himself-and he Will tell you
/ car do as much work in a day
as any man ne ever hired.
1t would take a long time to tell o
~ all of the jobs ! have worked on.
The highest was the spire OF n Chester.
PA, church, $40 feet high. l have lost
-ount OF the fagpoles-some OF them
IN the tops OF buildings--that / have
helped paint. The number runs into
the hundreds.
One OF the most hazardous OF my
stunts was painting the flagpole on
the Wilmington. Del, postoffice, which
reached l2S feet high. IL swayed with
my weight, and / was advised TO come
down. but tue to 1t till the pole was
finished.
Perhaps my narrowest escape from
death was while I was painting the big
gas tank at Trenton. / was sitting in
q boatswain's chair only six feet from
the top of tne 15o4foot tank, and had
o taken the p~recaution to strap my
self In. 1t was a windy day, and a
gust upset my backet OF paint. which
4 had set on q board.
Acting on Impulse. / made a grasp
Ger the bucket, lost my balance and
slid out OF the chair. But my left kaad
was on h rope, and l gripped Ii In
~Stinetiyely. My brush followed the
bucket. and | hung by n hand over
1he street.
Wet / nullad n,,.nalf mack tnto .haI