The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1917-10-19
FROM RAGS TO RICHES

Drucilla was born AT Delta, La, of
slave parents. Left an orphan at sew
en- she was treated sc cruelty that
she married at fourteen, so as to get
home. She had three months or
schooling at rural log school house.
She was left a widow at twenty, with
one child.
Fourteen years ago she was eking
out living at the washtub. Today
she is by far the richest negress l.. the
United States. She has home in
Harlem which cost $4,000, and is
building a mansion on the Hudson
right among the "swells" to cost a
quarter of a million.
Madam Walker" as she is now
called, made all her money out of
the vanity of her colored sisters.
How she started. by Strengthening
out the kinks in their hair. and with
a keen business instinct followed this
up by establishing a chain of beauty
parlors," is told by Francis L. Garside
of the Kansas City Star. The writer
called upon Madam Walker" at her
Harlem home, and she thus describes
her visit:
81 found myself in a very large beau
ty parlor with parquet floors, with the
ceiling. sidewalks. and decorations of
a delicate gray. A clerk told me
could not see Madam as she was
asleep. but she kindly made an ap-
pointment for me. and on the second
call was taken upstairs and seated
in the drawing room to await Mad
ans convenience. | ann not a south
erner-I waited.
when she came into the drawing
room a few minutes latter / realized
how adaptable my sex is to change
from poverty to wealth. for Madam
Walker. washerwomap fourteen years
ago. carried her generous weight
gracefully on high French heels and
wore an expensive Undiscovered law
ender silk dressing gown on week
day morning with lack OF self-con-
seriousness few of us know when we
get on our Sunday clothes. She has
an ire me of one quarter of million
dollars 6 year. She made every cent
CT Ter money without aid or encour-
agement from any living soul Pause
while you take off your hat to her.
Fourteen years ago her hair began
coming out. and she prayed the Lord
to save it.
"'He answered my prayer she told
me. tor one night had dream. and
in that dream big black man APP
peared TO me and told me what TO mix
up for my hair. Some OF the remedy
was grown in Africa. but sent for it.
mixed it. put 1t on my scalp and in q
few weeks my hair was coming in
faster than it had ever fallen out. It
came out without kinks. l tried it on
my neighbors. 1t helped them. Then
an idea struck me. and 1 made up my
mind would begin to sell it
"She not only advertised literally
in many of the newspapers. but
bought outright the Afro-American.
and extolled the virtues OF her concoc-
ton editorially. geographically and To-
cally, and its sales became phenome-
nal"
Perhaps some OF our feminine read
ers would be interested in the descrip-
ton Miss Carsade gives OF her home.
Listen to this:
"Her secretary. a young man OF
pleasing address, took me through the
house. and this was not the least in
tetresting part of my visit Every
thing was bought without regard to
cost. but with considerable regard TO
good taste. The daughters bedroom
is furnished with ivory-tinted furni-
ture of Louis XVI style and the bed
room set cost $4,000. The hanginsg
are in old rose. and the pictures and
statuary in the room are as cost
ly as the furniture. Her own room is
furnished in mahogany.
There is one of those big 5000 Vic
trolas in the bedroom han. and
thought one would surely satisfy, but
| saw another in the drawing room
covered with gold leaf to match a
golf-leafed grand piano. and an i'm
mense gold-leafed harp. That isn't
all, oh, you who are buying $50
graphophone on the installment plan
and satisfying the cravings of your
soul for music at the ten-cent store.
In the main hall there is a player-or-