USA > Ohio > Women of Ohio; a record of their achievements in the history of the state, Volume III > Part 32
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36
She was the guest of honor for a week at a "newspaper show" conducted by the Ohio Newspaper Association in connection with the Ohio State University, and at the 1929 convention of the Ohio Newspaper Women's Association she won first prize for the best piece of writing in a daily paper of not more than 10,000 circulation.
For the 66 years that she practiced her beloved profession, Alice Van Sickle may be said to have listened in on life to a good purpose. She made a number of discoveries, one of them that age, if it wills, can be happier than youth and even more successful.
"Age," said Alice Van Sickle, "is the time when we are at last permitted to understand the art of living."
1207
WOMEN OF OHIO
HELEN WATERHOUSE
HELEN WATERHOUSE, aviation editor and feature writer of the Akron Beacon Journal, was born in Watertown, Mass., seven miles from Boston, with two old Boston families, the Bowditches and Drapers, as ancestors on the distaff side.
Her mother was Alice Draper and on the father's side Helen traces back to the old English name of Stocking, which a Puritan great-grandfather pared to "Stockin" as less immodest, not to say unseemly.
Helen's father, Arthur Stockin, although an artist, did not bother about names, so Helen grew up "Stockin," although other "Stockin" connections in the country still hung on to the suggestive not to say sinful "G."
When Helen was nine years old, her father and mother and grandfather all died-within a single week. So she was brought up by a maiden aunt and a grandmother. She attended Boston Normal Art School, following in the footsteps of her father who had been a wood engraver. Later Helen went to the Fenway School of Illustration in Boston.
Soon after graduation Helen Stockin was married to Ralph H. Waterhouse, then a junior high school superintendent in Newton, Mass. They moved to Amherst when he took over Amherst Junior High. They have two children, Judith, born in 1917, and George Howard, born in 1920.
Mrs. Waterhouse started newspaper work in Amherst in 1916-17 as suburban reporter for the Springfield "Union," later the "Republican." She covered all Amherst news and wrote Sunday editorials.
In 1921 the family moved to Akron, Ohio, where the husband became assistant superintendent of schools and later superintendent. During one summer Mrs. Waterhouse worked on the Toronto Star Weekly of Toronto, Canada, doing features and illustrating them with cartoons.
Later she took over mid-west reporting for Christian Science Monitor, which she still handles. She worked for a short period in 1928 for Akron Times-Press covering Graf Zeppelin crossing in that year.
This started her on an aviation reporting career.
She was made art editor of Beacon Journal, Akron, the next year, covering aviation on the side.
Helen Waterhouse became aviation editor of Beacon Journal several years later and is the only woman member of Aviation Editors Association of America. She continued special assignments, however, among others the Hauptmann trial and execution, and was twice awarded top honors in annual contests of Ohio Newspaper Women's Association.
She covers many stores by air in her capacity as "flying reporter" for the paper; writes aviation stories regularly for magazines and has established a wide reputation for the "reader interest" of her work.
1208
WOMEN OF OHIO
HELEN WELSHIMER
HELEN WELSHIMER, former president of the Ohio Newspaper Wo- men's Association, now a New York free lance and syndicate writer and author of widely published verse was born in a parsonage at Canton, Ohio.
Her father is minister of the First Christian Church there, which has the largest Bible School in the world and is one of the two largest Protestant churches in America.
"I spent my childhood speaking pieces on Children's Day, playing games with the neighborhood boys and girls, and being nice to the visiting clergy and missionaries," she recalls.
After schooling in Canton, Miss Welshimer went to Hiram College from which she was graduated with a degree of Bachelor of Arts.
She took a year's post-graduate course at Columbia University, enrolling in journalism, but majoring in play writing and stagecraft.
Miss Welshimer's first real newspaper job was at the Canton News, where she did special feature reporting for three years. Then she decided on a summer's vacation in Europe. On her return she took up feature writing for the Akron Beacon Journal and eight months later joined the staff of NEA Service, Inc.
She resigned from the NEA several years ago and now has her own New York offices as headquarters of her newspaper feature service.
In 1932, one of Helen's poems published by newspapers throughout the country was awarded the first prize for poetry, given by the Ohio News- paper Women's Association. As if to prove her versatility, the same organi- zation awarded her first prize for having written the best science story the same year.
Miss Welshimer's poems have won wide approval. Some of the leading magazines have published her verses, and thousands of letters have been received from readers commending them.
