Los Angeles herald., 1910-12-21
WOMAN WHO HELPED MANAGE BIG
MINE SEEKS DESERT CHARMS IN CITY
DR.. BURCHAM TO BUILD
HOME ON HIGHEST HILL
Quits Medicine to Develop Great
Property-CombineS Busi-
ness with Pleasure

Taught to prize expansive views and
to admire wide reaches of hills and
| lowlands by several years of life in
the desert, DR.. Rose L. Burcham soon
will occupy a home in this city which
crowns one of the highest hills. She
has not lived on the desert for several
years. but its subtle fascination still
has power. 1t was while she lived
there that she learned much about
mining and gave up her profession as
a physician to participate in the man
agement OF the yellow Aster, one of
the great gold mines in California.
"Practicing medicine prepares one
for business life" said DR.. Rose L.
Burcham in her office yesterday, "for
it teaches us to keep our thoughts to
ourselves and to be absolutely inde-
pendent
! DR.. Burcham, formerly a physician,
on the discovery of the yellow Aster
mine relinquished her practice and un-
dertook the secretaryship of the COM
pany, in which she and her husband
are interested.
ut was essential that one of us
should undertake the work." she said,
for we felt that with our holdings we
wanted to be closely in touch with it,
and as Mr.. Burcham had business en-
gagements and contracts which made
it impossible for him to give his time
to the undertaking, l decided to try it
myself"
Ibid you feel any loss of the high
ethical standard which professional
men and women claim when under
taking this more businesslike work?"
mo: none at all. for have a theory
that we all naturally gravitate toward
that plane where we can do the best
work; that is, unless the environment
is too strong and we cannot change"
"Do you ever regret giving up your
medical practice, or having to devote
so much time to the study of it, since
it is not to play an active part in your
Iife?"
"No; I think that every hour I stud
led at my medicine and every day I
practiced helped to prepare me for this
work"
do you find that your interest in
business makes it difficult to have your
own home?"
"When women come to realize that
home-making does not mean busting
or seeking for one speck of dirt they
will perceive that making and
business life are not necessarily op-
posed one to the other, but may be
easily combined OF course a strict
attention to business does interfere
with a woman's social life to some ex-
tent, but society women are very
lenient to the busy woman and make
excuses for the social lapses in the way
of calling, and afternoon teas. They
seem willing always to extend a well
come for those less formal affairs
which, after all, are the true evidence
of hospitality. Business which thrives
is a stern master, but try to take time
for my club meetings, and to enjoy lee
lures and the theater These amuse-
ments rest and entertain me- and do
not exhaust my strength as do the
many forms of social entertainment"
Proper conservation of your energy
is a factor in your success in which
your medical knowledge figures best, 1
suppose?"
''Yes. [ realize more keenly perhaps
than other women that one of the
greatest troubles with the woman in
business is that she will not resolutely
give uD all the little futile duties of her
home. She must be content to enjoy
her home as a man does, and trust the
actual attention to details to a house
keeper. Just as soon as she does this
she becomes a gracious Chatelalne, and
at the same time a conscientious and
careful business woman, and she Will
retain her health
As secretary of the mining company
DR.. Burcham has great responsibility,
and has taken charge almost entirely
of the publicity work and the Office
management of the business. She is
one of the authorities on mining mat
ters now, although until recently she
was the veriest novice in such matters,
Did you ever have any actual ex-
perience in mining life, DR.. Burcham?"
"Oh, yes indeed; | was the first
woman on the ground after the discov-
cry of this mine, and went at once to
live at Randsburg, where the camp
was situated. We lived in tents for
some time, and my home was the first
to be built by the yellow Aster COM
pany."
Did you find many discomforts in
that existence?
There were many inconvenience,
to be sure. Perhaps the greatest of
these was lack of water and lack of
cooks. We got the water in barrels,
but we couldn't get the cooks at all
very often" and she laughed as she
continued, land when we could gener-
ally they could not cook.
II enjoyed the life there she eX-
planned because of the wonderful free
dom. There was an outlook upon all
the world which was inspiring, and
never since those years have l found
location in the city which offered me
sufficient view. / want to see the sun
rise and the sun set. This is q desert
habit which I acquired when living at
the mining camp, and one | find IL i'm
possible to outgrow,"
Dr. Burcham described with anus
ing force her adventures in the house
| buying line here, and explained that
each time she had thought herself sat-
! isfied and each time found her property
wanting in some of the aesthetic quail
ties necessary to her. Il think I have
a location in view now which will
| insure me permanent and unobstruct-
ed view" she said; "for it is upon one
of the highest hills in the city and
commands the situation to the east
the west and the north, so that each
! morning and each, evening / can re-
fresh myself with the grandeur of the