Glencairn Museum News | Number 5, 2023

Mildred Pitcairn (front row, left) with a group of Glencairn Girls and other female staff on the grounds of Glencairn (c. 1959). Two key staff members are on either end of the back row. On the left is Bea Ashley, the Pitcairn family’s nanny, who came to Bryn Athyn from England in 1913 and remained to help with the children. On the right is Joyce Bellinger, who was hired as a Glencairn Girl in 1947. Within a few years, Bellinger took on the role of a full-time housekeeper and became Mildred's personal assistant.

Decades before the construction of Glencairn, and the recruitment of the "Glencairn Girls" to work there, the Pitcairn family had already initiated the employment of young women from the New Church community. In 1894, while preparing to move into Cairnwood, their new home in Bryn Athyn, John and Gertrude Pitcairn, Raymond’s parents, published an advertisement in New Church Life:

“A New Church family, expecting soon to move into a new home, and wishing to have the household composed entirely of members of the New Church, invites applications from young women desiring employment. The services of four New Church young women have been secured, and two more are needed—one to cook and one to wait on table and do other light work. The cooking desired is simple, and one with a liking for cooking could soon meet the requirements” (1894, p. 112).

The young women working at Cairnwood became known as “Cairnwood Girls” (Figure 1). When Raymond Pitcairn married Mildred Glenn in 1910, they set up house in Cairnwood, his childhood home, with his widowed father, John. When the Pitcairn family moved from Cairnwood to Glencairn in 1939, the tradition moved with them.

Figure 1: A group of Cairnwood Girls pose on the grounds of the Cairnwood estate in Bryn Athyn (c. 1896).

The Pitcairns were members of a New Church denomination with congregations all over the world, and this was reflected in the international makeup of the Glencairn Girls. According to questionnaire responses sent from former Glencairn Girls in 1994 (now in the Bryn Athyn Historic District Archives), the Glencairn Girls came from the United States, Canada, and at least seven other countries. Boarding schools existed in Bryn Athyn for students who wished to attend a New Church high school or college, and this is why many of the Glencairn Girls from other countries initially came to Bryn Athyn.

The women were generally of college age when they began working for the Pitcairn family, often having just graduated from high school. It was common for younger sisters to follow older sisters in the Glencairn Girl tradition:

Figure 2: Beatrice Evens (back row, left) and her sister Margaret (back row, right) are included in this large group photo (only a portion of which is shown here) taken at Glen Tonche in 1947. Mildred and Raymond Pitcairn are in the front row.

“My sister Margaret worked at Glencairn and I was asked because I was her sister. Mrs. Pitcairn liked to help people out that were a long way from home and needed a job to get started. So when I graduated from school in ’48 she asked me” (Glencairn Girls Questionnaire. Beatrice (Evens) Hale, 1994).

Beatrice Evens and her sister Margaret (Figure 2) grew up in an isolated farming community in Alberta, Canada, before coming to Bryn Athyn for high school. Their older sister Reta had been the first member of their family to be employed by the Pitcairns.

Most often a potential candidate would be approached by the Pitcairns personally, and the nature of that invitation was remarkably consistent: “I was called one day and asked if I’d like to work there”; “I think I had a short interview but the question was did I want to work here”; “It was would I like to work here” (Glencairn Girls Questionnaires, 1994).

Some of the Pitcairns’ nieces also worked as Glencairn Girls:

“In 1938 I was asked if I would work for them as soon as I’d finished high school in June. I said yes and spent that summer at Tonche and loved it. I was at Cairnwood until spring of 39 when we moved to Glencairn. I was the first relative (niece) that was asked to work for them. From then on there were a string of relatives including several of my sisters” (Glencairn Girls Questionnaire. Natri (Hyatt) Carswell Peirce, 1994 see Figure 3).

Figure 3: Natri Hyatt (left) poses with her sister Lyris and their Aunt Mildred at Glen Tonche (c. 1939).

Glencairn Girls who worked for a complete calendar year would experience two distinct working environments. The school year involved employment at Glencairn itself, but during the summer months the Pitcairn family and their staff would relocate to Glen Tonche, their summer home in the Catskill Mountains of New York (Figure 5). Everyone agreed that the two working environments were different, and although both had their own unique rhythms, summertime was considered to be more relaxed. At Glen Tonche young men were hired for the summer to work on long-term landscaping projects, such as the building of a swimming pool (see Figure 4). Family and staff participated in shared outings and hikes, and the towns of Kingston and Woodstock were within easy driving distance.