RUTH YOUNG WHITE
RUTH YOUNG WHITE (Mrs. Howard A. White), editor of "We, Too, Built Columbus," and publicity director of the Columbus Y.W.C.A., was graduated from Ohio State University and worked for a year as reporter on the Marietta Register-Leader before going to the Columbus Dispatch as editor of the "Betty Fairfax" column. Later she became editor of the woman's page and continued in this capacity until her marriage to Howard White, also a former reporter on the Dispatch.
He was sent abroad in the consular service and they were married at Plymouth, England. After a year's residence at Plymouth the service took them to Ponta Delgada, then to the Azores. Later Mr. White resigned to
R
7
Caroline Williams
-
1
This view of downtown Cincinnati, etched by Caroline Williams, of the Cincinnati Enquirer, was frontispiece on the programs of the thirty-fifth annual convention, held in Cincinnati, October 29, 30 and 31, 1937
1211
WOMEN OF OHIO
go to London as correspondent for the North American Newspaper Alliance. While in London, Ruth wrote weekly articles under her byline for the Daily Express and had articles accepted by the Christian Science Monitor.
After they returned to Columbus, Mrs. White became assistant editor of Town Life, a society monthly and then editor of the Eastern Times, a con- munity weekly. For a period she conducted a column, "Ladies, Take a Bow," in the Dispatch, then accepted her present position with the Y.W.C.A.
The idea of paying tribute to women who, as settlers or citizens, had done much to develop their city, through the book "We, Too, Built Columbus" (information obtained from which is used elsewhere in "Women of Ohio") originated with Mrs. Andrew Denny Rodgers. A number of other Columbus women co-operated in gathering and writing data. Ruth Young White was selected as editor and to her is due credit for shaping this valuable material into its present interesting and attractive form.
Mrs. White belongs to the Ohio Newspaper Women's Association, to Theta Sigma Phi, journalistic fraternity and other important organizations.
CAROLINE WILLIAMS
As far as is known, the work of CAROLINE WILLIAMS, special sketch artist of the Cincinnati Enquirer, is unique in the world of newspaper women.
Because of this work, future generations of the "Queen City" will be able to visualize extensively its pictorial past and by the same token the present generation can now see memories of fast vanishing and historic landmarks beautifully and appealingly preserved.
The "Old Presbyterian Church," cradle of religion of this locality, the "Old Spencer House" once the proudest hostelry of the Ohio Valley, the "Old McMicken Building," where the University of Cincinnati spent its infancy, the "Old National Theatre," whose spacious walls once echoed the voices of Jenny Lind and John Wilkes Booth, these and hundreds of other highly artistic yet strikingly accurate sketches made by Caroline have been regularly reproduced for several years on the editorial page of the Sunday Enquirer.
During this period, approximately 300 scenes and buildings, some new and well known, others far out of the beaten path or already gone, have been thus published, under the title, "A Spot in Cincinnati."
Realization of their permanent interest and value caused the paper and the artist to compile about 100 of these sketches and to issue them in book form in the fall of 1938. Excellence of technique, variety of selection and historic value of the descriptive lines-in which publisher and editors of the paper colloborated-met with immediate recognition and widespread response. Several editions of "The City of the Seven Hills" have already been exhausted.
1212
WOMEN OF OHIO
There is indication that this gifted young newspaper woman inherited a family trait, for her father, Carl B. Williams, was on the art staff of the Enquirer for a quarter of a century. She studied at the Art Academy of Cincinnati and later at the Art Students League in New York, joining the Enquirer staff in 1932. Caroline was born in Covington, Ky. Her mother's maiden name was Mary Teal and the family moved to Cincinnati during their daughter's infancy.
Pen and ink is the medium used by Caroline Williams for her newspaper work. She is also an etcher of ability and her work in this field is said to be of a high order. She is an active member of the Women's Art Club of Cincinnati, also of the Ohio Newspaper Women's Association.
JANE VON BLON WILLIAMS
"You take the big town, I'll take the burg" was the conclusion reached by JANE VON BLON WILLIAMS (Mrs. Paul A. Williams), star reporter of the Mansfield News Journal, after the first "staff exchange" experiment in Ohio newspaper history.
By mutual agreement between themselves and their editors, Jane Wil- liams and Helen Allyn of the Cleveland Press, swapped jobs for a week during the summer of 1938.
Reports on their unique experience featured the Sunday morning pro- gram of the Ohio Newspaper Women's Association Convention, held in October, 1938, at Cleveland.
