Edith House Scrapbook

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U~veralty-ot Geonna: Firat row. lett '. to right: J, K. McNelll, L. B. McLendon, H. B. Johnso", W. S. Murray, C. H . Landord. H. H. Shores, C. H. Baker, :r. H .

C. B .. olqulU, H. C. Eberhardt, Z. B . Byrd, G . F. Dugger, M. L. Stokes, N . J. Taylor, D. G. Bryant, G. S . Dennis, C. H . 'Martin, Jr., B. 0. Fry, L. H. Forrest, F. N. J . L. H. N~laon; D: C. Turner, L. C. Green, J. B . Smith. F. W . Orr. R ..T. Richardson. B. H. Husband. Donie Owens. C. F. Wiehrs, C. C. Fargo, R. E. Saffold, president 11C81Jor Barrow; .~. H. Chambers, president senior class; S . N. Courie, I. V. Chandler, T. E. Denmark, M. W. Mc'Kee, A . E . Gay, J. W. Tatum, E. C. Dietz, G. F. Dickey, R. F. C&rutlllll rnfth·, J. C . Helmey, Jr., D. ' B. MUiedge, F. D. Bozarth, Jr. Third row: J. M. Day, G. C. Dean, C. Turk, W. D. Holiday, R. B. Grltftth, J . F. Glass, J. W. Blount, A. A. Mtddleton, Leo W. Belcher, J. R. Johneon, I . P. Myerson, · J. H . Mote, T. E . Evitt, H. L. Middlebrooks, G. T. lAlngfard, C. F : Crouch, F . M . Young, R . H. 81nalley, L . S. :Gardner, G .•T . Gard, W. W. Taylor, W . S. Allen, W. H .Southern, L. R. Braswell, A. G. OwellB, F ..T. Slater. Fourth row: ,M. C. Garrett, J. H. Wilaon, G. M. Clal . . .

S. Carter, J. B. Maddox, J . V. Calhoun, J. S. Smith, L. Farmer, R. T. Scoggins, W. P. Green, T. M. Tillman, J. W . Overstreet, 0 . S. Miller, M. L. Johnson, P. L. Crenllllaw, • 1 B.u tler. R . L. Jl.lUIA••T. R •Patrick. ·sta.ntley Milledn, J. H. Hosch, G. W . Lowe, L . ·G. Hagood, 0. Woody, M. S . Cook, B. F. Grant, G. J. Parker, W. R. Reeves, H . B. RotbcJaUIII Miller, .Marcella Richardson, Elizabeth Hailey, Eliza beth Meredith, Emily LaiBoOn, .Marvin O'!Neal, Jr., Rena Davenport, I:-orothy Moran, Luc y M. Ca,rroll, Gertrude Cantlilt J .l ilvel7U Perry, Edna Hendricks, Sara Tarragano, ·Polly Ruth Bowers, Mary Ferguson, Annie Laurie Weir, Allee Winn. Peoples, Birdie McAllister, Evelyn O'Quinn, Fain· •Y, R, L. P. carter, D. L. Cloud, Tom Whitehead, R. S. Florence, Vonnie Abercrombie, Harriet Colbert, VIrginia Atbon, Christl ne Moon, Anne Gri!fin, Gu ssie Brooks, Edith Houa8..

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NEWCOMB CAR L TON. Plltii:81DE NT

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WESTERN. UNION

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_ BAR EXAMINATION

THE QUICKEST, SUREST AND SAFEST WAY TO SEND MONEY IS BY TELEGRAPH OR CABLE

G T WHITFIELD SECRETARY

YOU SUCCESSFULLY PASSED JUNE

CONGRATULATIONS

JACKSONVILLE FLO 1249P JUL 5 1930

CARE US ATTORNEY JACKSONVILLE FLO

MISS EDITHE HOUSE

NNA6 G 8 COLLECT

Received at W. U. Building, Bay and Laura Sts., Jacksonville, Flo.

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The tiliDg time as ahown in the date line on full-rate telegrams and day letters, and the time of receipt at destination .. ahown on all - · ia STANDARD TIME.

This is a full-rate Telegram or Cable. gram unless its de· ferred character is in• dicated by a suitable sign above or preced· ing the address.

0J.ss OP SEllVICE

PATRONS ARE REQUESTED TO FAVOR THE COIIPAf(Y BY CRmCISM AND SVGGESTIO ~ • tTS

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SPRING 1986

PROFILE-Ms. Edith Elizabeth House

Edith Elizabeth House, a new member of the Presidents Club, was the first woman graduate of the University of Georgia School of Law and valedictorian of her class.

Ms. House, who left her hometown of Winder to practice law in Florida, served as assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida for 30 years.

When the U.S. Justice Department decided to subdivide the Southern District and create a new middle district, Ms. House was appointed to fill the vacant post of the U.S. attorney for the Southern ,' District. After completing the difficult transition task of distributing the caseload of the two new districts, she retired after eight months as U.S. attorney.

While a law student at the University, Ms. House was an honors student and earned her way through the early phase of her law studies by tutoring blind students.

When funds ran out and she needed financial aid for her second and third year, she became the first recipient of the first private financial aid endowment grant at the law school.

Because of her love for the University, Ms. House has made the institution a beneficiary in her will. "I feel that whatever little I can contribute to the University will enable the students who come after me to receive an excellent education."

According to the provisions in her will, Ms. House's contribution will go to the Edith House Lecture Series, which was started and named in her honor in 1983.

The lecture series, which is sponsored by the Women Law Students' Association, brings outstanding female legal scholars and practitioners to campus to speak to law students and faculty.

Ms. House was so moved by being honored by the women law students that she made one of the initial gifts to establish the lecture series. Now her deferred gift will provide continuing support for the lecture series that furthers the education of law students and faculty .

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Alumna Feature: Edith Elizabeth House Class of 1925

by Gwen Wood When Edith House was contacted and told that she was to be featured in an issue of The Advocate as the first woman graduate of the School of Law, this was her reaction : "Technically speaking, I was not the first woman law graduate. If they handed out degrees alphabetically at graduation , then my friend Gussie Brooks received hers first. I did graduate with honors, and if those degrees were bestowed first, then I beat her by a few minutes. I don't mean to be splitting hairs (a common weakness among us lawyers, you know) but I don't want to claim or be accorded a status to which I am not entitled ."

It is typical of Edith House to go about quietly achieving honors and accolades in her career and expressing mild surprise that anyone would make anything of it.

She was, indeed, an honor student. She shared the Valedictorian of the Class of 1925 spot with another classmate, and went on to serve as assistant U.S. Attorney for three-fourths of the State of Florida. Yet she can 't recall any particular adversity or obstacle to her educational and career goals because she is a woman.

In fact, opportunities seemed to come her way when the need was the greatest. She had earned her way through the first two years of law school by tutoring blind students, but funds had run out and she needed financial aid the third year. Thomas Reed, the University Registrar, knew of a loan fund which had just been established , and he recommended Edith House because of her excellent academic record .

Thus, Miss House became the first recipient of the first private financial aid endowment grant at the Law School.

Later, when she passed the bar and was ready to seek law practice in some small town in Georgia, she was sought out for three employment openings in Florida.

This was the period of the land speculation boom, and family friends from her hometown of Winder urged her to join their law practice in Florida.

After four years of private law practice in Clearwater, she was recruited by the incoming U.S. Attorney under

Edith House (top right o f photo) with friends at Chi Omega sorority, 1925. 路

the Hoover Administration to be Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida. This was a post she held for the next 30 years. In this period of time the workload rapidly expanded as the cities within the jurisdiction-Tampa, Miami , Jacksonville-exploded in population. After years of pleading with the U.S. Justice Department to subdivide the district, the order finally came in 1963 to create a new middle district of Florida.

The District Attorney's post for the southern district became vacant, and Miss House was appointed to fill it. She completed the difficult transition task of distributing the caseload of the two new districts, and retired after eight months as U.S. Attorney.

Retired at the youthful age of 60, Miss House was, at last, prepared to enter private law practice in a small town. But a series of family illnesses, deaths and the necessity of handling complex estate matters forced her to postpone her dream . She realized that she knew volumes about federal law, but had limited knowledge of current state law. Today, at the age of 80, she says she handles small legal matters for friends but has never charged a fee .

Somehow, it just isn't in her nature to do so.

o Assistant I U.S. Attorneys Are Named Miu Elizabeth House and Em~ry Akerman Given .i Federal Poab.

Two new assistant United Statu district att.orneys were f~.v Inducted into office here late yesterday afternoon. 'l'bey were Emory Speer Akermt.n. Orlanclo attorney and son of Pederal Judge Akerman, and KJaa Ecllth Elizabeth House, for the past two years chief clerk 1n the office of United StaU. Dis· trtct Attorney WDbum P. Burhes.

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Dtstrtc:t Attorney Hughes was advla·.

14 yeaterday mo~ing of the appoint• menta of Mr. Akerman and 1111111 .

House. - They were made by Attorney General w. D. Mltchell upon the recommendation of Mr. Hughes. The two new &lllllatanta were sworn in shortly after li o'clock by ]!:elwin R. wuuama, clerk of the · Federal Court for the Southern dlatrict of Plortds.

ThtJ wW auume thelr new dutiea today.

To Kfaa House goes the honor of be· ~the aecond woman to hold the of· flc4t of ualatant United States dlatrict a~:r in Plorlda, and one of the few hi the entire eountr:r. Only one oth• er holcSa a almllar poat in the aectlon of the country, 18 an aulatant a~r-

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Attorneys Are Named Col\tlnued frem PaP 13• been

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• bool of Macon and o. I:U'O. public ac • h was graduated from llmlll~ '·~ereHee received; hill bachelor ~brta from Mercer University ln :.aeon and bill law degree from the ... of Plorida In 1927 • untvera1•1 t . four yearll be baa been I'm th.. .,.

1 do He was a praet:!~ l::e ~!wo;lr';: ~tabl~bed ·by mem th. and ·after bill father'• ele· hla fa er • ed 1 .bench was aiiiiOvattedlon !'tt~eht ::tber, Hugh Aker· cta aame firm man. ID tbe· 11 a ~ember. of . Phi Nr. Akerm&nnorary legal fraternity.

Delta Pbl, hO ~lpha college IIOCial and of Kappa .. ' rraternlty. n baa taken an active ~ermapolltlca and II president of tnw..,..• n ubllcana' club of orthe- Young 'RIP one of three men ap• tando. He_wasreeent Plorlda taat WID• pointed to ep tlonal meetlng of the ~~ :;u::cana Club ID Walhlng·

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=FLORIDA TIMES - Ulfi ON SuDday, J uly 26 , 19;3

Section Two路 / Local News, Sports and Classified Ads A COMPLETE NEWSPAPER

BUSY U. S. OFFICIAL

Edith House, the only assistant United l:)taoes at- 1 torney on duty in the Jacksonville division of the Southern District o!

Florida, finds little time for relaxation as she directs the prosecution of criminal cases In the olvlslon and also fllla the job of chief clerk 1 for the district a.ttorney's office.

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U. S. AWARD GIVEN MISS HOUSE

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A BtliPn~u"DllfiilJllJiiuc Servant IB Recognized The ~}~~rltar \~~~ment o~~ervlce rendered by Miss Edith House, assistant' U.S. attorney here, truly have been "outstanding and meritorious ," and it would be difficult to find anyone more deserving of the sort of recognition that she received in the citation presented

by U.S. Attorney James L. Guilmartin.

Miss House is an outstanding .example of a career woman who has proved the ability of women to take their plaee in the professions and more than carry their share of the load. Not only should her work be an inspiration to other women, but she also illustrates what is attainable by· loyal and high standards of government service, and thus offers inspiration to government career workers in general. No vicissitudes ot political change have Interfered with her de· votion to the duties of the law.

Jacksonville is proud to be the scene of her service in government and law, but she is also a credit to her native section of Georgia which already has much to Its cr~dit in the field of contributions to the legal and governmental leadership of the South.

From the hills of Northeast Georgia have come such great lawyers as Robert Toombs and Alexander Stephens, leaders of the .Confederacy. And from Winder, Ga., Miss House's birthplace, comes the famous Russell family which is distinguished for its contributions to the bench and bar of Georgia as well as to the Senate of the United States.

By firm adherence to the best traditions of her native region and her chosen profession, Edith House has made a place for herself that is probably unique Florida's legal ~story.

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!\Mts.. \Diaol4 Nodding Acquaintance With Law Aids Women

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. The announcement of a course In "Law for Women" which will be prelented here beginning today 1n a series of seven lectures is a reminder that one of the most distinguished attorneys 1n literature, Portia of Shakespeare's "Merchant of Venice," was a member of the opposite sex.

So admirably did the character 1n the play by the Bard-of-Avon conduct herself before the bar, women of the legal profession to this day are honored with her name. It is seldom, of course, that they venture into this traditional province of the male, but at least one in Duval County Is known for her legal brill1ance.

Assistant U.S. District Attorney at Jacksonvllle for more than a quarter of a century, Miss Edith House's career in her chosen profession dates from the time when she was graduated from the Lumpkin Law School In the midtwenties at the University of Georgia.

The legal mind of a Portia Is hardly 路. needed to cope with the路 average problems that confront women, but the Jacksonville Bar Association, which is spon~;oring the course with the General Extension Division of the University of Florida and the South Jacksonville Woman's Club, does feel that valuable Instruction awaits those who register for the lectures which will touch on such subjects as: Lawyers, law, the courts and women; contracts; common business transactions; real estate purchases and sales; torts, and family relations.

It is hardly contemplated that women can develop a rich background in the time alloted to the instruction, but some insight Into the abstrusities of legal proceedings 路 and courts Is ~lmost a sine qua non In modern li!e. The "Sui Generis" category of many of the simplest transactions leaves women In the position of babes In the woods if they Ignore this essential Ingredient of their training and education.

The value of a woman applying herself to the rudiments of law does not end, however, with the acquisition of a little knowledge. It extends to the training In disciplined thinking which she may gain from even a nodding acquaintante with law books. Her judgment will be sttengthened by an understanding of the reasoning processes which enable attorneys to arrive at well considered conclusions on Important Issues of the times.

