Helbling Family (Click for Family Tree)
Today, March 16th, is the anniversary of Mary Theresa Helbling’s birth, so we wanted to share this adorable picture of her with friends, family or co-workers. It was probably taken in the mid-to late forties, when Mary was in her early twenties. Mary is on the left, but we don’t know who the young women are- please let us know if you do!
Mary was born to Gerard William “G.W.” HELBLING (1882-1971) and Anna May BEERBOWER HELBLING in 1925 in St. Louis, Missouri. She was their seventh child, and the youngest by 5 years, but her oldest brother was 17 when she was born.
The late forties were a good time for women in America in many ways. It was sad that our men were going off to fight in World War II, but it gave women an opportunity to be very involved in the workplace, and have a job that made a difference in the war effort. Mary worked for the government and loved the tasks at her job, per her letters, as she always enjoyed typing- she was really fast! She also loved that she knew shorthand. For those too young to know, shorthand was a quick method of cursive writing with abbreviations and symbols used for sounds. As someone was speaking, such as dictating a letter, the “steno” (short for stenographer) would take down the words on one of those small coiled-top, lined ‘steno’ notebooks with the firm cardboard back. One had to be able to read the shorthand later though, to type up the document. Mary was very good at each of these steps, and even invented her own shorthand for some of the official shorthand she had learned. (No one else could read it then!)
Mary used her knowledge of shorthand throughout the years after she left her job and became a full-time wife and mother, which was what she always wanted to be. She would write herself notes in her special shorthand- and no one else in the house could read them!
Notes, Sources, and References:
- Family treasure chest of photos.
Click to enlarge any image. Please contact us if you would like an image in higher resolution.
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