“Life at Tonche was slightly more informal in that boys were also on the regular staff along with the girls and that we all ate at the same table as the family and did not wear uniforms to wait on table. Otherwise our duties were quite similar. At Tonche Mrs. Pitcairn often joined in with housekeeping jobs—drying up the dishes, shelling peas, etc.” (Glencairn Girls Questionnaire. Nancy (Stroh) Dawson, 1994).

“It was much more relaxed, we didn’t have to wear uniforms and ate at the table with the family. Played soft ball in the courtyard in the evenings—went roller skating in Kingston sometimes—concerts at Woodstock” (Glencairn Girls Questionnaire. Shirley (Cracraft) Rose, 1994).

Raymond Pitcairn loved to go hiking (Figure 6), “leading a crowd of young folk on a walk up a mountain—going ahead at a brisk pace yet pointing out items of special botanical interest (such as mountain laurel and trailing arbutus or particularly fine examples of a dry stone wall, etc.) as he went” (Glencairn Girls Questionnaire. Nancy (Stroh) Dawson, 1994).

Figure 6: A group of Glencairn Girls, young men, and Pitcairn family members on a hike in the Catskill mountains (c. 1949). Nancy Stroh, who shared her memories of summer at Glen Tonche, is at the center of the photograph, to the right of the young man with a cap. Her younger sister Rosalie is the fourth figure to the right of Nancy.

Figure 7: Eleanor Stroh in her Glencairn Girl uniform (c. 1949).

During the school year, the family returned to Glencairn and life became more formal. At Glencairn they wore uniforms (Figure 7), ate meals in their own dining room in the east wing of the house, and served at table for the family. The duties of individual Glencairn Girls varied, but most would fall under the category of light housekeeping, waitressing and kitchen duties, and some secretarial tasks. Almost universally, the questionnaire responses revealed that the work was considered to be easy and the working environment pleasant.

One of the Pitcairns’ nieces, Wren (Hyatt) Doering, remembered the details of her job: “I was a pantry worker. I set, served at and cleared the table and did the dishes from the table for breakfast, lunch, and dinner—not pots and pans. I kept the pantry clean and polished silver. I was ‘on duty’ some afternoons and some evenings which meant one had to be around to answer the phone and door” (Glencairn Girls Questionnaire. Wren (Hyatt) Doering, 1994).

Kay (Barber) Longstaff from Canada also shared her memories:

“– Keep 1 or 2 bedrooms clean and tidy.
– Set Pitcairn table for meals and serve meals.
– Take turn at telephone duty.
– Mrs. Pitcairn sent the weekly sermons to members of the armed services and others who requested the sermons. I typed the master copy for these sermons” (Glencairn Girls Questionnaire. Kay (Barber) Longstaff, 1994).

In April of 1995, a tea was held at Glencairn for former Glencairn Girls. As part of their gathering, some additional questions were presented to them that had not been part of the mailed survey. One of the questions was this: “Did working at Glencairn allow you to attend the Academy [Bryn Athyn College] when you otherwise might not have been able to?” Many of those who answered this question did indicate that it made a difference in whether or not they were able to attend.

Two former Glencairn Girls, originally from Canada, shared their thoughts about working for the Pitcairns at Glencairn while attending college:

“My sister had already worked for them and they knew my parents couldn’t afford to send us to college so it meant that I could go to college and work part time. I also helped my younger sister pay her high school tuition out of my wages. I worked two years part time while I went to Junior college full time and two years full time” (Glencairn Girls Questionnaire. Peggy (Kuhl) Merrell, 1994).

“In 1960, after 2 yrs in Jr. College at ANCC [Bryn Athyn College] and 2 yrs at the Univ. of Toronto, I decided I wanted to return to ANCC for 2 more years and be a New Church teacher.

I had no money (and my parents had none to spare). My older sister, Joan, had been a ‘Glencairn girl’ a couple of years before, so I decided to try my luck, and wrote to Mrs. Pitcairn asking if she would consider hiring me. . . . I was able to go to college full time, and earn enough to pay all my college fees, plus have room and board. I graduated with no debt. I remember being amazed and grateful even at that time. In my memory it wasn’t even very stressful, although I do remember all-nighters with Jerry Glenn (Fuller) [see lead photo, front row, third from left] writing papers, with time-outs for hysterical laughing” (Glencairn Girls Questionnaire. Ruth (Parker) Goodenough, 1994).

