The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1919-08-19
True Stories of Successful Women
BY Edith Moriarty

Perhaps newspaper women would
never name Helen Gilmore among the
successful writer's in their profession.
but there is scarcely housemaid who
would not envy her. not only her sal
airy, but her method of living and her
leisure time.
Helen Gilmore. who is known to
most people as Miss Gilmore, because
OF her greying hair and her reserved
manner, started life in a small New
England community about thirty-eight
years ago. She is the type of New
England woman that you read about
IN Books, straight and prim-looking.
with set mouth which indicates set
ways, and a neatness about her which
is severe.
Until she was eighteen she went to
country schools and worked on her
fathers farm. Then for two years
she worked in the village store and
the next year she entered the services
of the Conways, who had summer
home in New England near the Gill
more farm
Miss Gilmore was their maid-of-all-
work for two summers and finally
she returned with them to the large
western city where they lived in the
winter. In their town house, Miss
Gilmore was no longer maid OF all
work, but she was second girl, and as
such answered the doorbell, busted,
helped with the dishes, made the beds,
mended the linens and did other light
work.
She had earned three dollars a week
as maid of all work, which seemed a
pitifully small amount in these days
of twelve and fourteen dollar maids,
with no washing or cleaning" When
she went to the city the family gave
her five dollars a week.
Was Second Maid.
For twelve years Miss Gilmore was
the second maid for the Conways. For
twelve years she had helped with the
dishes and busted in the morning, and
mended and answered the telephone
and doorbell in the afternoon and
took every Wednesday afternoon off
because the cook had Thursday off.
She had every other Sunday off in
winter and every third Sunday off
in the summer, because the Conways
had so many guests in the summer
that they could not spare all of their
help over week-ends.
After twelve years Of this steady
task. She was thirty-two years old
and only earning eight dollars a week.
She could not call any of her time her
own except her Wednesday after
Moons, and she was always doing some
kind of work she did not like, and the
worst part of it was that she did not
know how to do any thing else.
Would Keep on Working.
After casting about in her mind she
finally decided that instead of leaving
her place at the Conways, to hunt for
some new kind of work she would
keep on working there, where she was
sure of room and board, and then
start to school again.
The cook and some OF Helen's
friends laughed at her. To them it
seemed farcical for a second girl, thir-
ty-two years old at that, to start to
business school. Helen was determin-
ed, however, and she drew some Of
her savings out of the bank to pay her
first three months tuition.
She found the school work hard and
especially after a day of Homework
1t was not easy to concentrate upon
dots and dashes and typewriting. In
fact it was so difficult for her that
it took her year and half to mas
ter both shorthand and tipping while
the school advertised it as a three
months course.
The very first position that Miss
Gilmore took after finishing at the
night school was in newspaper
office. 1t was a rather mental posi-
ton and only paid twelve dollars a
week. She acted as stenographer and
general office girl for the Sunday
editor of the paper. The girl who had
had the place before was but sixteen
years old and earned only eight dol
lars week and SO it was plain that
her first job in the business world was
not a golden adventure.