Evelene Brodstone

"Evelene Brodstone" or "Evelyn Lady Vestey" (1875 - 1941) was one of the highest paid woman executives of the 1920's.

Beginnings

"Evelene Brodstone" was born on August 1, 1875, in Superior, Nebraska to Norwegian immigrant parents Hans and Mathilde Emelie Brodstone. Evelene had one other sibling, her brother Lewis, who was three at her birth. In 1880 Hans died. The family lived on a farm, and Brodstone's early and high school education was had in a one room log cabin where students would attend barefoot. The school is known today as "Superior High School".

Evelene was a superb student, excelling at mathematics and working hard throughout the summer months on her schooling. In 1889 she graduated when she was just 14 years old due to her endurance and commitment. Her childhood was filled with square dancing, swimming and fishing at a local millrace. She was also an avid cyclist, having won her first bicycle as a prize from the "Western Pearl Baking Powder Company" of Chicago. Friends described her as independent and strong-willed.

Upon graduation, Evelene enrolled in "Elliotts Business College" in Burlington, Iowa. After completing courses in stenography and accounting she returned to Superior and worked for the "Guthrie Brothers" and at "Henningsen Produce Company". She later returned to "Elliots Business College" to take more courses.

Chicago

In 1895 Evelene boarded a coach going to Chicago in search of work. There Evelene boarded with the A.J. Briggs family, former Superior residents. She soon landed a job with The Vestey Cold Storage Company (a canning factory) for $12 a week as a stenographer. Vestey Cold Storage Company was owned by the Vestey Brothers of Liverpool. William Vestey founded the canning factory in Chicago in 1876 at the behest of his father. Later the factory was taken over by Edmund Vestey in 1882. Soon Evelene was appointed as personal secretary of Edmund, and she began making $20 a week.

Soon Evelene rose in the ranks of the company, becoming a director on the board and also auditor. Here she won the respect of he male colleagues and was treated as an equal. By 1896 Evelene was assistant manager at the Chicago factory under the management of Sidney Vestey. It was during this same year that the London office requested to move to London to help establish some new offices. She agreed only after her mother agreed to move to England as well. She never did follow Evelene to England immediately, however.

London

On May 9, 1897 arrived in London to help establish the new offices, and wound up staying on as general auditor and troubleshooter for the company. For the following years Evelene would serve as a kind of hero at the company, performing almost any job you can name for them and filling in for management when on vacation. By 1924 Evelene was a company executive making $250,000 a year, a staggering figure for any woman of her time and most men.

References

* Tremain, Elizabeth J. "Evelene: The Troubleshooter was a Lady". Foundation Books, 2nd edition, 1992. ISBN 0-934988-28-5.