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LEN KLEMPNAUER

CAREER WOMEN OF 1954

Margaret Ghio, left,
blazed a trail, becoming
one of San Francisco's
first female cops.

Barbara Tobey, right,
joined a growing number
of young women who
saw the world as
stewardesses, better
known today as
"flight attendants."

Wonder how those 1954
women turned out?

By LEN KLEMPNAUER
of TheColumnists.com

In the two-parts of my look back at the women of my Santa Cruz High School Class of 1954, I mentioned several real classmates and reported what they had to say about career choices for women in The Fifties.

So, how did they come out as working women, trying to find their place in that society that was so different from the society in which women function today? Here, mostly in their own words, is what happened to them:

PAT (BANACH) LOWELL
Sedona, Arizona

“In my 50s, I finally found what I wanted to be when I grew up. And just by being in the right place at the right time--with no degree--I became Ms. Reference Librarian.”

DIANA RAY
Santa Cruz, Calif.

“I'm one of those odd people who stayed at the same place of employment for my entire working career. After a number of promotions, I eventually became county assistant clerk-recorder and retired from there.”

BARBARA (McCombs) McFADDEN
Oakland, Calif. “In 1979, 25 years after graduating from high school, I received my bachelor’s degree--with honors--in European Intellectual and Russian History from UC-Davis. One of the attorneys I had worked for in the past had urged me to get a law degree, so I pursued that goal and earned my doctorate in jurisprudence from the University of the Pacific’s McGeorge School of Law in 1983.” In 1988, Barbara began working as a government regulator with the State of California, and “a sweet Fifties’ girl had become a high-flying uppity woman who frequently told corporate executives what was what.”

PENNY (KEEVER) SHAW
Bellingham, Wash. “I finally graduated in 1970 as a dean’s scholar. My degree was in social science, not engineering, although I completed many engineering courses. I later had a very successful career as both a senior and staff industrial/manufacturing engineer, finishing my career as a senior manager responsible for design, implementation and maintenance of worldwide corporate international standards programs and process development.”

VADA (McCray) LOVATO
Camp Verde, Ariz.

Graduating in June 1958 with a BA and a general elementary teaching credential from San Jose State, I “loved my teaching career and found it extremely rewarding. I guess I just had some inner need to enhance my life and work opportunities.”

MARY (Ghio) STAGNARO
Santa Cruz, Calif.

“In 1982, I returned to the investment and financial services company of Baikie & Alcantara, received my broker’s license and was successful enough as a stockbroker to become a partner and part owner of the company. I retired in 2001 and sold my interest to my partner.”

MARGARET (Ghio) HARTMANN San Francisco/Santa Cruz

“I became interested in police work. The San Francisco Police Dept., which had nine women on its force, had two openings in 1961, so I took the civil service test. About 150 women took it, and I was one of two hired. We then became the first two women to go through the San Francisco Police Academy with a class of men. Later in my career I became a full inspector. I became a sergeant in 1986 and retired in 1987.”

JOAN (Kraus) SWEET
Oroville, Calif.

“In 1990, I went to work for the Palermo School District as a teaching assistant in special education. It was truly the most rewarding job I ever had.”

MERLE (Morris) ONGARO
San Anselmo, Calif.

“I did graduate from college with a double major and double minor. I taught fourth grade for two years and subbed at junior high for five. Then I went into real estate.”

JUDY (Malloch) CRAIG
Capitola, Calif./Benalla, Australia

“I taught at Capitola and nearby Soquel Elementary Schools. My grandfather, father, brother and I had all attended Soquel Elementary and my mother and I taught there.” In 1973, the Craigs moved to Australia, where Judy continued to teach school.

PAT KROTSER
Ashland, Ore.

“I completed my B.A. in anthropology and minor in Spanish at UC-Berkeley. I went on to earn my M.A. at UC-Davis. Friends at the university guided me into a teaching credential program, with the intent of using my Spanish with migrant students in the schools. Thus began a long career as a bilingual educator, a term not yet invented.”

NANCY (Herbert) McINNES
San Anselmo, Calif.

After receiving her master’s degree in Spanish at UC-Berkeley, she began an 18-year career teaching Spanish and Italian at Dominican College in San Rafael, Calif. “After leaving Dominican, I received an M.S. in counseling and guidance and began a private practice as an academic counselor.”

LIZ (Koch) FADER
Brooklyn, N.Y.

Another graduate of UC-Berkeley, Liz first became a dietician and then held “public relations positions with J. Walter Thompson” and other companies. “In between, I did fashion promotion for Simplicity Pattern Company.” Later she became an ESL teacher for New York public schools and Fordham University.

1954 Yearbook Photo

CAROLYN HUTCHINGS
(Deceased)
San Jose, Calif.

