Manchester High School - Somanhis Yearbook (Manchester, CT)

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SOMANHIS EVENTS 29 be trusted not to talk about her employer’s affairs, for the position of pri- vate secretary is essentially a confidential one. The fundamental requirements, truthfulness, honesty, industry, kind- ness, self-reliance, courage, and trustworthiness, must be met by the girl who is to enter the ranks of the world’s workers and march: forward to suc- cess. Sincerity of purpose, habits of industry, punctuality in performing work, alertness in seizing opportunties, zeal in performing the task assigned, and a willingness to do more than the required task—these are the qualifica- tions of the successful worker in every vocation. Personal appearance also goes a great way, and while every girl cannot be beautiful, any girl can be neat and clean. Most people know something of the work done by women during the war, The first ambulance on duty in the first Zeppelin raid on London was driven by a woman. They were not ashamed to don overalls and to clean locomotives and carriages in England. At one time while the war was raging there were between 800,000 and 1,000,000 women in the munition works. Who of us a few years ago ever thought there would be police-women ? Since the inauguration of factory-police work for women in England, in July 1916, a marked success has attended the organization which has re- sulted in almost daily application for policewomen in every part of the United Kingdom, Not one single woman has failed at her post or shirked her duty in the hour of danger. The leading professions are today inviting women as never before. From primitive times women have been interested in the administering of medicine. Now we find the number of women physicians in reguiar practice rapidly increasing in both Europe and America. Those European countries which, a decade ago, frowned upon the practice of medicine by women are now sincerely regretting that there are not more of them quali- fied to serve as physicians. Even as recently as thirty years ago, the Pres- ident of the British Medical Association said, “I am not oversqueamish, but 1 almost shudder when I hear of the things that ladies now do or attempt to do, One can but blush and feel that modesty once inherent in the fairest of God’s creations is fast fading away.” Dentistry also is open to women, although it does not seem to attract as many as do the medical profession and nursing, On the lecture platform there are many women who have a large place in the appreciation of the public. There has been quite an advance in the last three quarters of a century. We are told that when Miss Lucy Stone Was announced to speak on anti-slavery at Malden, Massachusetts in 1847, the announcement read as followes: “I am requested by Mr. Mowey to say that a hen will undertake to crow like a cock at the Town Hall this after- noon at five o’clock. Anybody that wants to hear that kind of music will, of course, attend.” When Miss Stone died in 1893, just forty-six years later, the Boston Herald said: “She goes to her grave honored, beloved, and mourned by the whole American people.” Today women lecturers, provided they are good speakers, are welcomed just as cordially in a public gathering as are men. I have mentioned only a few of the professions in which women are engaged. There are numerous others. Miss Mary Haynes holds a very responsible position as law-expert in one of the widely known New York real estate firms. When a senior in high school her father died. The heavy burdens, both of home-making and financial worry fell on her mother. It was necessary for Mi ss Haynes to leave school. With one year of book-