The lecture series on law, together with the Women's Finance Forum which will be sponsored by the Florida National Bank and toe Woman's Club of Jacksonville on April 5, 12, and 19, should put local women who seek the benefits of this Instruction In an Improved position to handle their own affairs In situations which demand a degree of self-assurance and aplomb.

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Lady, Lawyer Finds Ca_recr In Professional Work Rewarding

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By JAYNE BRUMLEY O_ne of the m~st_ dedi_cated ?f Jacksonville'~ pro. fesswnal women 1s M1ss Ed1th · House, ass1stant United States attorney for the Southern District of Florida. · The life o{this ·c~mpete nt woman, who is held in extremely high .regard in legal' and -governmental circles; centers almost exclusively around the busy Federal Building in downtown Jac.ksoflVille . . V/iih more than 27 years of 's ervice in her present capacity, Miss House has given up other activiti es to be more effective in her chosen ~r ork.

A native of Winder , Ga., she v.ras one of the first tw<' women ever to be graduat.ed with a law degree fr om the Unn~ ersity of Gecwgia. And she , ws.s graduated wi~h first honors. · For !our years she was associated with a Clearwater, Ga ., Jaw firm . In 1929 she came to Jacksonville as chief clerk to the U. S. ,Attomey for t.his district, which Includes 1( counties i sout.h ,and west of Duval ~ounty, . , a pos}tipn she held,for two -years 'l n til her presen~ Pn :•eintment.

In . 1!1<>4 Herbert Browne!! Jr.., the· · attorney general of · the United · States, presented · h!!r ,.·0 with an 11-ward the Department of . Jt1stice in "apprecia~ tion and recognition of 25 years of outstanding and meritorious r;ervice."

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prosecution,· about half which U; directed against people" who have violated federal tax laws, interstate commerce acts, postal regulations, liquor la~' S or \\hO h ave forged government r.hecks or made counterfeit currency.

on· th~ 'civil docket Miss House may find herself representing the United SLatn try- • ing to collect money c"'ed to the government or defend;ng the federar governmen t in :ttigl'ltion to which it is a -party.

She finds that the '·most rewarding" ·' thing abouL her demanding job U; the "opportunity" to , associate with the ."high calibre'' people she dots.

Mis.s House recommends the legal profession for women who Her job Is io ' be Uacle Sam's are willing to "work very hard , lawyer !or these 18 counties, are pa.tient; and have logical whether ·prosecu ti ng for him or analytical minds." · Miss Edith House,_ assistant Unit,ed States attorney fo; this Miss Hpuse herself exemplifies ···,_, defending him against - those 1 district, Is one of the most competen t professional car eer women the . highest standards of the . ' who . would prosecute him. '' Her job was a lot of variety necessary qualities and a warm In service today. Mis.s House, with 27 years of service ,behi nd within Its · own legal l>oundaries .friendliness that inspires adher, centers her career today around activities. in the Federal · and she says that even with 27 miration and re-spect in all -who Building. yea.rs of ~xperience behind h'er ' know her. she encounters something each day that . has never .presented ~ lt.self before. · ,,· i In one phase or her 'Wol·k she 1 handles all of the land acqu1si- ' tions !or the extensive govern- '. ment military installations In · her assigned territory,- which In- ! eludes among Its · prop1•rties · Ce- ' cil Field, Ma:rport and the Jack~onvllle Navaf. Air Station . . • li).J a.not~er s~e_. dod' criminal

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Chief administrative aide te U.S. Attorney Coleman Madsen in the South Florida District ' federal courts will be M i s s ' Edith House, as- ] sistant U.S. attorney at Jacksonville for 28 years.

Mads n an- 1 nounced her promotion Fridaythe first in his ' contemplated reorganization of 路 the US. attorl\HSS HOUSE ney's offices in Miami . Tampa and Jacksonville.

She will ha\'e hearlquarters in the Miami olf1ce. Her salary will be $10,000 a year in the post that Madsen himself held last year before he 路 wa:s 'appointfod refe: ee in bankruptcy 'and then district attorney

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Twenty-five years of "outstandIng and meritorious service" by Edith Holise, assistant U.S. attorney here, was In brief ceremonies in attorney's office In the Building.

Miss House, who has served as federal prosecuting attorney since 1931 and has filled the position of chief clerk of the U.S. attorney's office since 1929, received the citation and an emblem from James L. Guilmartin, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida. Guilmartin, in making the noted that Miss is well known throughout the South for her ability as a lawyer.

Miss House Is a native of Winder, Ga., and shortly after obtaining her law degree from the of Georgia in 1925, she to Clearwater and became associated with the firm of Baskin and Jordan. In December, 192~. was appointed chief clerk of u.s. attorney's office here, and 1931, became an assistant U.S. attorney.

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study law.

Miss House and another.rcoed in June, 192,5. llecame the first two women to reeetve LL.B. degrees from he Georgia Law School.

Thirty-seven y e a r s later, Edith House w a •ppointed Y.oridi'lr fttat. w~ United States ~ ~ .. ;ma--....r-ch-"!:!rl the first of her SQ in the nat:on to attain such office.

The U. S. attorney's office ofWhen she first entered federal ten is a stepping stone to a life- court work, women defendants time federal judgeship, but Miss were a rarity. But Miss House House refuses to consider the sa'd the situation changed, unpossibilities. fortunately, until now women In fact, she is quick to remind involved in federal crimes 8];(. that her appointment as u. s. not uncommon.

Miss House said juvenile attorney for the new Southern District of Florida by u.s. Judge fenders also are more common, David Dyer last week was an particularly for auto thefts. "It interim appointment. is strange," she said, "that so Permanent appointment of the many stolen cars wind up in new d!strict's attorney will be Florida from other states."

Curcuit Court Judge Robert made by President Kennedy, usllallF on recommendation of the H. Anderson of Miami is among state's two u. s. senators, and the many in the legal profession subject to Senate confirmation. with praise for the woman a--"1 may be here only a few torney.

Judge Anderson, who worked· hours, days or weeks," Miss House said. with Miss House in Jacksonville She added that she would be for many years, said: happy if she held the office only "She is very effective in front a jury. No grandstand tacuntil a permanent appointment is made. tlcs, but she puts her case aMiss House celebrated he~ cross. As an individual, she's 59th birthday Thursday, made the salt of the earth." no attempt to shield her age, · and willingly said "I'm looking forward to retirement.

"Certainly, use my age," she said. "I'm a realist and I couldn't change it even if I wanted to." .

Miss House brushed off possib.ttity she would go into private law practi~ after her retirement.

"Why ret!re and keep on working?" she asked. "I'm not going to do a thing-except visit people. I'm already writing my ,riends to get ready for me."

One of the first stops on such a visit would be JacksonviH.e, where :M'"JSs House had been assistant U. S. attorney prior to transfening to Miami in the same capBclty in 1960.

Miss House moved to Florida shortly after a h e received her law de&fel!, lured to the sun-

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A Georlfa..zeared, soft-spoken woman who became an usiltant federal proaecutor in 1930 was N»PPint~ Thursday as actinc U.S. attomey here for the new Southern Diltrict.

She Ill :Mils Edith House, of 318 NE 51st St., who served the last two yeari as chief a.dmlnlatrative assistant to District Attorney Edward F. Boardman.

Boardman leaves his spot here to become a district attorney in Tampa for the new Middle District.

A , third federal court district be In NorthBOARDMAN west Florida under the jurisdictional shuffle effective at midnight Sunday.

Florida is nQW cut into two diltricts.

A second top interim appointment by. U.S. J'udge Da· vid Dyer ·aoes to Guy W. Hixon, 51, ot 80 SW 20th Rd. He becomes the new district's first U.S. marshal.

Hixon has headed the mar-

Poulble appointees fre. qaently mentioned by poUti· ciUUJ here are State Bep. Carey Matthews. Circuit .Tudce WllUam A. Meadows Jr. and Allbta.nt State Attoney Ar· tbur Buttoe.

The Distric:t Attorney's job, sometimec a stepping stone to a lifetime federal judgeahip, was worth $18,500 a year for Boardman, but the salary under the revamped court system has not yet been announc-

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t he new, three-district court system.

Joseph I. Bogart, of Hallandale, will be chief clerk. Reappointed as U.S. commissioners were Roger E. Davis Miami; James Minnet, Fort 'Lauderdale; Ralph G. Jordan, Homestead; Marshall Wood Jr., West Palm Beach, and :'william V. Albury, Key West.

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"I think of my work as outside of politics and more in terms of career service," said Miss House. "Really, I don't even know how the appointment is made."

Miss House, who becomes eligible for full retirement in a year, says she's content to take the reins only u n t 11 permanent selection is made.

Her career of nearly 32 years as a federal prosecut capped by Thursday's appointment, is believed unmatched in national history by a womanlawyer.

She'll be 69 next Ttl~ay.

"Certainly, use my ace." she sa.ld. "I'm a reall•t aod I

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here since 1953 shal's office as deputy in charge. lntments run unBoth appO .... edy submits til PrNident neon baeed on 11111 hiS eholeel:.. ~ 1 two senwtsbea of ...e ,aubject to eonpeaators. and

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. is likely to get the HlXon n a permanent ~hal's bOUJobto$13000 a year, b"'Is at a • hlgh sources say· for the undercover race . ~~ chair however, appar~~tl;is far frotn settled.

eoulcln't chance lt even if I wanted to.'' .

Untll 1960, she served. m :vill prosecuting JacksOn e, f theiR manY Cllses, dozens o . volving large-scale moonm . shine operatiOns. ou"But :most cases were r tine " she said, "and the ones It ' be are the ones I los remem r ) ( t manY her associates say n~ I'd ratlter not think about an those right now." t her A life-long Democra ' d first appointment came un ;:_ t'he R~publica~e~ooi::p~~an istrat1on, ~ d in the was a foreign wor Jacksonville of 1930.

"There was no pOlltles ln· d then and I've stayed vo1ve ., be sa.ld: out of It ever atnee, 8 Permanent appointm~nts announced by Judge yer Thursday leave key court ~r­ sonnel in similar jobs un er

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MEET EDITH HOUSE

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Drama 'No For the DA

By GRACE WIN .

In J Htr•kl St•tt w~,:.,OHNE

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able U u_ne of 1925 t school mversity of Gehe ~enerfirst t awarded de~rgia law . wo women es to its 1thin a f graduates W · hthad been luredewt weeks each toe excitement 0of Florida by take j b the b clerks o s as I oom In CI , one in Mia . aw office in seen ea h , but they h live tion 37 c other since . aven't years ago. gradua-

Mi=~~~r. Th~;: ~~~;t~er

One Is who tod Miss Edith ami' ay will beco Holl8e s, and Fl me Mi' woman orlda's oth U.S. Att ' first er Js M omey of Be rs. Geor • The who I!Iethlsle, Ml!!IWoi{)firt, Brooks, e former G Beach, became of Athens u ssIe law· care sidetracked She • Mlam er when she rom a moth Ian and bee married er of two child ame the Mrs reo.

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she h~ House, who anythin~ n:ver intend!:Oitted

the ti ut a Ia to be in w?Ie she wa 8 wyer from mder G a small . abe has • a., den. girl fort in made much Ies that "It' her career of an efs surp . · ean get nsing ho standing you joked, that will b over-simplifi' by atto e heated! catJon sex all rneys of the Y denied over the statopposite e w ho

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'_I' I! Retire' ••• lnSisfS .

Edith II ouse

have encountered her In the august conf courtrooms. mes of federal Whatexp~ sh Roue meant, Miss never entertalned, Is tbat she taldng over thee!, any Idea of efftee which h P Job In the an Aaslstan: e has served aa elnee 1981 U.S. Attorney admitted ~ : ; , after being "Th orlda Bar

• leal " eshb"Ig jt?bs are all poll" t ' e said .. always been ' and I have be content J·u t s to a career work " er.

*

ALIFELON

* D~MOCRAT, *

she was first G

Attorne/i~~~~~e~ to the sonville when He ~ m Jackwas president r ert Hoover

U.S ..

When she Is 10 a.m. ceremo;wom In at tile Federal Bid ell today In will be tb g., Miss Bouse 8 very first u Atto :;rtFlhe new orlda.

Dls~7

South~~

Just how a female DA?doe s one address

\ ''Well, in some courtrooms I've been called Miss District Attorney," Miss House s a i d grinning.

She'll be quite a surprise to televisoh fans who picture a district attorney in the mold of Hamilton Burger of Perry Mason fame. Petite and gentle-voiced, with bright blue eyes and fla shing wit, M i s s House is more like a busy wren than a legal eagle. Coupled with her quiet manners, however, is the easy cordiality of a born politician.

In the courtroom strictly business.

she's

"She is very effective in front of a jury," commented Circuit Judge Robert H. Anderson, who has known Miss House since her early days in the U.S. Attorney's office in Jacksonville. "No grandstand tactics, but s h e puts her case across. As an individual, she's the salt of the earth."

Miss House is inclined to blush when such plaudits are repeated to her. "I try to avoid any dramatics," she said.

Because she will be 60 years old in another year and a month, she insists on considering herself only temporary in the U.S. Attorney's post. She said the appointment is an interim one until the Florida Congressional delegation can submit their choice of a permanent appointee for the President's approval.

She brushes off the possibilIty that she might even be elevated to the federal bench, a lifetime job to which the U.S. Attorney's job Is often a stepping-stone. True, t b e r e will be a vacancy In tbe new district, but sbe evidently feels that would be pushing a woman's luck too far.

"I'm looking forward to retirement," 路 Miss House said with unmistakeable enthusiasm. What will she do then, start a private practice?

"WhY retire and keep on working?" she cried. "I'm not going to do a thing - except visit people. I'm already writ- 路 ing my friends to get ready for me."

* * *

MISS JJOUSE AND DEB brother, L. Gibson House, who is in the federal clerk's office in Miami, share an apartment in Sabal Palm. She c o o k II Sunday dinner, which is about the extent of her household operations, Miss House said.