A graduate of San Jose State, Carolyn was an avid student of world affairs and the workings of government at all levels and was in constant contact with office holders of all sorts, as reported in her obituary. A family friend speculated in the obit that there is probably not a U.S. member of Congress “who has not received a well-worded opinion from her.”

SHERRI (Cable) VULTAGGIO
Citrus Heights, Calif.

“It wasn’t until we returned to Santa Cruz that I got a job working at Pacific Telephone and eventually worked into a management position. I stayed with Pac Bell for 31 years. It was a good job, but hindsight being what it is makes me wish I had ventured outside the box of the Fifties’ mentality and had done something more adventurous.”

BEV (Caton) PINELLI
Corning, Calif.

After her husband’s Air Force duty ended, she worked as a catalog associate for Montgomery Ward and Sears, bank teller and catalog supervisor for JC Penney. “My last position was marketing assistant for the American Contractor Software Company.”

ANN (Petroni) ORSOLINI
Santa Cruz, Calif.

“Besides being home raising our children, I was involved in 4-H as a co-leader and also was a co-leader in Brownies and Girl Scouts. I also did a lot of volunteer work at each of the children’s schools, wherever I was needed.”

CAROLE (Skinner) RAY
Scotts Valley, Calif.

“Women manage most branch bank offices now, although there are still a few men. I remained with the bank for 42 years, retiring as a vice president. My twin sister, Merryl, worked for the bank for 34 years and became a branch manager.”

NANCY (Cummings) JELLISON
Santa Cruz, Calif.

While in her late 30s, she attended the local Cabrillo Community College and earned her nursing degree. “I am now a registered nurse, working at Dominican Hospital in Santa Cruz for 28 years.”

DIANE (Gunderson) JACKSON
Yuma, Ariz.

“In 1966, I finally got on with Wrigley’s, where I ran a wrapping machine for 26 years until retiring in 1992. When I was hired at Wrigley’s, it was for the money and the benefits. It was one of the best-paying jobs in Santa Cruz at a whopping $1.85 an hour, which really was good at the time.”

BARBARA (Tobey) CHILDS
Hattiesburg, Miss.

“Joining the Sierra Club (while still in California) started a life-long interest in bird watching and conservation of our natural resources . . . I finally discovered my own voice for poetry and joined Santa Cruz Chapparal Poets. We helped form a writing group, Write On, in Mississippi.”

SHIRLEY (Thuringer) FAUX
Fresno, Calif.

In November 1957, Shirley and her husband moved to Los Angeles County, where she “took the necessary classes at Pierce College to complete my AA degree in business. For the past 20 years, I have worked as chief financial officer in our family-owned medical billing and professional consulting business in Fresno.”

©2007 by Len Klempnauer. The quotes from classmates were collected by the author and first published in 2004 in the 50th Anniversary Memory book the author edited for the Santa Cruz High School Class of 1954. The cartoon illustrations are enhanced versions of cartoons from IMSI's Master Clips Collection, 1895 Francisco Blvd. E., San Rafael, CA, 94901-5506, USA. This column first posted April 16, 2007. The photos are the property of the pictured women. The Carolyn Hutchings photo is from the Santa Cruz High School 1954 yearbook.

