Greta's stories

Memories of my Peruvian career - Part 12

2006-10-10T19:42:00.000-07:00

Poor Pepe Quimper - he was so broke and afraid to tell his wife. Often, he even borrowed a "sol" from me to buy himself cigarettes to calm his nerves.

When the time had come for me to leave the company, he was in tears. "What am I going to do without you? Never did I have such a convincing secretary!"

He wrote me a beautiful letter of recommendation. That ended my illustrious Peruvian career. In January, 1946, I left for New York where I was to start a new life.

Memories of my Peruvian career - Part 11

2006-10-10T19:38:00.000-07:00

Sr. Quimper was an avid gambler and always dead broke. He owed tons of money to a great number of people who constantly came around looking for him. Sr. Quimper was sitting in the back of his office behind a huge desk - my own desk was in front of his. We were located on the ground floor and I could see everyone entering and leaving the building.

So, every time I saw an individual approaching our office, I quickly alerted Sr. Quimper who then promptly and expertly would disappear under his desk. So, when asked angrily, "Where is he?" I would put on my most idiotic expression, yawn and say "I don't know". "When is he coming back?" Yawn again and say "I don't know". Soon I knew all those people coming to see him and I must say, I did a great job.

Memories of my Peruvian career - Part 10

2006-10-10T19:33:00.000-07:00

Even the president of the airline heard about it. Eventually there was a newsreel showing the president congratulating me and handing me a large bunch of flowers. Good advertisement for the airline. But, you know what?

What these people didn't know was that I never meant to comfort them - I only aimed to comfort myself by holding on to their hands for dear life. I just hated the flying, above all the turbulant air. I was deathly afraid of it. I lasted on that job exactly five months and then happily returned to my beloved W.R. Grace and Company job.

But, my former position with them had been filled so I was assigned as secretary to Sr. Pepe Quimper, a Peruvian socialite and the Public Relations Manager of the company. We understood each other very quickly and I came to admire this very sleek and diplomatic gentleman. Actually, I had little to do.

Memories of my Peruvian career - Part 9

2006-10-10T19:27:00.000-07:00

PANAGRA - the airline which served the West coast of South America, was seeking young females to train as airline stewardesses. In those days, to be an airline hostess was considered to be almost as glamorous as being a movie star. So, how could I resist?? The requirements were to be healthy, slim, under 20 and know at least two languages. I applied and was immediately accepted!

After the proper training I started to fly the route between Lima and Santiago, Chile. These were small 3-propeller planes and the air on this route was exceptionally turbulent. Passengers became sick and usually didn't make it to the brown bag. We had to clean up constantly (not very glamorous). I myself never felt totally well and always was in a panic.

When it became especially bad, I sank down in the nearest empty seat next to a passenger, furiously started holding his or her hand with both of mine. And, it never failed - once we landed, I would be highly praised for being such a nice, concerned young lady.

Memories of my Peruvian career - Part 8

2006-10-10T19:23:00.000-07:00

I enjoyed working for Mr. Stebbins and liked my co-workers. The salary was excellent and my social life improved considerably. I met a number of secretaries from the American Embassy across the street and became very friendly with the wife of the Cultural Attache, who was Viennese by birth, so we had a lot in common. In fact, she was the one who eventually encouraged and helped me to obtain a scholarship to the Parsons School of Design in New York City. She was one of many angels I was lucky to meet in the course of my life.

Then, even though I loved being a member of the Grace family (having been with them for about two years), I came across an ad in the paper that I could not resist.

Memories of my Peruvian career - Part 7

2006-10-10T19:19:00.000-07:00

To my great surprise, his secretary, Mrs. Smith, stopped me. I told her that I was seeking a job as a bilingual secretary and that I had all the qualifications. She tested me and, of course, I didn't make it.

But Mrs. Smith, one of the nicest human beings I ever came across, took me to lunch. She told me that if I seriously would settle down to work, she'd help me. So, for the next few months, almost every evening, I went to see Mrs. Smith. She taught me business Spanish and how to convert my Spanish shorthand into English. And, when she retired from W.R. Grace the following year, I inherited her job. My whole life changed.