Fashions In Florida er1me have changed since Miss House became a fledgling prosecutor.

"At first it was mostly prohibition cases. - rum-runners from the islands offshore," she recalled. "Now it's mostly tax cases, because so many more people are paying taxes - or not paying them."

She deplores the fact that the public thinks of the U.S. Attorney's staff as always being in relentless pursuit of the felon, which actually is only a small part of the activity.

"They don't hear about the cases we decline to prosecute," she went on. "I probably have declined more than I've authorized."

\ She's LIDVyef ~~etause 'I Didn't Want To Teach' -

By AGNES EDWARDS BePOI1er of The Miami New1

Florida, and probably the only woman in such office anywhere.

Edith House dubs herself a "stop-gap." Actually, as of today, she is United States Attorney, Southern District of

"I may be here only a few hours, days or weeks - " added the gracious Miss House, a Miamian since February, 1960,

.

when she was transferred from Jacksonville. What she didn't say was it may be months before President Kennedy nominates a replacement for the four-year commission, then the Senate confirms it.

(Effective today too are a new breakdown of federal couri districts with Miss . House's predecessor, Edward Boardman, moving to Tampa, one of the new Middle district offices, Miami being the office for the Southern District, reaching from Ft. Pierce to Key West).

"It couldn't happen to a nicer person," warmly applaud thl)se in the federal offices on the second floor of the Main Post Office who know the hard working Edith House.

The attractive careerist who'll celebrate her 59th birthday Thursday, came to Clearwater in 1930 "with the Boom" and an LLB. degree from the University 路 of Georgia ('25). Later, she was admitted to the Florida bar and became chief clerk in the U.S. Attorney's office.

Miami News Photo by Fraser Hale

EDim HOU~E, interim U.S. Attorney, Southern District of Florida.

The native of Winder, Ga., had no particular reason for entering law - there were no lawyers in her immediate family, "not even a first cousin," smiled she. "I just didn't want to be a school teacher, the only thing women . in those days could do."

She was Assistant U.S. Attorney in Jacksonville, then transferred to Miami two years ago to be with her younger brother, L. Gibson House, a deputy clerk in the federal court. They share an apartment

at the Saba! Palms, 318 NE 51st St.

Not only does Miss House prosecute federal criminal cases. includiag Income tax evasion, Uquor violations specifically moonshlners and &base of 路postal laws, but 50 per cent of her work is in c I vII matters: collecting claims on FHA Title I loans and defending the United States when people sue for funds.

When she first went into federal court work rarely was there a woman defendant. Unfortunately, the scene bas changed, women involved in federal crimes are no longer uncommon. Juvenile offenders too are on the upgrade, . particularly in a u t o thefts.

"Strange," mused she, "that so many stolen cars wind up in Florida from other states."

Her trial work has been curb-. ed somewhat since last Summer when she underwent cancer surgery in the mouth. "It left a bit of a speech defect," explained she in her warm Georgia drawl, "and people sometimes have trouble understanding me ...

Her relaxation: "Does any working woman have time for it?" grinned she. "I read mostly - used to fish, cook one meal a week on . Sunday, but usually it's work, eat 路 and sleep."

Wondered ' she about her re-tirement next year: "What will I do then? Probably travel, and visit all my friends in Jacksonville." For now she's just too busy to give it much thought.

uJnlb1

Shingle Comes D

By HENRY CAVENDISH Beporter of Tbe Miami Newa

Until recently, the sign over the door of room 235-B in the downtown Postoffice Building read: "Edith House - Adm. Asst.

U. S. Attorney."

But Inside, the uew ladydlshict attorney for the Southern District of F1orlda was hard II& work coaferrlDg with uslstallta, going over legal documents, uswerlng telephone calls.

Typical of her unpretentiousneu Ja the fact that lhe hadn't bothered to move from her old eubbyhole office into the more pretentioUI quarters reserved for U. S. attorneys here, days after her appolnbnent.

Sworn into the governnient's top prosecuting office on a Monday, Miss House explained with candor her lack of fuss and feathers over the change.

TOO BUSY TO MOVE "I haven't time to move," she 1 • with an amused shake of the ght brown, bobbed hair, that she parts on the left.

"Actually, I don't even plan to," she added, "though I may have to because this office is just like a goldfiah bowl.

"Everybody IUeb their head In the door, bat I Jlke te have them do it. 'Ihe ataH

been

10

wonderful - rve

the best group hen I evtF worked with.

think there's been any change.

There's no help in hav~ come around yessing all the time."

With belated baste, Paul Jenkins, superintendent engineer of the Postoffice Building, took down the "admiuistratilt assistant" sign over h ~ door and offered it to &r as a souvenir.

"You keep it," she admonished. "I may need it again, though I think I will have retired before that time."

With a puckish grin, she turned to a newspaper reporter.

"Don't you think you're overdoing this publictt,r?" she in· quired. "The thing about it is that the more you write the more people there are who call me up.

"I'll have to be careful about what I say." With a

gay laugh: "Of course, I can always say I was misquoted."

Looking back over her first few weeks in the top job as U.S. attorney, Miss House, con· servatively attired in a dark blue dress with a single-string necklace about her neck, remarked she could express her over-all reaction with a single world- "Confused!" -with a confident smile added to controvert her own comment.

As Honse Goes Up

"The thing aboUt this" ' she . ped "is to be sure that no qmp '. tant is due In three one assiS at the same Ume. courtrooll_lll that's hapAnd believe me, ed'" pen . '" "Do you powder yourinn:~. an irreverent reporter q my nose, but "Yeh, 1 powder uall ir· was the eq Y " not often, .. And any· reverent response.

A FAST START

"The first day, I was sworn in and didn't get to work till 11 o'clock as a result," she explained.

way, I did that before I got to be U.S. attorney."

As an afterthought: '!Believe me, I haven't been wasting the taxpayer's money."

In more serious vein, Miss House concluded that being the government's chief prosecuting representative in the district did involve one major change of attitude.

"I'm the boss now," she

The next day she filed a federal court suit in behalf ol tbe government for condemnation of 15 acres of land near the Home•tead Air Force Base for ex· pansion of off-base facilities. 'lbe grand jury re criminal Indictments

,rtf

Federal Judge David the third, and live bore Mlllillol'llllllle

fourth day in office ebrated her 59th birthday, at work assigning assistto trial calendars before federal judgea.

eoDlrnented 'IVltla ber liaad to Ju • wave of offJce, "You ,:e~ude tlae w.laole of .l'esJIODBJbllu.. • 1181r leJIBe always 'IVIaen You're Baylag wla t would do. 'If 1 a You lt's dJIIerent Itwas boss.' But t.fae to,p Job. " en YGu get to

-·.r

Turning back to b reslllned her . er desk, sbe hlllnor With aJr o~ genial good "I'm . a Parting shot .

~ to be a big executive and get off at 4 o'clock. I haven't been able to

.., ... •........ botwe • ""

_./

I

'm4t ~I-F

~iami ~~ul.b' Thlll'llday, June 6, 1963

Edith House •.• 'not fooling'-

U.S. Drops :Charges on I

·Miami Pair The U.S. Attorney's office has dropped charges against two Miami businessmen accused of obstructing justice when they refused to accept a summons.

Miss Edith House, U.S. Attorney, reported she has been assured there would be no repetition of the incident "and the men have learned their lesson-we aren't fooling around with matters like this."

The businessmen w e r e Charles Silvers, 52, Miami manager for the ABC Windows Co. of Jacksonville, and his secretary, Harold J. Steis, 48, who allegedly had refused to accept a 'federal court ' summons to appear in a DeP art m e n t of Labor suit against their company.

.

-

...... ··-'·-'"···-·

....... -~----

There is no more engrossing subject this fall than that of politics and the part which the American woman is having in influencing the decisions at the polls, as witness the engaging personalities of "Pat" Nixon and her two daughters which are being brought to bear on the campaign of their husband and father.

This is not a new phenomenon, of course, but it is always one of consuming interest, and never did it draw the attention of the American people more than when Teddy Roosevelt became a motivating power in the Progressive Movement which had its culmination in the New Freedom of Woodrow Wilson, the New Deal of his cousin from Hyde Park, its hang-overs in the Fair Deal, the New Frontier, and the Great Society.

However, the force of women in politics .is but one example of how ,meJDbers of the opposite sex have taken their place in a meaniqful fashion in the affairs of this nation, as this observer was well reminded on two occuiotiS in recent weeks, one of which had a direct relationship to the brilliant career of one of Duval County's most distiniUished professional women.

Driving into a filling station In the city where this is being written, he instructed the attendant to put gasoline in the tank, and while waiting for that operation to be finished, his eyes fell on a sign. It told of the services and sales opportunities ·which were offered by the "Chick Piano Compan y."

Hurrying across the street to see Lewis Chick, who was a close friend of college days, he was greeted by a woman who told him the person he wanted to see had died the year before.

Mr. Chick was a blind man, and during his years as a law student had been served as a reader by Duval County's Edith House, who at the same time was receiving the legal education which in later years permitted her to become a career · attorney with the government in J acksoriville. .

Callie McWhirter, a dinner guest the other night, made special inquiry about Edith because they had known each other well while they were in school together. Callie has also distinguished herself as a career woman after . graduating with Phi Beta Kappa honors and spending six year:s of her early teaching in Orlando, retiring in recent years· from active clauroom work after 31 years of inatructiDg the youth of Florida and Georgia.

It w~ a pleasure to .supply

·Miss McWhirter wiUl details of

(

Edith House's career u assistant U.S. District Attorney at Jacksonville, and to inform her that at the last word she ·was retired from her profession and living in the Beaches a,rea of Duval County.

The point of this story, which is being published during the opening weeks of the 1968-69 college year, is that Callie and Edith were among the pioneers in that movement in American universities known as co-education. As Callie McWhirter reminisced across the dinner table the other .night, former Assistant District Attorney House was one of the first females in the old Lumpkin Law School of the University of Georgia and probably is remembered well by her contemporaries, in . that same institution like Judge "Happy" Harvey, Fred Kent, and others.

Frequent visits 'to the Federal C o u r t h o u s e and Postoffice Building as a reporter in quest of news made it possible to keep track of the after school years of Miss House, who with many other young women had braved a sentiment in the early 1920's on American campuses which was not entirely in favor of women students. She and Callie McWhirter were two of . hardly more than 200 who attended school on the campus of . the state university during their days in college. · Co-education came to the campuses of Florida State University and the University of Florida in the late 1940's, and women today in those schools are literary crowding the campuses as they are at other schools. Moreover, those who are not actually engagea in classroom work are doing the bread-winning that keeps their spouses in college.

It was Shakespeare who wrote the line "frailty thy name is woman," but if he were living in the latter half of the Twentieth Century, he may have reason to rephrase that sentiment. The Bard of Avon gave literature a number of famous women, but neither he nor Homer with his Helen has equalled the female character whom Charles Dickens created in his David Copperfield. The coeds who enter college this fall . can prepare for professions, or with their educations, can make themselves eligible for a eulogy uttered by David Copperfield : "0 Agnes, my soul! So may thy face be by me when I close my life indeed; so may I, when realities are melting from me like the · sba®ws which I now dismiss, atilllind thee near me, pointing upward!"

(

JUJa . .

Bono,.~

• A .Aah"e'tlta

Aasia t Att -., 1 Adainln t1 Dlnaion n.U:sg11G11

25e

De C •

Cer1;1.n.ate of Aw.l"d w laa Bdlth HO\•e 1D ~t1011 ot 25 ot ou1; aD4 rl rloaa MI"Vioe tao tlle n.n.....-'~'~~ ot J

it

ol

OI'I'ICB OF THE DIRECTOR

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF J USTICE F EDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION

WASHINGTON 25, D. C .

March 15, 1955

Miss Edith House Assistant United States Attorney Southern District of Florida Federal Building Jacksonville, Florida Dear Hiss House: I have been advised by the Special Agent in Charge of our Miami Office that you were the recipient of a citation and e mblem in recognition of twenty-five years of outstanding serutce i n the Office of the United States Attorney f or the Southern District of Florida. 路 May I offer my sincerest congratulations, as well as the kindest wishes of the numerous personnel of this Bureau who have enjoyed the privilege of working with you over the years.

I hope that you will have many years of continued success.

Sincerely yours,

TE

PHONE ELGIN 6-2716

BIRMINGHAM OFF IC E

HuGH

R. DowLING

703 COMER BUILDIN G BIRM I NGH A M 3 , A L AB A M A

ATTORNEY AT LAW .JAMES .!.FREELAND

BARNETT NAT I ONAL BAN K BUILDING

JACKSONVILLE 2,FLORIDA

April ll , 1955

Miss Edith House Assistant United St ates Attorney Feder al Building Jacksonville, Florida Dear Edith: I truly thought that I had written you some time ago supplementing my verbal felicitations on your completion of twenty-five years of service with the Government .

But, alas , my secretary tells me that that is another slip of my aging and failipg memory .

So I ask that you accept nunc pro tunc my warmest congratulations on this splendid record, and let me say that the Government is indeed to be congratulated in having a person who looks after its interests so capably and at the same time maintains so fine a sense of duty to those whom the Government serves . In my 20-odd years of practice of law - three of which were for the Government - I have not found a person who had any finer sense of balance as regards duty, both to the Government and to the public . I only wish there was some way that others might be inoculated with your perspective in this regard.

My sincerest wishes for your continued happiness for the years to come , and wi t h kindest personal regards .

Cordially yours,

Hugh R. HRD/mp

(

U. S.TREASURY DEPARTMENT INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE OFFICE OF REGI O NAL COMMISSIONER

Post Office Box 4999 Jacksonville 1, Florida August 9, 1963

I N REPL Y REFER TO

ATJ:CDN:mdb

Miss Edith House Assistant United States Attorney Post Office Box 1070 Miami 1, Florida Dear Edith: We have just learned that you plan to retire in the immediate future, and I should like to take this means of expressing the sincere appreciation of all employees of the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax Divis.i on in Florida for the outstanding work you have done in handling our work over the years. Your devotion to duty and your understanding of law enforcement problems have made our tasks much easier.

