The Plymouth tribune. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1901-1911, 1908-10-01
PRETTY GIRL BUILDS COTTAGE.
Telephone Operator Spends Leisure
Hours I'm Making Summer Home.

Telephone Operator Spends Leisure
Hours In Making Summer Home.
Miss Josephine l.. Reynolds, a pretty
20-year-old brunette, who lives with her
widowed mother in Nantasket avenue,
! Surfside, is to-day the talk Of this little
town, and for the last few weeks the
cottagers and early summer boarders
have been pointing her out and describ-
ing her as the 'smartest woman on the
beach, says Hull (Iass.) dispatch
in the Boston Post.
She does not care a snap of her deli
cate little fingers, however, for the no
toriety that has been thrust upon her,
and goes about the streets here as
| though unconscious of the stares of the
public.
A delicately reared girl, Miss Rey-
| nolds has chosen for pastime the
strenuous labors which, up to this time,
were supposed to have been without ex-
ception monopolized by men, those of
carpenter and builder.
Formerly postmistress at Surfside
and at present employed as telephone
operator at the Nantasket exchange. she
has found time during her spare hours
to build a summer annex to her moth
ers home, which will be ready for occu-
pancy within a week.
Miss Reynolds has never attended a
school for the study of carpentry, nor
has she ever devoted any time to the
study of architecture. but there is not
one In town who will not say that the
serious, dark-haired maid cannot plan
| or build summer cottage with as
much skill as the most experienced
| craftsman. At present the young lady
can be seen any afternoon at work on
| the little cottage in the hear of her
| mothers home.
She started work ON the building
| about three weeks ago, and since she
dug the first post hole has had no as
sistance except that of her sister, Grace
who saved her many steps up and
down the rickety ladder while she wss
shingling the roof. After the main
building has been completed Miss Rey.
nolds intends to build a porch al
around the snug little house, after
which it will be rerred to the first
conner for the season.
1t will contain three rooms, all OF
| which will be papered by the boss
carpenter" and the hardwood floor viii
be covered with mating. The whole
thing is the sole idea of Miss Reynolds
| and although she has expended quite 9
sum for the purchase of lumber AMI
other building material, she is looking
| forward to the time when her little
cottage" as her mother calls 1t, will BIZ
adding dollars to the family treasury.
Her father, who was a carpenter
died fifteen years ago. and as Mrs. Rey
nolds puts it: Josephine is the onl,
man about the house"
when Josie was a little girl" saiC
Mrs. Reynolds, "she met a schoolmat'
| one day and he told her that he wa:
making cents an hour shingling tn,
roof for one of the local carpenters
She asked him If his employer woult
give her a position, and the little fel
low said that she might ask him, which
she did, with the result that the mex
day she donned pair of overalls, an,
to my surprise, when 1 passed the new
building, / saw her out ON the roo
mailing shingles.
"TIer work was so satisfactory tina
her salary was raised to 10 cents al
hour, and every afternoon after schoo
she would don her working clothes AM
go to her self-appointed task, seemingl.
the happiest girl in the village.
"Our house being i'm need of repairs
and more as joke than otherwise,
offered her % cents an hour to put on
house and grounds in good shape.
ITO my surprise, within two week
Josie had papered several of our rooms
had mended the flooring of the porch
the balustrades of the stairs and tn
| fence in front of our house with sucl
skill that was convinced that 70.
daughter, who had always been more o.
less of Tomboy,' was in reality /:
| genius.
| "Since that time we have had m
need for calling in a carpenter. paper
hanger, electrician or plumber. JOSIE
has done it all, although she has neve
had any instruction in any of tbes'
| trades"
Best of Shade Trees.