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16

Three secretaries had been brought from Schenectady as follows:

Edith Germond--- H.L.Andrews Sec'y.
Marguerite Giblin- Ed Waller's Sec'y.
Eve Wallrath--- C.M.Davis' Sec'y.

Miss Germond was a tall, rather attractive, quite genteel woman of middle age who had big legs, maybe from ill health,because she wasn't in Erie for long, returned to Schenectady and I believe died soon afterward. I believe Miss Giblin took over from Miss Germond and they didn't fill Miss Giblin's old job because Waller had little correspondence and Henry Guy almost none. Miss Giblin was a pretty, very pleasant and most attractive middle-aged woman whom I liked. Her tragedy was to develop eye trouble that caused her gradually to go practically blind, but long before this point, I believe she also moved back to Schenectady. Mrs. Wallrath was the antithesis of Germond and Giblin, being short, dumpy, homely, somewhat officious, and with legs like a squashed-down Colgate fullback. I guess she was a widow. Her sister, Miss Lyons, of similar build but rather cute and quite pleasant--just why she was the spinster of the two always mystified me--was head of filing. I mention the secretaries because they were interesting women who figure in my story now and then and who were well enough regarded for the Company to transfer them from Schenectady to Erie.

Following is the front-end office arrangement at the start as best I can reconstruct it:

[[image: floor plan drawn in ballpoint ink showing floor plan of aforementioned office. Most offices had interconnecting doors. Waller in large office in NW corner; then Guynes, Guy, Germond Wallrath, and Andrews in NE corner. Dodd et al large space on W side of central hall, with Giblin between Waller and Dodd; Bill et al on E., with Davis between Andrews and Bill]]
Bldg. 14 - 4th Fl.

To avoid confusion in describing the overall Apparatus Dept., I did not mention that in addition to the three customer-oriented businesses, also there was a Federal & Marine Dept. which handled the U.S. government agencies and the ship builders. The foreign business was handled through the International General Electric Company, the equivalent of another big department.