In all of the years you have handled our cases as United States Attorney and as Assistant United States Attorney, I have never heard of a single instance where any of our Investigators, or any other enforcement agent, called on you for advice or assistance that you did not take the time to hear their request or problem and to do whatever you could to assist.

This is a quality few of us possess.

My association with you for more than thirty years has been a pleasant and rewarding experience, and I shall always think of you as one of my best friends.

I know that you will be missed, not only by all of us in enforcement work but also by many others on the other side of the table. I am sure all of us in all walks of life can say with pride that they have never known a person more dedicated to public service.

All of us in the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax Division J01n your many other friends in wishing you many happy returns of the day. We would appreciate it very much if you would stop and visit with us any time you are in Jacksonville.

Sincerely,

~I~~~~

Supervisor in Charge Alcohol and Tobacco Tax Division

IN REJILVINGI I'LEASit QUOTE

UNITED STATES

WG/dl

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION REGIONAL OFFICE

1371 PEACHTREE STREET. N . E .

ATLANTA

9, GEORGIA

November 1, 1962

Honorable Edith House United States Attorney Post Office Building Miami, Florida My dear Miss House: A recent news i tern tells me that you have been named United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida. This is the best news I have heard in a long time and all of us who have business with your office are delighted with the appointment. It is certainly an earned recognition for many years of faithful and outstanding legal services. I congratulate the Department for this selection and we in the S.E.C. will be happy to serve you whenever you can use our assistance.

Good luck and best wishes.

Sincerely yours,

13!!!

W~Green Regional Administrator

â&#x20AC;˘

TREASURY DEPARTMENT

.

.

BUREAU OF CUSTOMS

Jacksonville , Florida

OFFICE OF THE DEPUTY COLLECTOR

November 6, 1962

Edith House, Esq. United States District Attorney Southern District of Florida P. o. Box 928 Hiami 6, Florida Dear Miss Hous e : CONGRATULATIONS !!!

It is always a privilege to know a person who has the ability to command respect from her official associates and the public alike ; and who has the faculty of being an administrative leader . You have shovm in marked degree the quality, as rare as it is valuable , of being able to meet emergenci es and solve problems under trying (no pun intended) circums tanc es .

Thanks for yo ur kind and courteous help t hrough the years . lvli th kindest per sonal regards and best wishes from the whole customhouse Sincerely,

//l{t& Merle J .

Deputy Col

MJM/apm

â&#x20AC;˘ .

TREASURY DEPARTMENT

.

BUREAU OF CUSTOMS

OFFICE OF THE COLLECTOR

TAMPA I , FLA.

August 19, 1963

Dear Miss House: I heard you are retiring and wanted to tell you that you will be badly missed in the Government Service, as yours has been a wonderful career and I do hope that your plans for your future will turn out as you wish them.

I have just heard also that you are presently ill and want you to know that I am so terribly sorry and hope that you will soon be up and around again.

With best regards, I am

Miss Edith House

% Baptist Hospital Miami, Florida

CHARLES E. BENNETT

COMMITTEE:

MEMBER

ARMED SER V I CES

2D DISTRICT, FLORIDA

SEC R ETARIES:

J . W . NORMAN ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT

crtongrtss of tbt Wnittb ~tatts J)ou.£Se of Repre.£Sentatibe.£S Ula~iugton,

AUD R EY W . STR IN G FELLOW JEANNETTE CHESBRO UGH SOWERS C ECILE CHRISTY AN ONA COLLINS

D. €.

January 15 , 1960 Miss Edith House 1541 La Rue Avenue Jacksonville , Florida

Dear Edith : I was certainly delighted to read of your promotion, although very sorry to read of your moving to Miami .

We will

surely iniss you , but everybody is very happy about this acknowledgement of your great contribution .

With kindest regards , I am Sincerely, AUU

f

- -- '" rests, the raiding 1 $l rlie squad reported, ~.

i~~ Jl'~~ · the !ipal

.

~

Miss House :· Promoted to Miami Job 0 entl tere in c cas!

A

Ne·son and two he gal-

I at

A~:

day )as-

nal at

unl< Veteran assistant U.S. District the Atty. Miss Edith Hou.se of Jack- 904 in , sonville Will become the chief adAI ministrative aide to u.s. Atty ram Coleman Madson. · the Madson announced the promo- 975 tion in Miami this morning as the but went first step in his contemplated reorganization of u.s. attorney 's ofA fices in Miami, Tampa and Jack- hor, sonville. Madson last month was ' Bro stor appointed to head the federal gov- turn ernment 's Prosecution staff for late• the Southern District of Florida. pish Miss Hou.se has served here for ch:Js 28 years. Her new job will take A < her to Miami, with a salary of ag-ain $10,000 per year. shop : in!! w A Cf

j

hr ~!::! k"-i

&~

Charles E. Bennett , M. C.

~o~er ~ ~e~mte ~mteit ~bdtil ~istrid 3Jubge ~ullu~dstt, ~lnrib

November 1 , 1962

Dear Miss United States Attorney: I am delighted to be able to address you as above.

I hope the President lets you stay there for quite some time , provided , of course , you are able to stand up under the heavy load you will be carrying. Judge Dyer did exactly what I would have done had I had that opportunity. In my opinion the United States Attorney ' s Office will be in most competent hands as long as you are running it.

With love and best wishes, I remain Sincerely your friend ,

Miss Edith House P. o. Box 1070 Miami 1 , Florida

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE F EDERAL BUR E AU OF I N VE STIGATION

Post Office Box 52- 157 Miami , Florida October 26, 1962

In Reply , Please Ref er to File No.

Miss Edith House United States Attorney Southern District of Florida Miami , Florida

Dear Miss House: My associates in the FBI and I were indeed happy to learn of your appointment as United States Attorney and want to take this means of congratulating you upon this most recent recognition of your ability .

With every good wish for continued success .

Sincerely yours ,

~.rJ.~ WESLEY G. GRAPP

Special Agent in Charge

fRobe'zt Jfloeppel

OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT KLOEPPEL HOTELS HOTEL GEORGE WASHINGTON JACKSONVILLE 2, FLORIDA

M rch 4, 1955.

e r Miss House: ot only are your many ye rs w"th the United St te A torney' s off·ce recognized by yo r contemporaries in the fed r offices, but c"tize s like myself were ple sed to learn of the w rd for ''outstandi g nd meri orious service".

Let me join your many friends i heartfel congr t la ions, n offer my thanks, pe sonally, for y ur p inst kin efforts in the publi welf re.

With very best wishes and kind per so a I regards,

Sincerelv,

/1 ~ .;~ ~ /~ o ert hloe pd I Pr sid nt -Dire tor

Miss Ed .th lloube Assis t Unitt.d States Distri t Attorncy, Fedeul B ild ng, J c ·sonville, lorid •

ÂŽffir~

of tq~ i\ttnrn~y <ID~n~rul ll&aqingtnn, m. or.

August 5, 1963

Miss Edith House Assistant United States Attorney Miami , Florida Dear Miss House: It has come to my attention that y.ou have d ecided to retire on September 1 f rom the United States Attorneyâ&#x20AC;˘ s office for the Southern District of Florida after over 33 y ears of loyal and superior service in that office, both as A ssistant United States Attorney and United States Attorney.

This is a record of which you can be justifiably proud and I w ish t o extend my personal thanks to y ou for the contribution you have made to the work of the Department of Justice during all these years. It gives me great pleasure t o join with y our many friends and associates to congratulate you on this occasion and to wish you health and happiness for many years to come.

Sincerely,

0

..

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA

October 31, 1962 BRYAN SIMPSON CHIEF JUDGE

JACKSONVIL.L.E I, FLORIDA

Honorable Edith House United States Attorney Southern District of Florida P.O. Box 1070 Miami 1, Florida Dear Edith: Congratulations on the richly deserved h onor which has come your way. The articles from the Miami Herald have had wide circulation on the fourth and fifth floors and have been the subject of uniformly laudatory comment. Your ears must have burned these past few days.

This letter is being dictated to Mrs. Kirkland who joins me in warm regards. May your tour of duty be a long and happy one.

BS:k

R E S 0 L U T I 0 N

WHEREAS, the members of the Executive Committee of the Jac ksonville Bar Association have learned that Edith House has been a ssi gned to the Miami offi c e of the Un i ted Stat es Attorney f or t he Southern District of Flori da, a nd WHEREAS, Edith a ouse, a s a n Assistant United States Attorney f or the Southern District of Florida, has not only dischar ged her duties in that office with integrity, diligence and p roficiency, but has, at all times, been u nderstanding of t he problems of litigants a nd me mbers of the Bar with whom s he has been in con tact, and WHEREAS, she has conducted herself a s a membe r of the Bar and a member of the Jac ksonville Bar Associ at ion so a s to b ring credit upon our pro f ession, ou r Association, a nd her e mployer, the United States Government, a nd WHEREAS, the Associat i on re grets he r departure f ro m Jacksonv ille, but reco gnizes the deserving promot ion attained b y her, NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RE SOLVED b y the Executive Committee of the Jac kso nv ille Bar Association that th is Committee does hereby express t o Edith House the appreciation of the Bar Association f or her many years of service here i n Jac ksonvi lle, an d does extend t o her best wishes f or pleasurable success in her f uture duties .

Ado p ted this 11th day of Feb ruar y, 1960 .

Attest:

RESO L U TI ON

Come now the friends of Edith House, i n personam, without notice, and it appearing to the said persons that the said Edith House has "tenounced her North Florida-south Georgia citizenship and has gone to liTe among transplanted Yankees and, it f urther appearing that the absence of the said Edith House will be by the afor ementi oned persons duly noted and missed and, more particularly, that the United States Attorney's office in JacksonTille will be left in a hellUYa fix , BE I T THEREFORE RESOLVED AND DECREED that the poet laureate of the Federal Building be coMMissioned to express the sentiments of the aforementioned friends regarding t he said departure of the said Edith House and that this t ribute be attached to and bec ome a part of thi s doc\llllent.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the sincere well wishes and wa:m friendship of her friends follow Edith House in her new endeaTors.

~~

C-DJf~~

&;:d~ ~~)-- -

TO EDITH

A FOND FAREWELL, DEAR EDITH, WE HJ.TE TO SEE YOU LEAVE, WITH YOU DOWN THERE AND US UP HERE, OUR HEARTS WTIJ.. SORELY GRIEVE. WE'LL MISS YOUR BELLY-ACHING, AND YOUR CUSSING, SOFT BUT STRONG, WE'LL MISS YOUR LEG.AL GUIDANCE, AS 0 1 ER BUMPS YOU HELP US 'LONG. WE'LL MISS YOUR FOOTSTEPS IN THE HALL, YOUR PROSECUTIONS IN COURT ROOM ONE, YOUR TRANSFER TO MIAMI, TO US SURE AIN'T NO FUN. BUT SHARE OUR CONSOLATION, AND SHED A TEAR----NO LONGER, "OUT OF SIGHT 1 S NOT OUT OF MIND", BUT ABSENCE MAKES THTREART GROW FONDERt

-Leo Mack

0

I

I

'I

tt

.. .

T HE ATTORNEY GENERAL W ASHINGTON

J une 13, 1963

Dear Mi s s House: Many thanks for your recent letter r egarding the National Convention of the Record One Stop Association.

I

appreciate your taking care of

this matter for me a nd hope you will express my thanks to Mr. William Meadows.

Sincerely,

~1J~rt!L~

/

RoJ~~~v;.~nnedy Miss Edith House United States Attorney Southern District of Florida P.O. Box 1070 Miami l, Florida 0

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Court decisions over the last two decades have reduced sex discrimination practices, but women face continuing ineguality in a society that remains male-oriented in many of its cultural institutions, the first Edith House lecturer said •Tuesday at the University of Geor~ia.

Launching the maugural lecture series at the School ofl..aw, Nadine Taub said it appears "special treatment" policies are occasionally in order for women, but enacting such sex-specific laws would only reinforce crippling stereotypes and undermine the advances of the wornen's movement.

By GARY EVANS · D8ily News Writer

"We're imposing some tough requirements on women who are tryin~ to move beyond traditional roles, the head of the Women's Rights Utigation Clinic at Rutgers said. "We are consistently a world based on male norms and male experience."

In psychological studies surveying opinions on identical articles bearinB male and female names, the majonty of readers had a higher opinion of the work perceived to be maleauthored, Ms. Taub said. The law is not immune from such entrenched social attitutes, she added• "The law reflects the male experience " she said.

Ms. Taub delivered the f1rst lee·ture in the Edith House series, which 'Yas founded by the Women Law Students' Association to honor the first woman graduate of the law school.

Ms. House, a native of Winder, was valedictorian ofthe class of 1925.

The author of a number of articles on women's rights and sexual harassment1 Ms. Taub outlined legislation ·that nas gradually eroded sex discrimination practices and outmoded stereotypes.

She said as recently as 1961 the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a Florida law denying women jury duty but the Civil Rights Act of 1964 invalidated many policies that denied women opportunities or "overprotected" them out of the job market.

"We're talking about a system that is based on the assumption that men do one thing and women do another,"

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- --

-

--------

she said.

As a possible special treatment case Ms. Taub used the example of a female faculty member trying meet tenure requirements and raise a family, but sa1d if women were ~anted a longer period of time to obtam tenure it would only reinforce stereotypic perceptions.

Such would also be the case iri laws granting pre-menstrual s)'Jldrome defense pleas, Ms. Taub said. , " We need to construct sex-neutral categories that suggest female experience as well as male," she s8id.

The PMS defense for crimes commited under biological stress could be included in a broader, non-gender category of temporary insanity by reason of chemical imbalance, she said .

New law IectUfe"SerieS begins

"' - - - -- -----o

The Edith House Lecture Series In Law

THE INAUGURAL LECTURE "Refining the Equality Principle: Formal Equality, Substantive Equality and Special Treatment

for Women" presented by Professor Nadine Taub , Rutgers Law School #

MAY 3, 1983

Edith House, a native of Winder, Georgia, received the first law degree granted to a woman by the University of Georgia and was Valedictorian of the Class of 1925. Following her graduation, she practiced law for four years in Clearwater, Florida. She was then appointed to be Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, a post she held for the next 30 years. When the Southern District was subdivided in 1963, she served as the U.S. Attorney for that district during the transition period. She retired in 1963 and lives in Jacksonville, Florida.