Rarely has an O.N.W.A. session so justified high anticipation. Contrast between the work of the small city and the large city reporter was brought out by each of the novel headliners; basic similarities in all newspaper work were stressed and the advantages and disadvantages of each type of position pointed out, candidly and concisely.
Both Jane Williams and Helen Allyn (Mrs. William McDonald), are widely recognized as outstanding newspaper women. Helen, whose biography is included elsewhere in this chapter, found the myriad tasks of the small city reporter a test of ability that had been keyed to the high powered drive of the big daily and the generous space accorded to a jelly contest by the small city sheet, harder to fill than the bone cut big paper story that none the less "makes the wires whistle."
Jane on the contrary, found that the stream lined assignment system of the big paper left time on her hands, while constantly changing editions swept away story after story to which she would fain have given the space she felt they merited. But the exchange worked out splendidly and attracted general attention.
Jane Williams was born in Upper Sandusky, Ohio, the daughter of Johann and Josephine Moral Bowen von Blon. When her father was a child the last of the Wyandot Indians were his playmates.
1213
WOMEN OF OHIO
Her mother was the grand-daughter of Benjamin Briley, who ran the first Indian mill (still standing three miles north of Sandusky) which was established by the government for pioneers in North Central Ohio.
Jane von Blon began newspaper work at the age of 14 as a school columnist, on a daily paper in Upper Sandusky and continued it all through her high school years. She attended Spokane University and worked on the Scripps-McRae "Press" in Spokane from 1914 to 1917. She went to the Los Angeles Examiner in 1918 and joined the staff of her present paper, Mansfield News Journal in 1925.
Her marriage to Paul A. Williams took place in 1920. She was the first treasurer of the National Federation of Press Women and was president of the O.N.W.A. 1936-1937.
Jane Williams has been identified with innumerable important movements, is known throughout the state and in many cities outside of it. But she insists on taking to herself her favorite quotation, "You can take the girl out of the country, but you cannot take the country out of the girl."
ETTA B. WILSON
ETTA B. WILSON, woman's page editor of the Cleveland Press, jumped from school teaching to newspaper work at Houston, Texas, when the man- aging editor of the Houston Post decided he was tired of itinerant male copy readers and hired women to stay on the job.
Although she majored in mathematics and science at college, it has been commas and semi-colons, mis-spelled words and split infinitives that have kept her on the job reading copy since 1919. After three years as news editor on the Houston Post, Etta Wilson moved to Cleveland to take over the editorship of the woman's page of the Cleveland Press. She is in complete charge of this department, giving assignments, writing a beauty column, handling make-up, headlines, art, etc., and reading all copy.
Etta was only four years old when her father, Alonzo B. Barrett, died at Summerfield, Ohio. Her mother taught school and worked on the small town paper, long since defunct. After school, Etta helped her mother at the paper, and now says that her present job is a result of this taste of "printer's ink."
She took her formal education at three different institutions, starting at Beloit College, Wisconsin, going on to Sam Houston State Teachers' Col- lege at Huntsville, Texas and later to the Rice Institute at Houston.
Before returning to newspaper work, Mrs. Wilson taught in Hannibal and Belmont high schools in Ohio; in Houston high schools and at the Texas State Dental College.
For the past six years Mrs. Wilson has lived at Park Lane Villa, Cleve- land, where many glass shelves hold unusual perfume bottles, evidence of her most enthusiastic hobby.
1214
WOMEN OF OHIO
EDNA K. WOOLEY
EDNA K. WOOLEY, newspaper columnist, has been a star staff member of the Cleveland News for several years. She was previously editorial and feature writer of the Chicago Journal, then became women's editor of the Cleveland News and remained in this position until 1933. She is a life member of the Cleveland Associated Charities, active in the Cleveland Sight Saving Council, the Humane Society, the Phyllis Wheatley Association and in the Cleveland Newspaper Guild. A number of the newspaper characters she created have become widely known, notably "Pa and Ma Jenkins" and "My Friend the Business Woman."
1215
WOMEN OF OHIO
WOMEN IN PUBLICITY
FLORENCE CHILSON
FLORENCE CHILSON of the Farnham and Chilson Publicity Service of Cleveland was graduated with B.A. from Flora Stone Mather College, West- ern Reserve University in 1924. She taught mathematics and physical edu- cation in Fremont High School, Fremont, Ohio for three years then took graduate courses in journalism, advertising, and art at the Ohio State Uni- versity.