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PAT (BANACH) LOWELL Sedona, Arizona “In my 50s, I finally found what I wanted to be when I grew up. And just by being in the right place at the right time--with no degree--I became Ms. Reference Librarian.”	DIANA RAY Santa Cruz, Calif. “I'm one of those odd people who stayed at the same place of employment for my entire working career. After a number of promotions, I eventually became county assistant clerk-recorder and retired from there.”
BARBARA (McCombs) McFADDEN Oakland, Calif.	“In 1979, 25 years after graduating from high school, I received my bachelor’s degree--with honors--in European Intellectual and Russian History from UC-Davis. One of the attorneys I had worked for in the past had urged me to get a law degree, so I pursued that goal and earned my doctorate in jurisprudence from the University of the Pacific’s McGeorge School of Law in 1983.” In 1988, Barbara began working as a government regulator with the State of California, and “a sweet Fifties’ girl had become a high-flying uppity woman who frequently told corporate executives what was what.”
PENNY (KEEVER) SHAW Bellingham, Wash.	“I finally graduated in 1970 as a dean’s scholar. My degree was in social science, not engineering, although I completed many engineering courses. I later had a very successful career as both a senior and staff industrial/manufacturing engineer, finishing my career as a senior manager responsible for design, implementation and maintenance of worldwide corporate international standards programs and process development.”
VADA (McCray) LOVATO Camp Verde, Ariz. Graduating in June 1958 with a BA and a general elementary teaching credential from San Jose State, I “loved my teaching career and found it extremely rewarding. I guess I just had some inner need to enhance my life and work opportunities.”	MARY (Ghio) STAGNARO Santa Cruz, Calif. “In 1982, I returned to the investment and financial services company of Baikie & Alcantara, received my broker’s license and was successful enough as a stockbroker to become a partner and part owner of the company. I retired in 2001 and sold my interest to my partner.”
MARGARET (Ghio) HARTMANN San Francisco/Santa Cruz “I became interested in police work. The San Francisco Police Dept., which had nine women on its force, had two openings in 1961, so I took the civil service test. About 150 women took it, and I was one of two hired. We then became the first two women to go through the San Francisco Police Academy with a class of men. Later in my career I became a full inspector. I became a sergeant in 1986 and retired in 1987.”	JOAN (Kraus) SWEET Oroville, Calif. “In 1990, I went to work for the Palermo School District as a teaching assistant in special education. It was truly the most rewarding job I ever had.”
MERLE (Morris) ONGARO San Anselmo, Calif. “I did graduate from college with a double major and double minor. I taught fourth grade for two years and subbed at junior high for five. Then I went into real estate.”	JUDY (Malloch) CRAIG Capitola, Calif./Benalla, Australia “I taught at Capitola and nearby Soquel Elementary Schools. My grandfather, father, brother and I had all attended Soquel Elementary and my mother and I taught there.” In 1973, the Craigs moved to Australia, where Judy continued to teach school.
PAT KROTSER Ashland, Ore. “I completed my B.A. in anthropology and minor in Spanish at UC-Berkeley. I went on to earn my M.A. at UC-Davis. Friends at the university guided me into a teaching credential program, with the intent of using my Spanish with migrant students in the schools. Thus began a long career as a bilingual educator, a term not yet invented.”	NANCY (Herbert) McINNES San Anselmo, Calif. After receiving her master’s degree in Spanish at UC-Berkeley, she began an 18-year career teaching Spanish and Italian at Dominican College in San Rafael, Calif. “After leaving Dominican, I received an M.S. in counseling and guidance and began a private practice as an academic counselor.”
LIZ (Koch) FADER Brooklyn, N.Y. Another graduate of UC-Berkeley, Liz first became a dietician and then held “public relations positions with J. Walter Thompson” and other companies. “In between, I did fashion promotion for Simplicity Pattern Company.” Later she became an ESL teacher for New York public schools and Fordham University.	1954 Yearbook Photo CAROLYN HUTCHINGS (Deceased) San Jose, Calif. A graduate of San Jose State, Carolyn was an avid student of world affairs and the workings of government at all levels and was in constant contact with office holders of all sorts, as reported in her obituary. A family friend speculated in the obit that there is probably not a U.S. member of Congress “who has not received a well-worded opinion from her.”
SHERRI (Cable) VULTAGGIO Citrus Heights, Calif. “It wasn’t until we returned to Santa Cruz that I got a job working at Pacific Telephone and eventually worked into a management position. I stayed with Pac Bell for 31 years. It was a good job, but hindsight being what it is makes me wish I had ventured outside the box of the Fifties’ mentality and had done something more adventurous.”	BEV (Caton) PINELLI Corning, Calif. After her husband’s Air Force duty ended, she worked as a catalog associate for Montgomery Ward and Sears, bank teller and catalog supervisor for JC Penney. “My last position was marketing assistant for the American Contractor Software Company.”
ANN (Petroni) ORSOLINI Santa Cruz, Calif. “Besides being home raising our children, I was involved in 4-H as a co-leader and also was a co-leader in Brownies and Girl Scouts. I also did a lot of volunteer work at each of the children’s schools, wherever I was needed.”	CAROLE (Skinner) RAY Scotts Valley, Calif. “Women manage most branch bank offices now, although there are still a few men. I remained with the bank for 42 years, retiring as a vice president. My twin sister, Merryl, worked for the bank for 34 years and became a branch manager.”
NANCY (Cummings) JELLISON Santa Cruz, Calif. While in her late 30s, she attended the local Cabrillo Community College and earned her nursing degree. “I am now a registered nurse, working at Dominican Hospital in Santa Cruz for 28 years.”	DIANE (Gunderson) JACKSON Yuma, Ariz. “In 1966, I finally got on with Wrigley’s, where I ran a wrapping machine for 26 years until retiring in 1992. When I was hired at Wrigley’s, it was for the money and the benefits. It was one of the best-paying jobs in Santa Cruz at a whopping $1.85 an hour, which really was good at the time.”
BARBARA (Tobey) CHILDS Hattiesburg, Miss. “Joining the Sierra Club (while still in California) started a life-long interest in bird watching and conservation of our natural resources . . . I finally discovered my own voice for poetry and joined Santa Cruz Chapparal Poets. We helped form a writing group, Write On, in Mississippi.”	SHIRLEY (Thuringer) FAUX Fresno, Calif. In November 1957, Shirley and her husband moved to Los Angeles County, where she “took the necessary classes at Pierce College to complete my AA degree in business. For the past 20 years, I have worked as chief financial officer in our family-owned medical billing and professional consulting business in Fresno.”