The daily banner. (Cambridge, Md.) 1897-2008, 1921-12-20
MISS HELEN ADAMS GETS
MEDAL FOR HEROISM
Cambridge Ioung Lady Presented
Medal AT New Lycerm Theatre
Monday Night For Bravery. De-
spite Fearful Electric Storm Re-
manned At Switchboard And Sum-
moned Aid FOR Persons Stunned
During Storm.

| SD1lC
manned AT Switchboard And Sum-
! moned Aid i'or Persons Stunned
! During Storm.
Baltimore Dec, l9.-Medals for
heroic deeds at work were presented
TO three Maryland telephone opera
tors here tonight in the New Lyceum
1 Theatre. Each medal was a reward
| for actions that resulted in the say
! inS OF lives.
| The Maryland girls were selected
for honors by the Vail Memorial
! Fund Committee in New York. The
awards. which are to be made an
f nually, were provided for by Mrs.
Theodore n. Vail, wife Of the man,
who, at the time of his death, was
! looked upon as one Of the worlds
/ business leaders and was head of the
| telephone industry in the United
States.
The recipients of the medals are:
Miss Helen B. Adams, operator Of
: the Chesapeake and Potomac Tele-
! phone Company at Cambridge, Md.
! On June 10. 1920, her prompt action
was instrumental in obtaining medi-
cal treatment for two persons stunn-
ed in a storm near Travers Wharf,
Maryland.
Miss Mae T. Seibert, private
J branch exchange operator at Mount
\ Holly Inn, Baltimore. When the
| hotel burned on December 2, 1920
she remained at her position, notify
| ing occupants until all had made
| their escape.
Miss Naomi X. Workman, operator
at Ocean City, Md, on February 4,
| 1920, she remained at work for Is
hours during a flood that threatened
to wash away the building in which
the switchboard was located
Albert E. Berry, president of the
| telephone company, presented the
medals and made brief speech in
! praise of the girls. Nearly 1000
employees of the telephone company
! and their friends were present, and
an elaborate program OF entertain
ment was provided by tie Telephone
Society of Baltimore. This includ-
| ed music, five acts of vaudeville,
moving pictures and dancing. A
demonstration of telephone operat
ing was given by girls from one of
the central offices in the city.
The girls from the Eastern Shore
| were in the city as guests of the
company, and brought with them
! friends who wanted to see the award
| ing of the honors. The ceremonies
of presentation were brief though
they formed the most important
event of the evening. The medals
are of bronze and were designed by
Adolph A. Weinman, who designed
i the dime and half-dollar now in
circulation. The face of the medals
bear a portrait of Mr.. Vail, while the
reverse side shows an allegorical
group representing Service supported
| by Loyalty and Devotion.
Though no effort can be made to
pick the most distinctive act of hero
| ism which won the medals for the
girls, that of Miss Workman stands
out because of the fact that she is
| a cripple and can walk only with the
aid of crutches. The storm of
February 4, 1920, caused damage
| estimated at S250,O00, in Ocean City,
ruined the boardwalk, demolished
several houses and crippled the
water supply and electric light ser
vice.
High water several times endan-
gered the building in which the
| telephone switchboard was located,
| but Miss Workman refused to leave
| it. For more than Is hours she con-
| tinued to operate the board, and was
| instrumental in completing many
emergency calls for help from the
! flooded area. Had the switch board
been abandoned, as would have been
only natural when the waters
threatened to engulf the building.
many of these calls would have been
| lost, with the possible result that
people would have been victims of
the flood
The Mount Holly Inn fire in Bal
timore is still remembered as one OF
the most spectacular of recent years
in the city. The building, though
one of the most handsome in Balti-
more's suburbs, was of wood and be-
fore the flames had been noticed,
were consuming a large part of the
interior. Many guests were surpris-
ed when Miss Seibert called their
rooms and told them that the build
ing was afire, but by the time they
got out, the blaze was encroachins
on the stairways.
Miss Seibert had just gone on duty
when one of the guests called out
There is a fire upstairs" She inn
mediately began to notify the guests
in their rooms, continuing these calls
until service went out of order on
account of the fire, She left the
building when police insisted that
she was in danger of being injured
The building burned to the ground
but not a guest was injured and
many got out in time to save some
of their personal effects. Those
notified last, however. had to fight
their way through clouds of smoke
showing that had Miss Seibert left
her board sooner, they hight have
been caught.
Miss Seibert began her telephone
| employment as a clerk in the billine
department of the telephone com
pany, later becoming a local operator
: in Baltimore and subsequently tax
ing employment as Y. operator
at the inn.
Miss Adams quickness of though
was instrumental in saving the live:
of two men. She was on duty a
Cambridge when a call came in from
, Travers Wharf and she heard {
voice say. Send doctor quick
, somebody is killed" The line ther
went out of service and Miss Adams
was unable to get any further de
: tails.
She Immediately called a doctor
advising him to go to Travers Wharf
The call had come in over a rura
{ line in that vicinity, and she knew i
was popular place to young people
:, to go for outings. 1t developed tina
a party had got caught in suddeI
storm and that one man had beer
killed and two others stunned b!
lightning. The doctor declared tina
had not the injured men been giveI
| prompt treatment, they would have
died.
For the presentation of the medals
every telephone employe was invited
to be present, and practically all o
the high officials of the company at