The Intellectuals In Jessie Wagner’s World
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Hill Country Living
By Coulter Fussell
It’s a Wagner Week! Here we have an interesting letter to our own Jessie Wagner from a woman named M. Helen Keith. She is writing from the center of the University of Chicago’s campus. Jessie was a smart lady who attended Wellesley College in Boston at the turn of the 20th century. She met all sorts of other smart ladies there and made endless interesting connections.
These Ivy League women were certainly social but a good number of them were also real deal academics and intellectuals. That’s the case with M. Helen Keith. After a lot of digging, wherein I was expecting her to have been married to a rich businessman who I could name drop in this column, I instead found that she co-authored a paper titled “A Review of the Literature of Phosphorus Compounds in Animal Metabolism” and another one called “The Biochemistry of Corn.” I must say, she sounds a lot more fun in her letters than she does in the laboratory but I bet she had fun doing both and that’s all that matters. The “Mr. Faurat” who M. Helen seems to be flirting with in the letter was just the piddly ol’ Modern Languages professor. The connection to fame that I can name drop in the column isn’t a rich husband but instead M. Helen’s sister, Marcia Anna Keith, who was a pioneering physicist and is Wiki-worthy. Just goes to show, you never know who you’re going meet in a Wagner letter!
6030 Ellis Ave., Chicago, IL
September 4, 1903
My Dear Miss Wagner,
You would have been amused, if not much shocked, if you had seen in what condition our persons and room were yesterday when we received a long call from Mr. Faurat and he brought in your letter! Can you imagine it as we were in the midst of our packing? We did have on our dresses all right, but I had no collar!
We were glad to hear of your safe arrival at home, though sorry the journey was so uncomfortable. What a terribly hard night that must have been! Poor girl! It is a pity your sleeper was not engaged ahead.
The nephew, though, is better from the family regathering? You must be so happy!
The letter you referred to we looked thoroughly for as soon as we got back but could not find it. However, Mrs. Jordan said she had thrown out some things and was quite sure that was among them. The suit was sent on Tuesday and we trust it reached you all right by this time.
We have been continuing our good time since you left — Colosseum Monday evening, Shakespeare Club and the Crebs’s Tuesday evening, Miss Griffith and Miss Spaulding another of their theater trips Wednesday evening while I made some calls on my friends, rowing with the kindly Mr. Faurat last evening, and an aristocratic automobile trip to Lincoln Park Wednesday evening — no, afternoon. Would that you might have been with us for it all!
Miss Wagner, I have enjoyed so much knowing you these past few weeks and shall carry pleasant memories of it and am happy that we may sometime meet again.
Sincerely,
M. Helen Keith