Glencairn was certainly a unique building in which to live and work, as was Glen Tonche, the summer home in the Catskills. Many anecdotes emerged from the surveys:

“I was never in the Great Hall, front hall or dining rm. (except as sub waitress, which I loved; except the time my foot slipped off that thick rug as I was serving beets and the juice sloshed to the brink of the bowl right behind Mrs. P.! My life flashed by, she never skipped a beat! Never knew if she realized what a close call it was)” (Glencairn Girls Questionnaire. Chara (Cooper) Haas, 1994).

Figure 10: Pitcairn family members assembled at their dining table in Glencairn’s Upper Hall for Mildred’s 60th birthday party on May 7, 1946.

“Art and architecture were all around us as was music. Through Mr. Pitcairn’s interests I was first introduced to the joys of playing string quartets—a hobby I continue to enjoy regularly even now. . . . And how could any who saw it ever forget the sight of Raymond on a relaxing evening lying stretched out on the floor on the huge woolly white polar bear rug in front of the fireplace in the Great Hall as he listened to the sounds of great music as emitted from his very special record player!” (Glencairn Girls Questionnaire. Nancy (Stroh) Dawson, 1994).

Figure 11: Bust of Lincoln by George Grey Barnard.

“And he [Raymond Pitcairn] told me several times that when dusting be sure NOT to touch Mr. Lincoln’s nose (Figure 11) on a carved stone relief he had because the oil of people’s hands had discolored the nose. We were however to be sure to touch the wood on doors, rather than use the knobs, because the oil from our hands apparently gave the door a ‘patina,’ which I hadn’t a clue what that was exactly, but I dutifully touched the wood whenever passing a door” (Glencairn Girls Questionnaire. Andri (Simons) Muth, 1994).

“Mr. and Mrs. Pitcairn came down to our girls’ living room to watch the Beatles on TV with us. Mr. Pitcairn said they were good musically. Mr. Pitcairn had a pilot land a helicopter on the lawn once and decided he wanted to fly one himself. They discussed it at lunch with Mrs. Pitcairn remonstrating, ‘Now, Raymond . . .’” (Glencairn Girls Questionnaire. Kathy (de Maine) Simons, 1994).

Vera Pitcairn, the youngest of Raymond and Mildred’s children, was close friends with her cousin Nina Hyatt, who followed her older sisters in becoming a Glencairn Girl. Nina remembered an embarrassing incident from one summer at Glen Tonche:

“Vera was a lot more adventuresome than I dared to be. One night we got up after everyone was asleep, threw stones at the boys’ sleeping porch until they woke up and we all walked up to the tower (five of us). I think I have never been more scared in my life than when we heard the old ‘sailboat’ (a 1928 (?) open touring car) (Figure 12) coming up the road. The spot light on the car scanned the area and we were caught sitting on the cliffs by Uncle R[aymond] in his night shirt. We were taken home in icy silence and sent to bed” (Glencairn Girls Questionnaire. Nina (Hyatt) van Zyverden, 1994).

Figure 12: The 1927 Packard open touring car used at Glen Tonche, with summer staff and Pitcairn family members, 1947. Nina Hyatt is the figure standing tallest at the back and her cousin Vera Pitcairn is in front of her holding onto the window screen. See above for Nina’s memories of an incident when her uncle, Raymond Pitcairn, discovered that a group of young people had snuck out at night and came to fetch them in this car.

The jobs of early adulthood often leave lasting impressions. Even many years later, the women who had been Glencairn Girls had vivid memories of their time in the employment of the Pitcairn family. Historically, those years (1939–1979) were a time of rapidly changing social dynamics within American society. The unique way of life at Glencairn was described by one former Glencairn Girl as being not dissimilar to “life in an English stately home or manor home.” Andri (Simons) Muth expresses most eloquently what many of the Glencairn Girls observed:

“My time there seems a glimpse of the last days of a dying way of life that held a gracious and gentle tradition lost to the fast paced and stressful world of today. I was lucky to have had the chance to be a part of it” (Glencairn Girls Questionnaire. Andri (Simons) Muth, 1994).

(KHG)

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