Professor Nadine Taub,

a graduate of Swarthmore College, received her L.L.B. degree from the Yale Law School.

She continued her legal education at Stockholm University, specializing in administrative law. Since 1973 she has been on the faculty of the Rutgers Law School, Newark, New Jersey, where she teaches courses in constitutional law, civil liberties, and social welfare legislation. She is currently the Director of the Women's Rights Litigation Clinic and an advisor for the Women's Rights Law Reporter.

\

a graduate of Swarthmore College, received her L.L.B. degree from the Yale Law School.

She continued her legal education at Stockholm University, specializing in administrative law. Since 1973 she has been on the faculty of the Rutgers Law School, Newark, New Jersey, where she teaches courses in constitutional law, civil liberties, and social welfare legislation. She is currently the Director of the Women's Rights Litigation Clinic and an advisor for the Women's Rights Law Reporter.

Professor Nadine Taub,

first law degree granted to a woman by the University of Georgia and was Valedictorian of the Class of 1925. Following her graduation, she practiced law for four years in Clearwater, Florida. She was then appointed to be Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, a post she held for the next 30 years. When the Southern District was subdivided in 1963, she served as the U.S. Attorney for that district during the transition period. She retired in 1963 and lives in Jacksonville, Florida.

Edith House, a native of Winder, Georgia, received the

MAY 3, 1983

presented by Professor Nadine Taub , Rutgers Law School

"Refining the Equality Principle: Formal Equality, Substantive Equality and Special Treatment for Women''

THE INAUGURAL LECTURE

The Edith House Lecture Series In Law

WLSA

Carol Baird Maija Blaubergs Margaret G.S. Bode' Susan Brandt Lisa A. Brown Patricia Cain Dorothy W. Courington Dorinda Dallmeyer M. Kathryn Durham Clyde Hurt Feil Helen Ferraro Nelle Fleeman Charles L. Gowen Dr. & Mrs. R.E. Hamilton Peggy Patrick Harrell L.B. Harrell, Jr. Mr. & Mrs. E.C. Harrison Shelley Himel Kathleen Horne Kelso Horne, Sr. June & Kelso Horne, Jr. Josephine House Natalie Hull Ellen R. Jordan Paul M. Kurtz Susan M. Lach Julia D. Lewis

Sue Carey Linholm Carolyn Linsey SaraJ ane Love Mrs. Charles H. McDonald Barbara M. McManis Barbara Mendel John C. O'Byrne Frances O'Connell Carol S. Osborne Frances Patrick Martha & Albert Pearson Mack A. Player Jeanne M.L. Player Valerie Robbins Virginia F. Rusk Benna Solomon Earlene Y. Speer Kathelen Van Blarcum Mrs. George Wolpert

would like to thank Dean Ralph Beaird and Ms. Gwen Wood for the support of the Law School Fund in establishing this lecture series. The series is funded in part by a grant from the American Bar Association/ Law Student Division. WLSA would also like to thank the following contributors to the endowment fund for the Edith House Lecture Series in Law:

1

ri

Edith House lecture series to -feature Gladys Kessler · Edith House was the first woman to graduate from the law school of the University of Georgia . When her portrait is unveiled on Tuesday, she will have broken another sex barrier , to become the first woman whose portrait hangs in the law school.

Her picture, commissioned by the Women Law Students Association,· will be dedicated on the day of the second lecture in the Edith House lecture series.

Superior Court J udge Gladys Kessler of Washington, D. C., will be the speaker for the 4:30p.m . lecture in the law auditorium . Her topic will be "The Crisis in Child Support." . · The lecture series named for the law school's first woman graduate was endowed last year through efforts of the Women Law Students Association. This year, the association also commissioned the portrait, by Athens artist Allison Schneider. The unveiling will be in the law library at 3:30p.m . " We felt it was time to have a woman up there (on the walls of the · school )," stated Melissa Burkholder, president of the Women Law Students. " Thirty percent of the faculty now are women."

Ms. House, a native of Winder, graduated in 1925 and was valedictorian of her class. She practiced law for four years in Clearwater, Fla., and was then appointed assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida, a post she held for 30 years .

When the Southern District was subdivdided in 1963, she served as the U. S. attorney for that district during the transition period. She retired in 1963 and lives in Jacksonville , Fla. Ms. Kessler , a graduate of Harvard law school , is presiding judge of the family division of the superior court of the District of Columbia: A . member of the American Bar Association, she has served on the national advisory board on child support project. · She has also headed the Natwrial Association of Women Judges and the National Foundation for Women Judges. She also was founding president ofthe Women's Legal Defense Fund. · Both Ms. Kessler's lecture and the unveiling of the portrait of Ms. House are open to the public.

a native of Winder, Georgia, received the first law degree granted to a woman by the University of Georgia and was Valedictorian of the Class of 1925. Following her graduation, she practiced law for four years in Clearwater, Florida. She was then appointed to be Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, a post she held for the next 30 years. When the Southern District was subdivided in 1963, she served as the U.S. Attorney for that district during the transition period. She retired in 1963 and lives in Jacksonville, Florida.

Edith House,

APRIL 3, 1984 4:30p.m.

presented by Judge Gladys Kessler Superior Court, District of Columbia

''The Crisis in Child Support''

The Edith House Lecture Series In Law

The Women Law Students' Association is grateful to Dean Ralph Beaird and Ms. Gwen Wood for the support of the Law School Fund in establishing this lecture series last year.

The series continues through the generous contributions of alumni, students, faculty and friends to the endowment fund for the Edith House Lecture Series in Law. The series is partially funded by a grant from the American Bar Association/Law Student Division.

received the L.L.B. from Harvard Law School. For eight years, she was a partner with Reisman, Kessler & Cashdan. Since 1977, she has been Associate Judge of the District of Columbia Superior Court and currently is Presiding Judge of its Family Division. Judge Kessler has been a national leader of several professional associations and was Founding President of the Women's Legal Defense Fund. She has published articles on public interest law and has lectured on legal issues concerning women.

Judge Gladys Kessler' a graduate of Cornell university'

J

4:00p.m.

a native of Winder, Georgia, received the first law degree granted to a woman by the University of Georgia and was Valedictorian of the Class of 1925. Following her gradua~ tion, she practiced law for four years in Clearwater, Florida. She was then appointed to be Assistant U .S. Attorney for the South~ ern District of Florida, a post she held for the next 30 years. When the Southern District was subdivided in 1963, she served as the U.S. Attorney for that district during the transition period. She retired in 1963 and lives in Jacksonville, Florida.

Edith House,

MARCH 7, 1985

The Honorable Shirley S. Abrahamson Justice, Supreme Court of Wisconsin

presented by

"Justice and Juror"

The Edith House Lecture Series In Law

The Women Law Students' Association is grateful to Dean Ralph Beaird and Ms. Gwen Wood for their continuing support of this lecture series. The series is made possible by the generous contributions of alumni, students, faculty, and friends to the endowment fund for the Edith House Lecture Series in Law.

Justice Shirley S. Abrahamson,

a graduate of New York University, received her law degree from Indiana Uni~ versity School of Law. She earned a Doctor of Juridical Science degree at the University of Wisconsin Law School. Justice Abra~ hamson then joined the Madison firm of LaFollette, Sinykin, An~ derson & Abrahamson. In 1966, she was appointed to the faculty at the University of Wisconsin School of Law, and in 1977 was appointed lecturer at the Marquette University School of Law. Since 1976, Justice Abrahamson has been a member of the Wis~ consin Supreme Court.

I

a native of Winder, Georgia, received the first law degree granted to a woman by the University of Georgia and was Valedictorian of the Class of 1925. Following her graduation, she practiced law for four years in Clearwater, Florida. She was then appointed to be Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southem District of Florida, a post she held for the next 30 years. When the Southern District was subdivided in 1963, she served as the U.S. Attorney for that district during the transition period. She retired in 1963 and lives in Jacksonville, Florida.

Edith House,

Professor Eliane Vogel-Polsky Universite Libre de Bruxelles Faculty of Law SEPTEMBER 25, 1985 3:30p.m.

presented by

"Positive ('Affirmative') Action Within the European Economic Community"

The Edith House Lecture Series In Law

The Women Law Students As:sociation is grateful to Dean Ralph Beaird and Ms. Gwen Wood for their continuing support of thi.s lecture series. The series is made possible by the generous contributions of alumni, students, faculty, and friends to the endowment fund for the Edith House Lecture Series in Law. The series is partially funded by a grant from the American Bar Association/Law Student Divtswn.

Professor Eliane Vogel-Polsky, a graduate of the Universite. Libre de Bruxelles, is a professor at the Universite" Libre de Bruxelles Faculty of Law, where she teaches labor law, comparative and international labor law, and European labor law. Professor Vogei-Polsky also teaches at the Institute of Euro路 pean Studies and the Institute of Labour. She has been a guest lecturer and professor at universities all over the world. Professor Vogel-Polsky's present research concerns minority groups in the labor market and includes a comparative study of affirmative action programs in the United States and positive action programs of various European countries.

The Women Law Students' Association is grateful to Dean J. Ralph Beaird and Ms. '\ .. Gwen Wood for their continuing support of this lecture series. The series is made w.ossible by the generous contributions of alumni, students, faculty, and friends to {he endowment fund for the Edith House Lecture Series in Law.

Edith House, a native of Winder, Georgia, was co-Valedictorian of the Class of 1925 and was one of two female graduates in the first class to graduate women from the University of Georgia School of Law. Following her graduation, she practiced law for four years in Clearwater, Horida. She was then appointed to be Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of Horida, a post she held for the next 30 years. When the Southern District was subdivided in 1963, she served as the United States Attorney for that district during the transition period. She retired in 1963 and lives in Jacksonville, Florida.

March 12, 1987 4:00p.m.

Antonia Handler Chayes Chairman of the Board ENDISPUTE, Inc.

presented by

"Beyond Negotiation: Alternative Dispute Resolution''

The Edith House Lecture Series in Law

Judge Gladys Kessler, Superior Court, District of Columbia, "The Crisis in Child Support," April 3, 1984.

Professor Nadine Taub, Rutgers Law School, "Refining the Equality Principle: Formal Equality, Substantive Equality and Special Treatment for Women, " May 3, 1983.

Previous Lecturers

Professor Eliane Vogel-Polsky, Universite' Libre de Bruxelles, Faculty of Law, "Positive Action Within the European Economic Community," September 25, 1985

Justice Shirley S. Abrahamson, Supreme Court of Wisconsin, " Justice and Juror," March 7, 1985.

Antonia Handler Chayes, a former partner in the Boston law firm of Csaplar & Bok, is chairman of ENDISPUfE, Inc., which provides cost-effective alternatives to traditional litigation, related consulting services an d training. During the Carter Administration she was both Under Secretary of the Air Force and Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Manpower, Reserve Affairs and Installations. She has been honored with the Department of Defense Distinguished Public Service Award and the Air Force Decoration for Exceptional Service. A magna cum laude graduate of Radcliffe College of Harvard University, she attended Yale Law School and holds the degree of juris doctor with highest honors from George Washington University. The author of numerous scholarly articles, she is a lecturer at the Kennedy School of Government and was a Fellow at the Harvard University Center for International and Comparative Law.

EDITH HOUSE LECTURE SERIES IN LAW "International Affairs and the Implausibility of Democracy" by

R. LEA BRILMAYER Nathan Baker Professor of Law Yale University

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, 1988 4:00P.M. LAW SCHOOL COURTROOM Reception following sponsored by the Women Law Students Association

................

â&#x20AC;˘â&#x20AC;˘

)

Thursday, March 17, 1988

The Athens Observer

Law talk R. Lea Brilmayer, Nathan Baker Professor of Law at Yale Law School, will deliver the annual Edith House Lecture in the UGA law school auditorium 4 p.m. Wednesday, April 6. She will discuss " International Affairs and the Implausibility of Democracy," focusing on the conflict between the openess of democracy and the secrecy needed for certain foreign policy goals.

Womens Law Students' Association University of Georgia Law School

The

Edith House Lecture Series in Law

WLSA WOMEN LAW STUDENTS' ASSOCIATION UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA LAW SCHOOL ATHENS, GEORGIA 30602

November 8, 1982

Miss Edith Elizabeth House 2228 Ocean Drive South Jacksonville, Florida 32250 Dear Miss House: As Gwen Wood related to you in her last letter, the Women Law Students' Association at the University of Georgia would like to honor you as the law school's first woman graduate. We plan to endow a lecture series, named for you, which would bring at least one outstanding speaker to the law school each year.

By no means, however, is this lecture series contingent upon your funding it. All we would like to have from you is . your permission for us to honor you in this way.

Once we have your consent we intend to seek contributions from law school alumnae. We would like to begin raising funds as soon as possible so that we could have the first speaker during spring quarter.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us. Your graduation my seem to you an unremarkable part of your life, but, coming as it did in 1925 and with honors, it is a source of pride to many of us and an event which we sincerely feel should be given permanent, public recognition. For this reason we hope to receive a favorable response from you very soon.

Cordially,

Series

~~ June Horne, President

THE U NIVERSITY OF GEORGIA SC H OOL OF L AW ATH ENS, G E 0 R G I A

30602 OFF I CE

OF

THE

DEAN

August 19, 1983 Miss Edith House 2228 Ocean Drive South Jacksonville, Florida 32250 Dear Miss House: It was so nice to hear from you! I am pleased to send you these copies of the program. The Edith House Lecture Fund is now an invested account with the University of Georgia Foundation for the benefit of the School of Law as administered by the Dean and the Women Law Students' Association. Dean Beaird has assured the women law students that he will help secure funding for the lecture program during the first few years while the corpus is building. In the meantime , we will launch another campaign mailing to specially-targeted alumni and friends of the Law School sometime this winter. The response to last year's mailing was heartening. We heard from many young women who had not been in touch with the Law School in years--from all across the country. They sent words of encouragement along with their monetary contributions.

