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Story Three

How did you get your first job, and what was it?

I graduated from Northwestern in early summer 1952 and as a wonderful graduation gift received a six-week trip to Europe with one of my sorority sisters. We went from Scotland to Italy and had a fabulous time, but on our return I settled down at the Barbizon Hotel for Women in New York and started looking for work. Just this year a book about the Barbizon was published and I mean to read it because I had a very pleasant time there for about a year and a half in a big corner room with cross ventilation and plenty of closet space.

Being an English major I tried publishing houses for my first job and got offers from McGraw-Hill and Prentice-Hall. McGraw-Hill offered me a job in mail delivery, but P-H paired me with a very nice man named Jim Leisy as his assistant. For the life of me I can't remember what Jim was in charge of — sports and something else active — but my big recollection is that I delivered a lot of mail at P-H, too. The office was on the southern end of Fifth Avenue and every morning I walked three blocks over from the Barbizon and caught a bus down Fifth almost to the end.

The work was easy and Jim was a peach. If we got anything actually published while I worked for him I don't have a copy and probably never did, but I had a very pleasant time with Saturday afternoons at the Met and an occasional theater or opera performance to enjoy. My social life was pretty limited and I didn't meet Pete till I moved back to Salem and Sis Mullins thought we'd be a great pair, but I loved New York and still do. It wasn't until I got into hospital work many years later that I discovered what work really meant.

With love always...

Exploring Her Memories

Historical context and places from Nancy's career-girl story

The Barbizon Hotel for Women

The Barbizon opened in 1927 at Lexington Avenue and 63rd Street as a residence specifically for young women with artistic aspirations. The 23-story building featured 700 tiny rooms (college dorm-sized) with shared bathrooms, but offered amenities unheard of for women: a swimming pool, library, art studios with soaring ceilings, soundproofed music practice rooms, and a rooftop solarium. No men were allowed beyond the lobby, which gave the hotel a reputation for respectability. Famous residents included Grace Kelly, Sylvia Plath, Joan Didion, Ali MacGraw, and Liza Minnelli. The prestigious Katharine Gibbs Secretarial School occupied three floors, and Mademoiselle magazine housed its summer guest editors there.

Prentice-Hall Publishing

Founded in 1913 by NYU law professor Charles Gerstenberg and his student Richard Ettinger, Prentice-Hall became a major American educational publisher. The company relocated to 70 Fifth Avenue in 1917 to accommodate expanding operations. After World War II, Prentice-Hall capitalized on the GI Bill enrollment surge, expanding rapidly into textbooks for science, engineering, and mathematics. The company was known for business and professional reference books, employing young college graduates—particularly English majors—in editorial and assistant roles during the 1950s.

Women in 1950s Publishing

In the 1950s, publishing was still considered a "gentleman's profession" dominated by elite male networks and informal business practices. Yet college-educated women increasingly entered the field, often starting as secretaries or assistants with limited advancement opportunities. By this era, more women were working than at the peak of World War II, though largely confined to clerical roles. The "career girl" phenomenon emerged—young women moving to New York to pursue professional dreams in publishing, magazines, and media. Career-focused magazines like Mademoiselle championed these ambitious women while they navigated a world torn between encouraging female independence and promoting traditional domestic roles.

Northwestern University Class of 1952

Nancy graduated from Northwestern in "early summer 1952" with honors, having completed a special BA program in history and English literature (rather than the standard BS offered by the Liberal Arts College). The Class of 1952 commencement speaker was James Lewis Morrill. This was an era when Northwestern women graduates increasingly pursued careers, though many faced the question: "What are you going to do with a degree in English?" Publishing became a popular answer, with many Vassar and Northwestern English majors entering the field as assistants and secretaries.

1950s New York: A Young Woman's City

Nancy's New York in the early 1950s was a city of possibility for career-minded young women. She walked three blocks from the Barbizon to catch a bus down Fifth Avenue to Prentice-Hall, spent Saturday afternoons at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and occasionally attended theater or opera. This was the golden age of New York cultural life—Broadway was thriving, the Met offered standing-room tickets to young people, and Fifth Avenue was lined with elegant shops and publishing houses. For a young Northwestern graduate with literary ambitions, it was the center of the universe.
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