In 1929 she became an assistant in the firm of Farnham and Moriarty ; subsequently called Farnham Publicity Service and in 1939 changed to Farn- ham and Chilson, partnership.
Publicity accounts handled by Miss Chilson include the Cleveland In- stitute of Music; Penn College; Cleveland Antiques Show; Easter Sale for Crippled Children; Thistle Down race-track (Cleveland) ; River Downs race track (Cincinnati) ; indoor polo; Orpheus Male Chorus; other concerts, horse shows, benefits, campaigns, lectures and plays.
MARGRETTA STEELE CLAFLIN
Although MARGRETTA STEELE CLAFLIN was born in Columbus, she "grew up" in Lancaster, just thirty miles away, where she lived with her mother in the home of her maternal grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Edward Beecher White.
Her efforts in publicity, a field in which she has been most active, began at the age of eight, by advertising in large wavy letters on the sidewalk in front of the grandfather's drug store: BEST SODA WATER ON EARTH.
To prove the truth of this statement, when challenged the next day by some of her playmates, the budding publicist invited the entire school- room, including "teacher" to try it "for nothing." Grandfather White was probably a bit nonplussed when the "guests" walked into his store that afternoon, led by his enthusiastic granddaughter. But always a gentleman, he doubtless rose to the occasion without a quiver of the eyelash.
Margretta went through school in Lancaster and was graduated from Lancaster High School in 1912. While attending high school, she worked va- cation shifts on both the "Eagle" and the "Gazette," the two local dailies. This decided Margretta. She would enter journalism. The year following her graduation from high school, she spent in Ottawa, Canada, where her father was a member of the press gallery of the House of Commons, repre- senting a string of Canadian newspapers. She was the first of her sex ever
1216
WOMEN OF OHIO
to be admitted to the press gallery and insisted that she pinch-hit for her father on a number of occasions.
So, in the fall of 1913, she entered Ohio State University and signed up for all of the journalism that she could get.
In her Junior year, Margretta was made publicity agent for the Brown- ing Dramatic Society, a campus organization, and was charged with filling the downtown newspapers with publicity on the Russian Symphony Concert which the Brownings were proudly sponsoring.
Unfortunately, Galli-Curci, who had suddenly risen to fame, was booked for a concert the same night. The Russian Symphony was ignored by the three Columbus newspapers and so was the concert. The Browning Dramatic Society woke up the next morning to find a gaping hole in its treasury, where- upon Margretta renounced "forever" the career of press agent. There were other things a girl could do. So shortly after her graduation in June 1917, Margretta accepted a job on the Columbus Monitor. Three weeks later the Monitor folded.
Margretta was disillusioned with the ruthlessness of the business world. There were other things a girl could do. So she got married. She married Walter N. Claflin, a young manufacturer from Lancaster and went there to live.
Following the birth of their two children, Beecher Neville and Joan Ewing, the Claflins moved back to Columbus, locating in their present home in Grand- view.
After ten years of domesticity, Margretta felt that there were other things a woman could do. She broke the ice gradually by accepting first a job located just a few blocks from her home-the editorship of a neigh- borhood newspaper.
Later she joined the staff of the Ohio Public Health Association as pub- licity secretary. From the Ohio Public Health group, Mrs. Claflin went to the Junior Chamber of Commerce and in January of 1936 she accepted the po- sition she now occupies-that of publicity director of the Community Fund of Columbus and Franklin County.
This involves the publicity and public relations of 56 private welfare agencies and requires skill and ability of the first order. Both are given- enthusiastically-by Margretta Claflin. For publicity, once so utterly re- nounced, is now her chosen field.
MILLICENT EASTER
Several years ago MILLICENT EASTER, publicity director of the Southern Hotel, Columbus, Ohio, arose at a business meeting of the Ohio News-
1217
WOMEN OF OHIO
paper Women's Association to make a startling announcement. "I would like" she said "to pay $25 to the treasurer and become a life member of the O. N. W. A."
Nobody had ever done such a thing before. The constitution provided for such paid up life membership-but Millicent Easter was first to turn in this good round sum to the club treasury.
Millicent was first to start another type of giving, far more important and extensive. Nearly 27 years ago, when she was a staff member of the Columbus Press-Post, later merged with other Columbus papers, she -sudden- ly decided to start a special toy distribution for needy children at Christmas time. Used toys, it occurred to Millicent, could easily be rehabilitated, painted, made new again. In this way plenty could be obtained.