The officers of the Women Law Student's Association are now at work identifying the best possible speaker candidates to invite for future lectures.

I want to personally add my expression of appreciation to you for your financial support of the project as it gets underway. Your encouragement has been a morale-booster for the students. In accordance with your wishes, we have listed the gifts as anonymous for publication purposes. Dean Beaird sings your praises as a genuine and long-time friend of the Law School when he . tells alumni groups about the new lecture series. He does not divulge your giving information, of course.

We hope that you are feeling well these days and that the summer's heat is not too stifling for you . We are in need of rain in north Georgia. Our little baby girl is 15 months old and she is a climbing, exploring, babbling, loveable toddler. She keeps the days hectic but happy.

We will keep in good communication.

Thank you for your letters!

Sincerely,

IJJ))fA1) (JjooJ Mrs. Gwen Y. Wood Assistant to the Dean GYW:jk Enclosures

WLSA WOMEN LAW STUDENTS' ASSOCIATION UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA LAW SCHOOL ATHENS, GEORGIA 30602

May 5, 1983 Dear Miss House, I wanted to let you know how the lecture went on Tuesday. Prof. Taub met with members of the faculty for a coffee hour that morning. Apparently the conversation revolved around curriculum changes, an area of reform Prof. Taub is very much interested in. Some of the faculty and WLSA members then adjourned to Fr~ends Restaurant at the old Georgian Hotel for a luncheon, where we had chicken crepes as the main dish. You should have been with us for that. It was all quite elegant.

The lecture was held in the auditorium with a crowd of about 150 in attendance (including a good number of male students). June Horne, WLSA president, gave a general welcome and recognized your relatives, Mr. & Mrs. Harrison, Mrs. Julia Lewis, and Josephine House. Then Dean Beaird gave a short exposition of the strides made in improving the representation of women in the law school student body and also apoke of your many accomplishments. I introduced Prof. Taub. As you can see from the enclosed clippings, she gave a very thought-provoking speech.

We then had a reception in the Dunlap Room for all members of WLSA and faculty. Because of thunderstorms, we had to cancel our plans to have it outdoors. We had a very good time and I especially enjoyed talking with all your relatives. We then went to Prof. Ellen Jordan's home for a cookout.

This sounds like all we did was eat all day long! But the speech was very thought-provoking for both faculty and students and started quite a few discussions. He feel like we have really contributed to the school and the academic environment here. We really appreciate your inspiration for what has turned out to be a very worthwhile project. Please keep in touch -- we all enjoy hearing from you.

Cordially,

~/1_d~ Dorinda G. Dallmeyer P.S. lhave enclosed some programs from the lecture.

Edith House 2228 Ocean Drive South Jacksonville Beach, Florida 32250

May 8, 1984 Dear Dorinda "Oh wad some pm.,rer the g iftie gde" me to express, adequately, to you, Melissa, Gwen vlood, Dean Beaird and every member of WLSA my profound gratitude for the establishment of the Edith House Lecture Series and all the things that have been done to make it a success. And now you gift me '.vith that beautiful album of photos. I love it and my friends admire it. 1 appr eciate all the work that went into the compilation of t he album and will cherish it all the rest of my days.

One of t he editors of our two daily papers in Jac ksonville was a cub reporter, with the Fed eral Court as his beat, about th e time I was transf e rred to Miami in 1960. Some one tipped h im off about the article on me in the Atlanta papers and, as a result, the J-acks enville evening paper carri e d a writ e - up about me l ast Thursday. A copy is inclosed. It didn't make- both papers, as in Atlanta, but it Jtid: make the front page of t he Jac k sonville Journal. And right here let me thank WLSA for t he Bulldog visor. I do use it, p roudly, wh ile trying to grow some tom a toes in my back y ard. It was also useful irl concealing my furro wed brow whil e being photographed by the Journal photog rapher who accomp anie d t he staff writer who int erviewed me. He s potted it right off when he ent er e d my pad and insisted t ha t I put i t on. He took some p ic t ures witho u t it but I gu ess he thought the one he us ed t o be the best.

Also inclos e d is an a r ticl e t ha t appe ar ed in l a s t 路...red.nes day f s s un- 'I' i mes, a p ap e r p ublis hed 'dee kly in t he beaches a r e a. The staff wri te r, Be th Pm-1e ll, who interviewed me was born and raised in Atlanta and h er p eople still live t he re. Her mother read t he a rticle in 'l'he Atlanta constitution and called Beth t o suggest tha t she mi ght ge t a s t ory out of it. It has a ll been a lot of fun and I am indeb-t ed to _you a ll for tha t. ;:Ji th all good -vJishes a nd warmest r egards to all of you, I am

•

Edith House 2228 Ocean Drive South Jacksonville Beach, Florida 32250

April 12, 1954 My d e ar Melissa l>iany thanks for your lett er of April 9 last and for sending me the write-up about me in t h e April issue of the Atlanta Constitution. It was also published in the Atlanta Journal of tha t same date. i am deeply indebt ed to the members of the \iSLA f or mak ing possible the event whic h 1 f e el s u re is my "last hurrah" an d I am e n joying ev e ry minu t e of it. 1 h ave he ard f r om peo ple that I hav en't heard from or even t hought of for many, many y e ars.

I n fact, 1 e an•t rmember s ome of them alth ough t he names are vaguely familiar. Please convey my heartrelt thanks to all the members of your association for all that they have do~e for me and that includes the lovely nose gay which arrived at my place on the afternoon of April.J about t he time, 1 imag ine, that the unveiling ceremonies 1-1e r e tak ing place.

Yes, 1 am advised t hat ten of my rela tives attended the unveiling , three of whom 1 h ave n ever soon \ s econd an d t h ird cousins / . 1 have h a d glo win g repor t s f r om J osephine rtouse and Juli a Ha r ri s on a bout t h e event and t he most cordial and gracious mann e r in >vhich they He re treated. Ag ain, my t hanks to all.

They a re very imp re s sed with the Law Schoo~.

I am inclo s ing copy of one of t he fi rst l e tt ers I rec e ive d aft er t he publication of t he a r t icle from Davi d L. Co ke r who is Re g ional couns e l f or t he US 3rnall Busine ss Adm inistra t ion vTi th h e adquar t e rs in Atlant a - 1 d on' ~ know ho w many s tat es are i n ~he Southeas t ?..e g i on. Hy th inking is that some oi' you ~; n ls mi gh t '.-Jan t t o loo k in t o the possi bility of a position in t h a t ou t fit a n d I kno •·: a ll of y ou 1.-.r ill li ke h i s rem a rks a bout Homen l awy ers.

At your earliest conveni ence, p le a se s end me the a ddress of Alison Fr e e Schnei de r - I wan t to write her a note. i have wri t t en t o Barba ra La k er '.'lith warm re g a rds a nd a ll goo d Hi s he s to all of you, I am

THE UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA S C H OO L O F L AW

ATHENS , GEORGIA

O FFI CE O F THE DEAN

July 15, 1983

Miss Edith House 2228 Ocean Drive, South Jacksonville, Florida 32250 Dear Miss House: I am pleased to send you this lithograph of the Law School building . This item is sent in recognition of your recent gift to the Law School Fund of the University of Georgia Foundation.

You are now considered to be a member of the "Dean's Club" level of giving.

Thank you for helping to make possible a vigorous and competitive program of academic enrichment for your Law School t h rough annual private giving.

Sincerely,

11.!~ Dean

THE UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA A T HENS 30602 OF FIC E O F TH E PR ES IDENT

August 26 , 1985

Miss Edith House 2228 Ocean Drive South Jacksonville Beach, FL 32250 I am delighted, Miss House . . . . . . that you have joined The Presidents Club of The University of Georgia in support of the Bicentennial Fund Campaign.

As a result of your affection and support the university will continue to grow and remain in the educational forefront. Your interest and confidence have helped make the difference between UGA being a good institution and a great institution. This is a level of achievement which we we all want to preserve and build upon.

With all best wishes.

Fred C . Davison

An Equal Opportunity I Affirmative Action Institution

{IfÂŁ

A/2C f-1

South campus were christened the Science Center as the state started loosening its purse strings.

In 1961 the first two black students enrolled, an event more revolutionary than the admission of women, and the last major barrier to the University's advancement vanished as a steadily growing trickle of blacks enrolled over the next two decades. In the middle 1960s the state designated The University of Georgia as the capstone of its whole education system and poured funds into the campus which almost exploded with growth.

The mega-university had arrived. Its past ran back farther than any other state university ; more importantly, its future is as bright and promising as the thousands and thousands of students now on its sprawling campus.

Students in dormitory room in the 1920s.

Co-eds in sorority house in 1925. ~h House, right back, is one of the first "Woii1eit graduates of the Law School.

Future Governor Hugh M. Dorsey as a University of Georgia student studying in his room in 1893. Like many students he boarded in a town residence.

8

Jacksonville Journal, Thursday, May 3, 1984

At 80, Edith House stil' making history

By JESSIE-LYNNE KERR StaHWrlter

They had a "banging'' of Edith House last month up in Georgia, and for the octogenarian resident of Jacksonville Beach, it was another in a history of firsts.

Miss House, one of the first two women to graduate from the University of Georgia Law School, was honored by her alma mater's Women Law Students' Association, which commissioned a portrait of Miss House that was unveiled Apri13 in the law school courtroom.

Her portrait, the courtroom's 57th, is the first of her gender there.

The retired federal prosecutor has called Jacksonville Beach home for 20 years. She has watched as the ocean view from her first-floor apartment gave way to that of condominiums. Tbe walls of her small study hold her law degree, a framed citation for 50 years in The Florida Bar and the "shingles" that tell of her career as "United States Attorney" and "Adm. Asst. U.S. Attorney."

When Miss House was growing up in Winder, Ga, it was expected that young ladies would get married, teach school or work in an office.

None of that really appealed to her.

"My father was a banker, and I used to go with him to his office from time to time," she recalled. "I knew I was going to have to make a living, so I decided then and there that what he was doing was a lot more interesting than what my mother did all day."

P._. .. LAWYER, pege 5A

ICOTT ROBINION11t811

Edith House, one of the first two women to graduate from the University of Georgia La~ School, haâ&#x20AC;˘ been honored by her alma mater.

;

LAWYER: 'Hanged' in Georgia "We moved into the new Federal examination of a witness, she could ConUnued from page 1A Building [now called the Post Office be lethal," he said.

Building] on Julia Street during "I considered her my mentor," said She remembers that the summer Christmas week of 1933," Miss House Briggs, who went to work as an assisshe was 13, her father told her that a said. tant U.S. attorney in 1955. "I had been new bill had been passed allowing "I go by the presidents," Miss recently released from the Navy and women to practice law in Georgia.

House said, "because every time we had very little practical law experiThat set her direction. elected a new one, I thought I'd lose ence. She was very patient with me in 1 "Of course, I had no thoughts of be- my job." my education as a trial attorney. She . coming a trial lawyer and certainly is a wonderful person."

Over the next 34 years as a governno idea of becoming a federal proseMark Hulsey Jr., a past president 1 ment lawyer, Miss House had a trecutor," she said. of The Florida Bar, was an assistant ! mendously varied caseload.

When she graduated from Georgia "I condemned the whole town of U.S. attorney in 1952-53. "It was ex- : in 1925 as co-valedictorian of her East Mayport so the government tremely pleasant working with her 1 class, Miss House also had no intenand very constructive and beneficlal tion of coming to Florida, she re- could build Mayport Naval Station, to me . as a young lawyer," Hulsey and I met a lot of nice people," she called. She was admitted to practice Said. before the Supreme Court of Georgia said. She also did a lot of condemna"I really didn't think of her as being tion work for the construction of Ceand the federal courts. cil Field Naval Air Station, worked in a woman," he said. "I thought of her "I've never held a job that I applied a lot of tax law and spent a great deal as a very competent lawyer who was ror," Miss House said of time checking probate files trying a delight to be around."

At graduation, she had a job lined to collect government claims from Miss House was transferred from up with an Augusta law firm. But be- estates.

Jacksonville to the Miami branch of fore she could begin work there, she "I got into prosecuting criminal the U.S. Attorney's Office on Feb. 1, received a telegram from the uncle cases late in my career, and I really 1960. When the Southern District was of the late Sen. Richard B. Russell. didn't like them," she said. split in two in 1963, creating the MidLewis Russell wanted her to join his dle District, Miss House was named But she will admit that she found law firm in St. Petersburg. acting U.s. Attorney for the Southern her first white slavery case "fun".

District until the position was permThe day after her arrtval in St. Pe"I had some big moonshine cases anently filled by presidential appointtersburg, she received a phone call from the Clearwater firm of Baskin and a few drug cases, but the defen- ment.

She held that post for eight months, and Jordan wanting her to work with dants usually were doctors or druggists. We didn't have the drug prob- until her retirement Dec. 14, 1963, them. lems we have now." when she was battling cancer of the "The Florida boom was on then," And there were "just plain old FHA tongue. she said, so after two weeks .with "To get a full pension, I had to Russell's firm, she moved to the collection suits."

Although she was never on the fac- work for 30 years and until I was 60 Clearwater firm.

She did general practice with the ulty at any law school, Miss House years old," she said.. Her birthdate is said she taught a lot of law to lawyers Nov. 1, 1903.

Clearwater firm for four. years.

In retirement, she moved back to "Then I met W. Patrick Hughes now prominent in Jacksonville. who was appointed U.S. Attorney unMentioning a few, Miss House re- the Jacksonville area, settling in her der [President Herbert} Hoover, and called they had gone to law school on beach apartment in the spring of 1964.

Although she did not go into private he persuaded me to work for the gov- the Gl Bill after World War II and practice after leaving government wanted trial experience through the ernment," Miss House said.

"The Florida boom had busted, the U.S. Attorney's Office before going service, Miss House said she spent a lot of time in Georgia, visiting with elstock market had crashed and money out into private practice. derly relatives and closing estates. was getting tight," she said. "Besides, Former U.S. Attorney John L. "I've kept up my Florida Bar membeing on the government payroll was Briggs is one of them. bership, and I read the journals, keep attractive to me. It just sort of fell in "I can hardly say enough about house, play a little poker and grow a my lap."