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28 SOMANHIS EVENTS bottles of a thick greenish glass. The ruins of this factory, which was closed in 1830 form a most picturesque reminder of olden days. Manchester Green was famous for its wagon factories. Benjamin Ly- man, living in the house now occupied by Mr. Arthur Cook, manufactured wagons in the shop east of the house, Farther down the turnpike road stood , the Bliss Wagon shops, and on East Center street were the Cone Wagon Shops. The first post office in the town was built in 1808 at Manchester Green. [n 1812 Orford Parish wished to be separated from East Hartford and become a separate township, but it was not until 1823 that the town was incorporated under the name of Manchester. In 1836 the first Cheney silk mill was built and in 1854 the present com- pany was incorporated. The center of business and population had now moved from Manches- ter Green, and other parts of the town were developing rapidly. The post office at Manchester was established in 1850 and that at South Manches- ter in 1851. In the same year the railroad passing through Manchester was opened, and the stage coach lines were discontinued. The growth of the town since that date has been very rapid and its history in later years is familiar to all. HANNAH JENSEN, ’20. K K XK WOMEN IN THE BUSINESS WORLD Much of the work of this country, as well as of other countries in the world, is in the hands of women and girls. The vocations in which they are engaged are many and diverse.. Probably the greatest number are clerks and saleswomen; stenographers, typists, and bookeepers make up a large percentage of the total. It is only in very recent times that much thought has been given to the vocational training of girls. Many an energetic young woman has failed to achieve success in her work because her choice of a vocation was an un- wise one. A girl should know a good deal about human nature, as well as many facts in regard to the work upon which she wishes to enter. The occupation of a stenographer is in many respects one of the most attractive open to girls, and for that reason many seek to become such who are not adapted to the work. Let the would-be stenographer ask herself in all seriousness whether or not she has the necessary qualifications for the position in question. If the answer is in the negative, she should seek some other field of usefulness. There is a commercial course in our high school, as well as in most of the high schools of today, and shorthand can be taken up at the same time that the student is obtaining a general education. Beware of the schooi which promises a practical knowledge of the subject in a short time—six weeks or three months. The number of profitable occupations which can be learned in six weeks is certainly very limited, and the kind of stenogra- phy which can be put to practical use in a business office can not be learned in that time. One of the advantages of the study of shorthand is the number of possibilities open to the proficient stenographer. We hear a great deal nowadays about the position of private secretary. Such a posi- tion is generally filled by the advancement of some stenographer in the of- fice who has shown unusual ability in her work, and above all—who can

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30 SOMANHTLIS EVENTS keeping she readily secured a position with an electric light company. Her uncle, after hearing that she was bent upon becoming a business wo- man, sent her to one of the best business colleges in New York. Ajfter being graduated she accepted a position as bookeeper with the firm by which she is now employed. By becoming familiar with all office details, whether they happened to have any particular bearing on her specified la- bors or not, she showed an interest in the firm and each day meant a forward step toward personal improvement. Mrs. Helen Kenny Holmes or the ticker girl of Wall Street is earning over $10,000 a year. She began her career as telephone operator at $12 per week, but because of her determination to learn the business and her loy- alty to the firm’s interest, she has now become one of the firm. Nowadays, there are not only women doctors, lawyers, lecturers, den- tists, and policewomen, but there are bankers, farmers, milk brokers, man- agers of railroad administrations, mine presidents, and voters. It is a splendid thing to live in the twentieth century. We who enter life these days are going out into a world busier than it has ever been, and no genuine twentieth century girl can feel that she is “every inch a woman” unless she is prepared to “amount to something” in some line of business. MABEL ROBB, ’20. SOUTH AMERICA, THE LAND OF OPPORTUNITY The war as we all know, has had a great effect upon the world in gen- eral. Not only the social and political, but the financial and commercial! situation is far different from what it was before. The United States has found that the time has passed when only problems at home are to be dealt with; world-wide conditions must now be considered. This country, although a great commercial nation, had never entered into the foreign trade of the world to any great extent up until the time of the war. It then became necessary for us to do so, because the great commercial nations, that is England and Germany, were both at war and had no time to devote to their foreign trade, Both of these countries had a great hold on the trade of the Latin American Republics. At the beginning of the war, this country was called upon to promote the trade of these republics. Then we began to open our eyes and see what a great opportunity we had overlooked. People never realized that our sister continent held any place in the world whatever. This country during the war increased production in all lines in order to meet the needs of the warring nations. At present most of the factories are rushed as they were in war time, but the time will come, and it is not far distant, when the United States will have an over production of goods. Then we will look for some foreign market. South America is the field, and now is the time to establish such a market. srazil, the largest of all South American countries,, is often called the, “Storehouse of the World.” Here we have a country larger than the United States with about one fifth the population. Everything can be raised there that grows in both the tropical and temperate zones. Brazil abounds in natural resources. In the northern part we find the great lum- ber and rubber forests for which she has been noted through all ages. In the central and southern part agriculture is the principle industry. Coffee, the most important of all, is raised on a large scale, but now it is not suf-