Memories of my Peruvian career - Part 6

2006-10-10T19:15:00.000-07:00

I became a good typist and mastered the shorthand which, however, I was unable to use because it was a shorthand invented by a Peruvian and only useable in Spanish. Even though my Spanish had greatly improved it was not good enough to be used in business.

But, as I was very self-assured and brazen, immediately after graduating from that business course, I took the certificate and myself on a bus going downtown to the building which housed W.R. Grace and Company - the oldest and most prestigious international firm in Peru.

I headed straight to the Chairman's office where I had no doubt that I would be received with open arms.

Memories of my Peruvian career - Part 5

2006-10-10T19:11:00.000-07:00

My social life wasn't that great either. My cousin Bobby, a nice boy my age, took me along to all the parties and dances he attended. I danced a lot but no one ever talked to me, and I felt like a fish out of water.

Well, the two years of high school came to an end. Somehow, I graduated and uncle Arnold came around to discuss my future. He planned to marry me off - the sooner, the better. In fact, he informed my parents that he had a few candidates in mind. "What do you think, Greta" he asked me (how kind of him). I was 16 years old and my requirements were "he must be handsome, have a car, and be a good dancer"...

This time, however, my parents protested vehemently and my mother who had saved pennies, decided to enroll me in a commercial course to learn secretarial skills.

Memories of my Peruvian career - Part 4

2006-10-10T19:06:00.000-07:00

Another one of those jobs that lasted perhaps three weeks was that of a sales girl in a fur shop downtown. the arrangement was that every time I made a sale, I would get a nice commission. That sounded great but it didn't work. Every time I was just about to clinch a sale, the boss would rush over and finish it for me - the result being that I actually worked for free! But I got even.

One day, yes I had done it - I actually finished a sale. I sold a rabbit coat to a young lady.. I couldn't believe it! I wrapped the coat in a box and sooner than you could say "moo", she and the box disappeared into the street.

I was extremely pleased with myself and started counting in my head how much of a commission I would get out of this sale. Then I remembered with shock that I had never charged her! So, the young lady got a free fur coat and I was promptly fired.

Memories of my Peruvian Career - Part 3

2006-10-10T18:55:00.000-07:00

It was with a socialite dressmaker who lived in a large villa in a fancy suburb. Her living quarters were upstairs, her dress salon downstairs. She never made an appearance before 2 in the afternoon. She was a Russian, unmarried lady in her 50's - very pompous and arrogant - constantly smoking a pipe. She kept bragging about her aristocratic background and now in Lima would associate only with the Russian emigre inteligentsia. The only reason she tolerated me was because I had become her personal hairdresser. She wore her pitch black hair in a Shirley Temple fashion and every afternoon it was one of my duties to comb out her curls. I did a great job of it - not that it improved her looks!
She was quite ugly and looked like a witch.

In time I became her confidante and she began telling me about her intimate experiences the night before. She was madly in love with another Russian emigre - a Russian aristocrat no less. Eventually they got married, she moved aways and that was the end of my job. One good thing came out of it - I had learned how to sew.

Memories of my Peruvian career - Part 2

2006-10-10T18:50:00.000-07:00

Uncle Arnold, a devout chauvenist, had other plans for me. Greta was to attend the public school in the morning and get a part-time job for afternoons and after graduating from high school was to be married off to whoever was around and wanted her!

So, I started school - the local school in the poor neighborhood where we lived. Spanish didn't come easy for me. I was unable to properly communicate with my classmates and teachers. No one knew English but everyone was so nice and friendly, and they all invited me to their homes.

So, my first two years in Lima were spent at school in the mornings and working in the afternoons. I went through numerous jobs - getting fired became a weekly ocurrence. One of my longer lasting jobs I remember clearly.

Memories of my Peruvian Career - Part 1

2006-10-10T18:39:00.000-07:00

In April of 1939, my parents, my brother Otto and I arrived in Lima, Peru to start a new life. We were refugees from Nazi Austria.

Peru - a third world country - a new language, no money and two teenage children (my brother was 11, I was a couple of years older). In the beginning, it was very difficult; my parents couldn't cope. So my uncle Arnold who had been living in Lima for many years, took over. He was in charge.

He promptly enrolled my brother in a private school and Otto, who was a very bright and cheerful boy, adjusted very quickly. He mastered Spanish in no time, became a top student and made many new friends.

With me it was a different matter.