On Dec. 16, 1929, Miss House joined her," Briggs said "She was a govern- few tomatoes. I used to walk the the U.S. Attorney's Office for the ment attorney at a time when women beach every day, but that is difficult Southern District of Florida. The dis- attorneys raised the eyebrows of the now. I enjoy visiting friends, and I still drive my car, but not at night," trict's headquarters were in Jackson- people in Washington."

Miss House, Briggs said, was highly she said, wearing a Bulldog sun visor ville, with satellite offices in Tampa effective in her work. "She was a gift from the women law studenu; and Miami, then a small town.

Miss House recalled working in the knowledgeable in the law and highly at Georgia.

"I still think the law is a marvelous old Federal Building on West Forsyth respected by the judges and by me.

Street at the comer of Hogan Street. At the appropriate times on cross- profession," she said.

~

11(

A Glimpse of China

Don't Forget • • • The Women's Law Students Assodation WLSA) has Initiated a funds campaign to fl. nance a new lecture series. The speakers to be Invited are women who are notable for accom· pllshment In their legal careen. The 1eg;ugt series wiD be named for Edith House, the flnt woman graduate Of the tliiDpldn G w Sc:hool.

Contributions to the lecture series fund are tax deductible and count as VGA alumni gifts.

Checks should be made out to: The Unlvenlty of Georgia Foundation; for: Law School Fund-House Lectures. Coordinator of the pro)ec:t ls Dorinda Dallmeyer, second year law student and WLSA member.

former residence of Madame Chiang Kaishek

Law Day. 1983 wUI be celebrated Aprll29 and 30 at The University of Georgia. The keynote speaker for the 11:00 a.m. ceremony on April 30 wiD be Senator Ted Stevens, Chair· man, Senate Ethics Committee. Earlier that morning, the portrait of former Chief J.Uce Robert Jordan of the Georgia Supreme Court wUI be presented to the School. The Friday evening banquet speaker wUI be Judse Robert Merhlae of the U.S. Dletrlct Court for the Eut· ern Dletrlct of\llqlnla. Reservation broclmree for the Law Day activities wUI be maiW ln early April. AU etudents, alumni, and other interested audiences are Invited to attend the

Shanghai Harbor

evene..

A Roundtable DIKu8slon on protedlonlem In trade policy wUI be held April ' at the ....

School. Six ....... wlao have .............. national law practice ln tile W.shhatoa, D.C. area wUI pr•eat papers. 1'laoN ........ Ia

attencllna the roatltRtl •••••lon elaoald

contactPNte.orGUIW.._ofthe School of .... at 541-7661.

Law Department, Nanjing University 24

Edith House doesn't understand 'why they should go to all this trouble over me'

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Fitting portrait for a first ladY Law students .unveil a tribute to Edith House

By Barbara Laker Staff Writer

t was a bot summer evening in 1916 when Lucius House sat on bis front porch and told his only daughter he'd just read that a new bill bad passed allowing women to practice law in Georgi~. . . · .To 13-year-old Edith House, it was a calling.

"I remember saying, 'That's what I'll be - a lawyer,' not knowing one darn thing about it," says Miss House. "But my father was kind of proud of it, and the first thing I knew, it was all over town that I was going to be a lawyer."

Miss House set out to prove her announcement wasn't just a dream. Or a joke.

She was co-valedictorian and one of the first two women to graduate from the University of Georgia Law School. Tbe year was 1925.

Sbe practiced law for 38 years and became assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida and acting U.S. attorney for the district before retiring in 1963. .

Now 20 years later, tbe school's Women Law Students' Association is honoring Miss House's accomplishments. Last year it launched an annual lecture series named after ber. This year it commissioned a portrait of her that will be unveiled Tuesday in the law school courtroom. The 56 portraits that now grace tbe halls are of men.

Edith House will be a first once again.

But to the 80-year-old Miss House, all this hoopla is rather puzzling. "I still don't quite understand why they should go to all this trouble over me," sbe said during a telephone interview from her apartment in Jacksonville Beach, Fla. · Miss House doesn't seem to realize she was ahead of her time. In ber day, single career women were practically unheard of, but sbe never married. Sbe entered one of tbe

I

Edith House {right, back row), with Chi Omega sorority sisters in a 1925 photo nation's most traditional and male-dominated professions. And she devoted ber life to it.

Yet sbe insists sbe was never a trailblazer.

"I knew I was going to have to make a living doing something, and school teaching didn't appeal to me," she explains. "I never have figured I accomplished anything extraordinary - except I've stayed off welfare and I've stayed out of jail. Just the fact that I was a woman and practiced law at the time made a big splash, but I don't see why everyone should get so excited about that."

Friends and former co-workers see it differently, however. When describing Miss House, they repeat the same words: brilliant, quiet, modest, self-sufficient and hard-working.

1'Sbe was an outstanding lawyer and a dedicated public servant, in my opinion," says Judge David W. Dyer, who appointed her acting U.S. attorney in 1963. "I .had great admiration for her. She was very thorough, dedicated to her work."

See HOUSE, Page 5-B

- ·H.o useContinued From Page l·B Born Nov. 1. 1903, Miss House grew up in a three-bedroom home in Winder, Ga., with her parents and two brothers.

Her father supported the family as a banker and a self-taught land surveyor.

She graduated from Winder High School in 1921, and after a short stint as a student at Randolph Macon Women's College in Virginia, she entered the University of Georgia Law School in the fall of 1922.

Edith House and Gussie Brooks who practice4 law less than a year were the only ~omen in a class of 26, but Miss House sa,s she was never laughed at or discrimina1ia -against.

"By a ""f • ge I've always been treated "Very-~ and eourteously. I was never pushy, i t's not in my natqre to be so," she says. "I never had any problem at all being a woman. I didn't try to act like a man. I didn't dress like a man. I was the shy, retiring type. I still am and that's why I didn't get any farther than I did." .

Upon graduation, Miss House had a job lined ·up with a law firm in Augusta.

But. she said, "out of the clear blue sky," she received a telegram from the late Sen. Richard B. RusselFs uncle, Lewis Russell, who was practicing law' in St. Petersburg, Fla., and wanted her to join his practice.

The day after she arrived in St. Petersburg, she received a call from a firm in Clearwater wanting her to work there.

"You see, the boom was on in Florida," she explains. "Everybody was looking for anybody who could do anything."

She joined the Clearwater firm within two weeks and earned $25 a month more than she had in St. Petersburg. Her salary: $175 a month. "I lived well on it," Miss House says. "It was excellent. At that time, I didn't pay but $20 to $25 a month rent. You could buy a loaf of bread for 5

cents. All things are relative, you know."

In 1929 the U.S. attorney of the South· ern District of Florida persuaded her to become an assistant U.S. attorney in that district. Over the next 34 years, she handled everything from condemnation work and counterfeit-money cases to moonshin· ing and drug violations.

When the district was subdivided in 1963, Miss House was appointed acting U.S. atto~ey until the position was permane~tly fllled through a presidential appomtment and Senate confirmation.

After about eight months as acting · U.S. attorney, Miss House retired on Dec. 15, 1963. "I was tired and I saw no reason to stay on." She was battling can~r of the tongue - her last surgery was in 1967 a11d half her tongue bad been removed.

Over the years, she never once regretted thrusting all her energy intO a career instead of marrying. "Not for one minute," she declares. "I'm perfectly happy wi~h my single state, and I abvays have ~n.1 ', ' Helen Wanick, who worked with Miss House in Florida, says, "I dQn't think she was too domestic. She enjoyed her life. She , enjoyed her ·career.· I don't think. she has · any regrets." · · · Miss House now lives with her gray · and white tabby cat, Cbessie, in a small one-bedroom apartment a block from the ocean in Jacksonville Beach, where she has lived since 1964. She used to walk on the beach every day, but not anymore.

"I'm 80 years old. I have no one to walk with. I have trouble walking in the first place," she says. · Other than driving her 1980 Impala around town, she rarely travels distances and doesn't set foot on an airplane. She is unable to visit Georgia to witness the unveiling of her portrait. "It's too much for me to do," she says. ' She spends her days reading and visiting friends. She admits life sometimes gets lonely, but Edith House has never been a quitter. "I don't know how to give up."

PAGE7

U.S. attorney for the Southern Dis-

years.

When tdhe Southern District was subdivdided in 1963, she served as the U. S. attorney for that district during the transition period. She retired in 1963 and lives in Jacksonville, Fla. Ms. Kessler, a graduate of Harvard law school, is presiding judge of the family division of the superior

the University of Georgia. When her portrait is unveiled on Tuesday, she will become the first woman with a portrait hanging in the law school.

Her picture, commissioned by the Women Law Students Association, will be dedicated on the day of the second lecture in the Edith House lecture series.

Superior Court Judge Gladys Kessler of Washington, D. C., will be speaker for the 4:30 p.m. lecture in tlie law auditorium. Her topic will be "The Crisis in Child Support."

The lecture series named for the law school'~ first woman graduate was endowea last year through efforts of the Women Law Students Association. This year, the association also commissioned .the portrait, by Athens artist Allison Schneider. The unveiling will be in the law library at 3:30p.m.

"We felt it was time to have a 路 woman up there (on the walls of the school),'' stated Melissa Burkholder, president of the Women Law StuCients. "Thirty percent of the faculty now are women."

Ms. House, a native of Winder, was graduated in 1925, and was valedictorian of her class. She practiced law for four years in Clearwater, Fla., and was then appointed assistant

ciation, she has served on the national advisory board on child support project.

She has also headed the National Association of Women Judges and the National Foundation for Women Judges. She also was founding president of the Women's Legal Defense Fund.

Asso-

courtof the District of Columbia. A

to graduate from the law school of trict of Florida, a post she held for 30 member of the American Bar

Edith House was "the first woman

First Woman Law Graduate Honored

THURSDAY, MARCH 29, 1984

rs advises parents on rearing nice children

2D

ifestyle E~e :\tlanla ::!ournal

MONDAY, APRI L 2. 198 4

A fitting portrait for a first iady .

..

-

·····

School unveils tribute to Edith House

By Barbara Laker StaH Wrltl!r

·.' ··;,. ..

t was a· hot summer evening in 1916 when : Lucius House sat on his front porch and told . his only daughter he'd just read that a new · bill had passed allowing women to practice law in Georgia. . ·~ To 13-year-old Edith House, it was a .call· in g.

"1 ·remember saying, 'That's what I'll be - a lawyer,' not knowing one dam thing· about it,'' says Miss House. ''But my father was kind of proud of iL and the first thing I knew. it was all over town that 1 was going to be a lawyer."

Miss House set out to prove her announce-· ment wasn 't just a dream. Or a joke. She was co-valedictorian and one of the first two women to graduate from the University of Georgia Law School. The year .was 1925. · She practiced law lor 38 years and became assistant U.S. attornev for the Southern District of Florida and actin.g U.S. attorney for . the district before retiring in 1963.

Now 20 years later, the school 's Women Law Students' Association is honoring Miss House's accomplishments. Last year it launched an annual lecture series named after her. This year it commissioned a portrait of her that will be unveiled Tuesdav in the law school courtroom. The 56 portraits that now grace the halls arc of men.

Edith House will be a first once again.

But to the 80-vear-old Miss House. all this hoopla is rather puzzling. "I still don 't quite understand why they should go to all this trou· ble over me.'' she said during a telephone interview from her apartment in Jacksonville Beach. Fla. Miss House doesn 't seem to realize she was ahead of her time. In her day. sin gle ca· rccr women were practically unheard of. but she never married. She entcr!'d one of the na· lion's mo st traditional and male-dominated professions. And she devoted her life to it.

Yet she ihsists she was never a trailblazer.

"I knew I was going to have to make a liv· ing doing something, and school teaching didn't appeal to me,'' she explains. "I never have fig· ured I accomplished an ything extraordinary except I've stayed off welfare and I've stayed out of jail. Just the fa ct that I was a woman and practtced law at the time made a bi g splash. but I don't see why everyone should get so excited about that. "

I

n

s a

a

IN 192S: Edith House (right. back row), with Chi Omega sorority sisters.

Friends and former C(}-workers sec it dif· ferently. however. When describing Miss House. they repeat the same words: brilli ant. quieL modest. self-sufficient and hard-working.

"She was an outstanding lawyer and a dedicated public servant. in my opinion." savs Judge David W. Dyer. who appointed her act· ing U.S. attorney in 1963. "I had great admira· lion for her. She was very thorough, dedicated to her work ."

Born Nov. l. 1903. Miss !louse grew up in a three-bedroom home in Winder. Ga .. wtth her parents and two brothers. Her father supported the family as a banker and a self-taught land survevor.

She graduated from Winder High School in 1921. and after a short stint as a student at .

Randolph Macon Women 's College in Virginia. she entered the University of Georgia Law School in the fall of 1922.

Edith House and Gussie Brooks - who practiced law less than a vea r - were th e onlv women in a class of 26. ·but Miss House sa v·s she was never laughed at or dtscrimmated See HOUSE

50 •

EDITH HOUSE: With her dtploma. doesn't underst and a!l the fuss.

,

KIM SIMON/S pec>al

THE ~ORTRAIT: Artist Alison Free Schneider with painting of Edith House. v, _-. . , c_;.~-

~-

against. : '.'I'd 'tieard the dean of law school had said if any women entered his class, he'd q1ake 'it so hard for them, they'd wish they:~ never tried it. But he was always very nice to both of us. He.turned out to be as "fair · and nice as he could be," Miss Hou.:;~ says. ... .:;By and large r"ve always been tre~ted very fairly and courteously. I was never pushy; It's not in my nature to be so:.'.she says. "I never had any problem at all bl!ing a woman. I didn~t try to act like a man. I didn't dress like a man. I was the shy.~ ·retiring type. I still am and that's why I dii!n't get any farther than I did."

