As a tribute to Women’s History Month, this story was provided by the Sherman Room of the Mansfield/Richland County Public Library and originally published by the Mansfield News on June 11, 1922 on Page 5 of the Social Section. Those interested in more history should check out the Sherman Room at the Mansfield/Richland Public Library or visit this link.
MANSFIELD — An unassuming manner may cover a multitude of — not a bit of it! — talents. Miss Goldie B. Boals, who is assistant advertising manager of the Tappan Stove Company is rather disinclined to talk about herself but associates testify readily as to the fine work she has done in her department.
The field of advertising is rather new to women, but there is no reason why women should not have as much imaginative ability to appeal to the public mind as a man, particularly concerning those things that pertain to the home. A woman, even more than a man, should be able to reach other women in the matter of stoves, for instance, which is the chief product of the company by which Miss Boals is employed.
It is rather by accident that Miss Boals has found the niche for which she is so well fitted. She has been with the Tappan company six years, three of which have been in the advertising department. And when she entered this department she immediately “took to it” so readily and with so much interest that she has assumed many of the responsibilities of the department.
Anyone who has ever worked with advertising knows the hundred and one details that must be looked after. Writing advertisements takes up not more than a third of the time. There are mailing lists to be kept up-to-date and this is largely mechanical work. Price lists must be revised and sent out to agents, and accurate account kept of all the advertising paraphernalia that comes under the subject of advertising.
The part of the work which Miss Boals likes best is the writing of advertisements.
“Although we work in connection with an advertising agency which prepares our national advertisements, I do a great deal of the dealer work. That is, retailers who sell our stoves must be given ads for newspapers.”
On the table I saws a catalog in the making.
“Who does this, Miss Boals?”
“Well,” she answered, “I do some of it. Of course, I work in co-operation with everyone else. Various departments tell me what they wish emphasized in the catalogs and when they have time they often write up some of the ads.”
“But the supervising and arranging falls on you, doesn’t it, Miss Boals? And also most of the writing?”
She modestly admitted that, “Well, perhaps,” it did.
Out of her desk she brought an advertising folder.
“Although I didn’t prepare this one,” she said, “I have the last few. And here are price lists that must be corrected when a number or a price is changed. Sometimes these are sent out by the sales department in their letters.”
“Then there are the cuts and name plates,” she continued, “which must be taken care of with every change. Recently, we changed the name of our company so that it necessitated changing also the names on the stoves. These new name plates had to be sent to all our dealers. We have made several new changes on our stoves lately, in accordance with the requirements of the institutes.
“We have the approval of the Good Housekeeping Institute and just recently received that of the New York Tribune institution. They allow us to use their approval stamp on our products and that helps us a great deal in our advertising.”
Still modestly depreciating her work, she told me of an order pad laying on the table.
“This is an advertising requisition. When salesmen wish cuts or helps in advertising they send in a requisition like this. And sometimes numbers have been changed or the cuts do not seem to fit in with the work they are doing, so that it all must be checked.”
Evidently, Miss Boals has the work at her fingers’ ends. That she is thoroughly interested could easily be told from the little note of pride that crept into her voice when speaking of the company’s products. And she seemed rather amused at the idea that she ever gets very tired. When she does she takes a session of gym at the Y. W. C. A. recreation rooms.
Her reading consists of getting hints for better advertising from advertising magazines. For recreation, reading, when she feels that she has time for that, she reads short stories.
“I never have time to read a novel through and I enjoy most any kind of a short story, when I’m not out-of-doors. But I like athletics best of all,” she said.
