The Washington herald., 1912-04-06
MONEY FOUND In
CONGENIAL FIELDS
Success Of Two Women Who
Changed Their Work.

The fact that woman has earned
her living in a certain way for ten years
at teaching or bookkeeping-is no rea-
son why she should not branch out and
do something new. There are a hundred
avenues of work for which no special
training is needed. Here is what some
women have accomplished by changing
work:
A teacher decided to investigate the
possibilities of a peach orchard about
fifty miles from her home city. She
found that land values in that section
had more than doubled in seven years,
and every one she interviewed was max
ing a good profit in raising peaches.
She invested in ten-acre tract on which
was a comfortable farmhouse and barn
paying $1,OO0 down and carrying
mortgage of $500. About half the tract
had been set out with peach trees. She
spent eight months of year there,
started a poultry business on a small
scale, and in the fall installed reliable
farmland on the place. who, for nomi-
nal wages during the winter, would look
after the property.
Place Paid for Itself.
Returning to her teaching. she kept
her post for two years, making weekend
trips to the farm. and spending all her
holidays there. Last fall she sold her
first crop of peaches. The place had
paid for itself and yielded a good proft
each year on the money invested
a woman who had been employed for
some years in a library. in a small city
at a small salary, found that there were
constant appeals for information on sub
jects On which the library had no litera-
ture There were several flourishing
women's clubs in the place, and members
were expected to prepare papers on va
rious topics on which they found II
difficult to secure accurate information.
Many of the topics had been the subject
OF exhaustive articles in magazines with
in a year or two. The librarian spent
her spare time for a year in collecting
old magazines. tabulatiHg and catalogu-
ing the subjects. and arranging each
article in a paper cover. Large stiff
manila envelopes were used TO keep to-
gether different articles on the same sub
ject.
Cleaners Library Founded.
At the end of the year she rented a
small house. subletting two rooms fur
nished, which almost paid the rent. and
started what she called The Cleaners
Library" One room was fitted up with
shelves for her collection. A small cir
cular was prepared and mailed with
personal letter to officers Of all the
women's clubs in or near the city. re-
questing that the announcement Of her
venture be read in regular club meet
ing and posted. A similar request was
made of the principals of high schools
and colleges. and a list of subjects on
which reference material could be fur
nished was sent to- De posted. One whole
shelf was devoted to Shakespeare,s plays
and characters. i
a mass of material relating to child
labor, reform school methods, Junior re-
publics. &c, had been accumulated. Her
collection covers a wide variety of top
les. and new subjects are added every
year
The milk problem in cities; manners
and customs of different peoples, Gu
bans. the FilipinOs, the Slavs-in fact,
every nationality represented in the
United States; the care of babies. new
ways of entertaining, home building and
decoration, music, fancy work. and a
thousand and one other topics Of current
interest are represented in the venture.
The articles are rented for 10 cents.
. Little by little the business grew till
people from all over the State were send
ing to her for information. In less than
two years she found il necessary to en-
ploy an assistant in attending to the reg
uIar work and correspondence, and sew
eral others are paid to read and supply
material for her collection.