Phoebe Martone

When I was first a secretary, I was 17, nearly 18. I was hired by a big company in Newark, NJ -- Englhardt Industries. I was the youngest and newest secretary in the Industrial Diamond Division. In those days you had to know how to spell, type fast and accurately and take shorthand.

Anyhow, they had this little lounge adjacent to the ladies room. The "girls" would gather to chat and smoke (huge industrial window open) on breaks At one point, I was in there, and they started going around a circle, telling the type of diamond they wanted when they "got engaged." When they go to me, I just blurted out, "If he had the money, I'd like a microscope." BOY! It sure got silent as they tried to make out what kind of a nut I was.
Phoebe Martone