So she promptly wrote an announcement and got it into the paper. It is true that she neglected to consult the paper's publisher about the project- he was out of town at the time. On his return the publisher threaded his way through innumerable little red wagons and dolls in various stages of un- dress, to the desk of Mrs. Easter.
He wondered if she would mind taking the trouble to tell him what she thought she was doing with his paper. Millicent told her boss, bracing her trembling knees beneath the desk. Of course the publisher was delighted.
So this is how the "Toy Mission," conducted by the Columbus Dispatch and many other papers on a grand scale today, got its start in life.
Millicent Easter was born in Columbus, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Warren Philip Godfrey. She became cub reporter on the old "Press" in 1902, later feature writer and dramatic editor and is now a free lance writer and publicity director.
Her verse and other writings have appeared in leading magazines and newspapers of the country. Her poem "Soliloquy" appeared in the "Best Poems" of 1938.
Mrs. Easter has two children, Prof. Carl Godfrey Easter, of Grove City College, Penn., and Mrs. Howell French of Washington, D. C.
She is a life member of Ann Simpson Davis Chapter, Daughters of Ameri- can Revolution, a member Eta Chapter Theta Sigma Phi, of Columbus Gallery of Fine Arts, of the American Federation of Arts and of Broad Street Bap- tist Church, Columbus.
ELEANOR FARNHAM
ELEANOR FARNHAM, partner in the firm of Farnham and Chilson, Pub- licity Service of Cleveland was graduated with A.B. from Lake Erie College, Painesville, Ohio in 1918.
1218
WOMEN OF OHIO
She was employed as a reporter on the city room staff of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, covering school beat and general assignments from 1918-1919, and edited a house organ for the H. Black Company, Cleveland, following signing of a contract between labor union and garment manufacturers from 1920-21.
She was on the publicity staff of the Premier Press under J. Dean Halli- day, handling Red Cross, Garment Manufacturers Association and other ac- counts from 1922-23.
Eleanor started the publicity agency which became Farnham and Moriarty, later Farnham Publicity Service and is now Farnham and Chilson, in 1923.
Among activities handled by this enterprising firm has been the Commun- ity Fund Campaigns in Mansfield; Springfield and Youngstown; Hiram Col- lege ; Lake Erie College; Flora Stone Mather College Endowment and Build- ing Campaign; Dunham Tavern County Fair; Benes-LaGuardia Meeting- conventions, concerts, trade associations and many important special events.
ELEANORE BAILEY JOHNSON
ELEANORE BAILEY JOHNSON was born in Zanesville, Ohio, the de- scendant of Ohio pioneers. One great grandfather, Dr. Increase Matthews was, with Rufus Putnam, one of the founders of Putnam, a part of Zanesville, and the other great grandfather, Daniel Nelson, founded Nelsonville, which bears his name.
Eleanore's activities have been varied. During the World War she did special publicity for Camp Sherman, was a staff member of the Red Cross and conducted a local speaker's bureau. In 1922 she was appointed a mem- ber of the Democratic National Congressional Committee, a member of the State Executive Committee and was a member of both State and National Democratic Speaking Bureaus for eight years.
In 1927 she accepted the position of feature writer and editor of women's pages on the Zanesville Sunday Times Signal and joined the Ohio Newspaper Women's Association of which she is still a member. She served for six years as a member of the board of the O. N. W. A., the last two as recording secretary.
In 1929 Mrs. Johnson was made secretary of the Zanesville Golf Club, hos- tess for club house activities and secretary of the board of directors which positions she now holds. She has written and published short stories, plays and many verses. A flair for acting and producing plays has interested her greatly. Gardening, writing and dancing are her acknowledged hobbies, but more important than all else are her three children ; her son and daughter and
ELIZABETH McCANN
1221
WOMEN OF OHIO
nephew who is her ward, and the little house where the fire burns brightly on a winter's evening and congenial friends talk the night away.
She is a member of St. James Episcopal Church, the Author's Club, the State Federation of Women's Clubs, The Amateur Garden Club, the Mus- kingum Chapter of Daughters of the American Revolution, and has been recently appointed a member of the National Advisory Committee on Women's Participation in the World's Fair.
Her marriage to Edgar H. Johnson took place in September 1908. Elea- nore is the daughter of Frank Perry and Lucy Steenrod Bailey. Her father is dead but her mother is still living and makes her home at the "little house" on Convers Avenue.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.