|
| The History Center on Main Street, 83 N. Main Street, Mansfield PA 16933 histcent83@gmail.com |
|
 |
|
|
Original article in possession of Jan Carmichael Davies.
(transcribed by Gwen MECUM Hunt, with facts added* ):
*Anna Barbara VIELE Lloyd, b. 23 Aug.1883, Blossburg, Tioga Co. PA
m. William LLOYD, b. 30 Apr. 1880, Blossburg, Tioga Co. PA, d. 29 Dec. 1944. Their daughter Marion LLOYD Triesault, b. 20 June 1909.
Octogenarian Is a Feminist at Heart
by Sharon Fay Koch, Times Staff Writer
Although 87-year-old Annie Lloyd has never done anything more militant for Women’s Lib than baking bread for events like the Women’s Center gift fair Saturday and Sunday (11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 1027 S. Crenshaw, L.A.) she says that in her heart she has always been a feminist.
"I have always thought women didn’t get a fair shake," says the petite octogenarian who was pedaling around on one of her hometown’s first bicycles before anyone heard of the automobile, much less the airplane.
The Women’s Center, which serves as an umbrella for Southland Women’s Liberation groups, thinks their Annie might well be the oldest member of women’s Lib in Los Angeles, "if not the entire world."
Always Worked
"I always worked, always was independent and always helped my husband," says Annie LLOYD who also cooks, bakes, cans preserves and until her eyesight began to fail three years ago, made all her own and all of her daughter’s clothes.
Annie’s daughter was 7 and she was 33 when she took her first job in 1916 assisting her late husband who was manager of a shoe store – not out of want but out of necessity. Her "necessity".
"I didn’t want to stay home all the time. I wanted outside interests even though I was a great cook and baker. I wanted to be part of the world."
Annie LLOYD says she never thought much about "going to business" although in the Blossburg, Pa. town where she was born in 1883, the only women who ever worked were the "hired girls."
Give Up Store
After her husband’s ill health forced them to give up their store, Annie worked for a shoe store in Buffalo for 12 years before coming to The Broadway - Hollywood *Store in 1943. There she was offered a job selling shoes for $25 a week thanks to her "excellent credentials." They include a photographic memory which enabled her to memorize all shoe stock numbers plus customers’ sizes and preferences.
When she learned that the men in her department were on 8% commission instead of straight salary she asked for the same privilege, was refused, held her ground and finally was put on commission. Her first year, she recalls, she made $3,300 (versus $1,500 in Buffalo), outsold all the men and became known as "The wonder woman of the Broadway Hollywood."
"I made more than the men because I was a better salesman," she says matter-of-factly.
In addition to her belief in equal pay for equal work, she says she has always believed in rights such as free, legal abortions "for those who cannot afford them. There are so many unwanted children in the world."
She also thinks women have been a little slow to realize they are not obligated to stay home. To permit more mothers to work, however, she calls for an increase in adequate child-care centers.
Life is still exciting to Annie LLOYD who says sincerely, "I don’t feel very old."
She is an avid sports fan who knows the names of the players. She took up bridge four years ago, now plays twice a week with partners as young as 26. She bakes for the Women’s Center. And her daughter, commercial photographer Marion Triesault *(married to Hollywood character actor Ivan TRIESAULT), says her mother is always ready to go anywhere, anytime.
Some of her contemporaries laugh when she talks about Women’s Liberation, she says, but she assures them it is "no laughing matter."
Gwen Mecum Hunt
Templeton, CA
| The History Center on Main Street, 83 N. Main Street, Mansfield PA 16933 histcent83@gmail.com |
 |
First Added to the Site on 26 JAN 2003
By Joyce M. Tice Email: JoyceTice@aol.com You are the visitor since the counter was installed on 26 JAN 2003 |
