The Girl Who Worked For Working Girls

A group of prominent men and women were sitting in the drawing room of a beautiful home in New York City, talking earnestly. Close by them sat a young girl, the eldest daughter of the house. She shyly added only an occasional word to the conversation, but she gave very careful attention to everything that her elders said.

One member of this group was Dwight L. Moody, the famous preacher. The girl listened to him with particular interest, and was deeply impressed by all he had to say.

There were often such gatherings in this home. No matter with what subject the conversation started, sooner or later came the question of how to help men and women lead the best kind of lives. It was not strange, then, that one day this young girl went to her mother and said, “I have found out what there is for me to do. I am going to help people.”

That is exactly what Grace Dodge did. She helped people. Perhaps you will be surprised to learn that she helped each one of you girls and boys.

Every girl who has learned in a cooking class how to bake a wholesome loaf of bread; every boy who brings home from school a well-finished footstool for his mother, has Grace Dodge to thank. Every one of your older sisters who enjoys a swim or a game of basketball at the Y. W. C. A. has her to thank too. Of course, there are others to thank as well, for every good work needs many helpers.

When Grace Dodge was young, girls and boys in the public schools were not taught how to work with their hands; and girls who were earning their own living had no pleasant clubs. Grace Dodge believed strongly in these things, and worked so earnestly all her life for them that other people became interested too, and gladly cooperated with her in her beloved work.

Grace Hoadley Dodge was born in New York City, May 21, 1855. The Dodge family divided their time between their city home and their beautiful country house at Riverdale on the banks of the Hudson. Here Grace had many a fine gallop through the country with her brothers. Aside from these lively rides, which she greatly enjoyed, she lived quietly.

Even as a child, Grace thought very little about her own pleasure or herself. She liked to talk with the workmen who kept the beautiful lawns and gardens in order, and to make friends with their children. Although there were nurses and governesses in the family, the younger sisters and brothers always preferred to go to sister Grace when they wanted to be comforted; and they did not go in vain.

When Grace went shopping in the city with her mother, she used to think that it was very hard for girls to have to stand behind the counter all day. “I am ashamed to have so much while these girls have so little,” she would many times say to herself, wondering what she could do about it.

Grace Dodge attended a private school at Farmington, Connecticut. After her school days were over, she began to do the work that had always interested her. One of the reasons that she accomplished so much was that, whenever she saw a need for anything, she set about to fill it. Furthermore, she kept persistently at the work until it was done.

Miss Dodge soon discovered that many of the girls in whom she was interested had to work long hours in factories. She began to find that they did not know much about cooking, or sewing, or taking proper care of their health. It was a great pity, she thought, that these girls, many of whom would soon be having homes of their own, should know so little about the important work of home-making.

Miss Dodge began to gather a group of these girls about her every week, and talked to them. She told them in a friendly, simple way how to choose their clothes, how to keep well and strong, and how to use their money wisely. She told them, too, how to live the right kind of lives and of the help that God would give them. Often she talked to them about the homes that they might make some day.

The girls were eager to tell her about themselves. Each one felt that she could consider Miss Dodge as her personal friend. “The Irene Club,” as this group was named after a beloved member, grew until it had to be divided. Still the girls continued to come. In this way clubs for working girls were started. These clubs have proved to be so successful that they have never stopped growing.

At that time, there were no places where girls who were busy all day could learn home-making. Miss Dodge, therefore, together with several other young women, organized classes for these girls in various household subjects. Miss Dodge and her associates soon discovered that there were very few teachers who had been trained to teach in this particular field. They later found that there was a lack of highly trained teachers in practically all of the departments of teaching.

Miss Dodge began to think that there should be a school to train teachers in the various branches of learning. It was not Grace Dodge’s way to stop merely with thinking. She began to work for this school, and, largely because of her efforts, Teachers College of Columbia University rose on Morningside Heights in New York City.

Every year this college sends out thousands of men and women prepared to teach all the school subjects. The wonderful work that Teachers College is accomplishing is due, in a large measure, to the inspiration and guidance that Grace Dodge gave to the college throughout her life.

In many other ways Grace Dodge carried on her work of helpfulness. She was the first woman to serve on the Board of Education of New York City. Because of her pity for women and children who were unprotected and bewildered in travel, she organized the Travelers’ Aid Society. So firm was her belief in what the Young Women’s Christian Association does for girls that she worked to make it a strong organization. She was the president of its national board for eight years.

Miss Dodge often called herself “a working girl whose wages were paid in advance.” Her money meant to her merely a means for doing good.

Grace Hoadley Dodge was unselfish and determined to fill the need that she saw. Through her efforts, school girls and boys now have many opportunities to use hand and brain together. It was because of her great interest in others that she brought joy into the life of many a wage-earning girl and helped to fit her for her work of home-making.