"She was not the aggressive type," say;1.a longtime friend, Drummond Paul, 71, who practices law in Miami. "Edie was low-tempered and nobody objected to Edie.

Everybody recognized her ability. She didn't make anyone bristle." ·Upon graduation, Miss House had a job lined up with a law firm in Augusta.

But,. she said, "out of the elear blue sky," she received a telegram from the late Sen. Richard B. Russell's uncle, Lewi~ Russell, _.... -.,·. '}r" . :..

...- ._:

. who was p~:acticing law in st. Petersburg, Fla., and wanted her to join his practice.

The day after she arrived in St. Petersburg, she received a call from a firm in Clearwater wanting her to work there.

"You see, the boom was on in Florida," she explains. "Everybody was looking for ·anybody who could do anything."

She joined the Clearwater firm within two weeks and earned $25 a month more than she had in St. Petersburg. Her salary: $175 a month. "I lived well on it," Miss House says: "It was excellent. At that time, I didn't pay but $20 to $25 a month rent. You could buy a loaf of bread for 5 cents. All things are relative, you know."

In 1929 the U.S. attorney of the Southern District of Florida persuaded her to become an assistant U.S. attorney in that district. Over the next 34 years, she han- ' died everything from condemnation work i and counterfeit-money cases to moonshin- · ing and drug violations.

When the district was subdivided in 1963, Miss House was appointed acting U.S. attorney until the position was permanently filled through a presidential appointment and Senate confirmation.

â&#x20AC;˘

. . . .

The University of Georgia School of Law

The Women Law Students' Association and the Dean and Faculty of the School of Law cordially invite you to attend the seventh annual lecture in the Edith House Lecture Series. Martha L. Minow, professor of law at Harvard Law School, will present her lecture: "Diversity" Thursday, March 16, 1989 Law Auditorium 3:30p.m.

Professor Minow has been a member of the Harvard Law School faculty since 1981. Her areas of research and scholarship are diverse, ranging from civil procedure, family law and feminist jurisprudence to critical legal studies and law as literature.

Her latest book, Making All the Difference: A Feminist Approach to Legal Problems of Difference, is forthcoming from Cornell University Press. She has also written numerous articles for law reviews and journals, including "Justice Endangered," the foreword to the Harvard Law Review's analysis of the 1986 Supreme Court term.

Minow graduated magna cum laude the University of Michigan in 1975 and received an Ed.M. from Harvard Graduate School of Education in 1976. She earned a J.D. from Yale Law School in 1979, where she served as Article and Book Review Editor of the Yale Law Journal.

Following law David Bazelon of Columbia Circuit. the U.S. Supreme faculty in 1981.

school, Minow served as a law clerk to Judge the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of She clerked for Justice Thurgood Marshall of Court in 1980 and joined the Har vard law

LECTURES Minow presents Edith House Lecture

Vincent Lecture features Danadjieva

Feminist legal scholar Martha L. Minow of Harvard University will present the 1989 Edith House Lecture on Friday, March 16, at the university's School of Law. The speech, titled "Diversity," begins at 3:30 p.m. in the law school auditorium. It is open and free to the public.

Minow is professor of law at Harvard Law School. Her areas of research and scholarship are diverse, ranging form civil procedure, family law and ..

Martha L. Minow feminist jurisprudence to cntical legal studies and law as literaUGA law school. A native of ture.

Winder, Ga., the late Ms. House Her latest book, ''Making All .was co-valedictorian of the law the Difference: A Feminist class of 1925, the first law school Approach to Legal Problems of class to graduate women.

Difference," is forthcoming from the Cornell University Press. She also has written many articles for law reviews and journals, The former U.S. ambassador including "Justice Endangered," to the African nations of the foreword to the Harvard Law Cameroon and Guinea will Review's analysis of the 1986 speak at the university Tuesday, Supreme Court term.

March7.

Following law school, Minow Dr. Mabel Smythe-Haith will served as a law clerk to Judge speak on "International DevelopDavid Bazelton of the U.S. Court ment: The Central Role of of Appeals for the District of Women" at 8 p.m. in the Tate .

Columbia Circuit. She clerked Student Center Reception Hall. for Justice Thurgood Marshall of The talk and a reception are open the U.S. Supreme Court in 1980 and free to the public. 路 and joined the Harvard law Smythe-Haith also has been a faculty in 1981. member of the faculty at NorthThe Edith House Lecture western University, where she Series, sponsored annually by was associate director of the the Women Law Students African studies program and the Association, is named for one of Melville J. Herskovits Professor the first female graduates of the

A nationally known architect and environmental designer from California will present the winter quarter Vincent Lecture on Wednesday, March 8.

Angela Danadjieva, a partner in Danadjieva and Koenig . Associates, an environmental design firm in Tiburon, Calif., will discuss her design work and ideas at 7 p.m. in the School of Forest Resources auditorium.

The Vincent Lecture is sponsored quarterly by the School of Environmental Design and is open free to the public.

Danadjieva studied architecture at the State University of Sofia in Bulgaria and the Ecole Nationale Superieure de Beaux Arts in Paris.

Former African ambassador to speak

Office of Public Information The University of Georgia 117 Terrell Hall Athens, Ga. 30602 Address Correction Requested

of African studies.

The lecture is being presented in conjunction with an exhibit of photographs taken by Norma Holt titled "Africa Unadorned: A Look at Older West African Women." The photographs will be on display at the Tate Student Center Exhibit Hall from March 6-30.

Holt, a free-lance photographer from New York, spent four months in Africa photographing women in Mali, the Ivory Coast, Togo and Burkina Paso. Holt will attend the March 71ecture and reception.

The exhibit and lecture are sponsored by the university's Women in International DevelNon-Profit Org. opment Committee and the U.S. Postage 路University Union in conjunction with International Services and Programs, the Women's Studies Athens, Ga. Program,.the Office of InternaPermit No. 165 tional Development, the Athens International Council, Alpha Kappa Alpha and Delta Sigma Theta.

For more information contact Helen Mills at 542-1756.

PAID

â&#x20AC;˘

-. .

The University of Georgia School of Law

The Women Law Faculty of the School seventh annual lecture L. Minow, professor of lecture:

Students' Association and the Dean and of Law cordially invite you to attend the in the Edith House Lecture Series. Martha law at Harvard Law School, will present her

"Diversity: Gender, Religion and Race" Thursday, March 16, 1989 Law Auditorium 3:30p.m.

Professor Minow has been a member of the Harvard Law School faculty since 1981. Her areas of research and scholarship are diverse, ranging from civil procedure, family law and feminist jurisprudence to critical legal studies and law as literature.

Her latest book, Making All the Difference: A Feminist Approach to Legal Problems of Difference, is forthcoming from Cornell University Press. She has also written numerous articles for law reviews and journals, including "Justice Endangered," the foreword to the Harvard Law Review's analysis of the 1986 Supreme Court term.

Minow graduated magna cum laude the University of Michigan in 1975 and received an Ed.M. from Harvard Graduate School of Education in 1976. She earned a J.D. from Yale Law School in 1979, where she served as Article and Book Review Editor of the Yale Law Journal.

Following law school, Minow served as a law clerk to Judge David Bazelon of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. She clerked for Justice Thurgood Marshall of the U.S. Supreme Court in 1980 and joined the Harvard law faculty in 1981.

DEVELOPMENT NEWS & FINANCIAL PLANNER THE UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA

SPRING 1986

PROFILE-Ms. Edith Elizabeth House

Edith Elizabeth House, a new member of the Presidents Club, was the first woman graduate of the University of Georgia School of Law and valedictorian of her class.

Ms. House, who left her hometown of Winder to practice law in Florida, served as assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida for 30 years.

When the U.S. Justice Department decided to subdivide the Southern District and create a new middle district, Ms. House was appointed to fill the vacant post of the U.S . attorney for the Southern District. After completing the difficult transition task of distributing the caseload of the two new districts, she retired after eight months as U.S. attorney.

While a law student at the University, Ms. House was an honors student and earned her way through the early phase of her law studies by tutoring blind students.

When funds ran out and she needed financial aid for her second and third year , she became the first recipient of the first private financial aid endowment grant at the law school.

Because of her love for the University, Ms. House has made the institution a beneficiary in her will. "I feel that whatever little I can contribute to the University will enable the students who come after me to receive an excellent education."

According to the provisions in her will, Ms. House's contribution will go to the Edith House Lecture Series, which was started and named in her honor in 1983.

The lecture series, which is sponsored by the Women Law Students' Association, brings outstanding female legal scholars and practitioners to campus to speak to law students and faculty .

Ms. House was so moved by being honored by the women law students that she made one of the initial gifts to establish the lecture series. Now her deferred gift will provide continuing support for the lecture series that furthers the education of law students and faculty.

• •

m •

•

1785-1985

•

•

SUPPORTERS Maija Blaubergs Susan Boleyn Ronald Carlson Barbara Chastain Joycelyn Fleming Mr. & Mrs . Charles McDonald

SPONSORS Sandra Baird J. Ralph & Jeanne Beaird Sharon Clutteur Charles Gowen Mr. & Mrs . L.B. Harrell Kelso & June Horne , Susan Lach John Rees

PATRONS Dorinda Dallmeyer Mrs. Ernest Harrison Edith House Paul & Carol Kurtz Sarajane Love Barbara Mendel Mayden Dean & Virginia Rusk Elise Austin Larry & Sandra Baumwald Vicki Breman Sydney Cleland Pamela Deal Mary Dickerson Dinah Hamilton Linda Hamilton Reuel & Virginia Hamilton Eric Holmes Kathleen Horne & Carl Pedigo Evelyn Hubbard Dr. N.E.H . Hull Roberta Jackel (gift matched by IBM Corp .)

Carl & Ellen Jordan F. Gail Lavender Lauren Levin Julia Lewis Martha McElyea Mr. & Mrs. J. Tom Morgan Carol Osborne Lesly Russell Paula Smith Margaret Stephens

FRIENDS

The following persons have made contributions to the series:

!tRd:d~ ~Y~ Wv~

5Z

Cff 047W?V ~ Yludena ' ~ ~a/~~ ~y~

The Women Law Students' Association is grateful to Dean f. Ralph Beaird and Ms .

Gwen Wood for their continuing support of this lecture series. The series is made possible by the generous contributions of alumni, students, faculty, and friend s to th e endowment fund for th e Edith House Lecture Series in Law.

Edith House, a 'native of Winder, Georgia, was co-Valedictorian of the Class of 1925 and was one of two female graduates in the first class to graduate women from the University of Georgia School of Law. Following her graduation, she practiced law for four years in Clearwater, Florida. She was then appointed to be Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, a post she held for the next 30 years. When the Southern District was subdivided in 1963, she served as the United States Attorney for that district during the transition period. She retired in 1963 and lives in Jacksonville, Florida.

March 12, 1987 4:00p.m.

Antonia Handler Chayes Chairman of the Board ENDISPUTE, Inc.

presented by

"Beyond Negotiation: Alternative Dispute Resolution"

The Edith House Lecture Series in Law

Judge Gladys Kessler, Superior Court, District of Columbia, " The Crisis in Child Support," April 3, 1984.

Professor Nadine Taub, Rutgers Law School, "Refining the Equality Principle: Formal Equality, Substantive Equality and Special Treatment for Women," May 3, 1983.

Previous Lecturers

Professor Eliane Vogei-Polsky, Universite' Libre de Bruxc ll cs, Faculty of Law, "Positive Action Within the European Economic Community, " September 25, 1985

Justice Shirley S. Abrahamson, Supreme Court of Wisconsin, "Justice and Juror," March 7, 1985.

Antonia Handler Chayes, a former partner in the Boston law firm of Csaplar & Bok, is chairman of ENDJSPUTE, Inc., which provides cost-effective alternatives to traditional litigation, related consulting services and training. During the Carter Administration she was both Under Secretary of the Air Force and Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Manpower, Reserve Affairs and Installations. She has been honored with the Department of Defense Distinguished Public Service Award and the Air Force Decoration for Exceptional Service. A magna cum laude graduate of Radcliffe College of Harvard University, she attended Yale Law School and holds the degree of juris doctor with highest honors from George Washington University. The author of numerous scholarly articles, she is a lecturer at the Kennedy School of Government and was a Fellow at the Harvard University Center for International and Comparative Law.

CHARLES E. BENNETT

RAMON L. DAY ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT

MEMBER

JODY H. MOONEY

3RD DISTRICT, FLORIDA

ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN OF SEAPOWER SUBCOMMITTEE MEMBER OF PROCUREMENT SUBCOMMITTEE ~ HANT

MARINE AND FISHERIES COMMITTEE

~ongrus of tht tinited £'tatts il\oust of 'Rtprtsmtati\lts ~ashington, B~ 20515

September 15, 1987

lEGISLATIVE ASSISTANT

SHARON H. SIEGEL BARBARA l. FETHEROLF DARLA E. SMALLWOOD RUSSELL W . HOUSTON ETHEL M. SCHISSELL MIRIAM EA WOLFF SALLY A. GARRETT GP.EGORY M. WILLIAMS STAFF

WASHINGTOI> OFFICE: 2107 RAYBURN BUILDING WASHINGTON , DC 20515 TELEPHONE 202-225-2501

CHAIRMAN OF FLORIDA CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION

Ms. Edith House Regent Woods Retirement Community 7130 Southside Boulevard Jacksonville, Florida 32215

JOHN W . POLLARD, JR. BRENDA C. DONALDSON DONNA M. WELDON JACKSONVILLE OFFICE: 314 PALMETTO STREET JACKSONVILLE, FL32202 TELEPHONE 904-791-25B7

Dear Edith: Congratulations on the well deserved tribute paid to you in the September 7, 1987 edition of The Florida TlmesUnion. As always, you are a real inspiration!

With kindest regards, I am Sincerely,

'(JZ;.._d friend,

Charles

E. Bennett

CEB:sg Enclosure

THIS STATIONERY PRINTED ON PAPER MADE WITH RECYCLED FIBERS

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LifE?St{_le_ -

THE FLOI<IDA TIMES-UNION/JACKSONVILLE JOURNAL

Iri 1984 u;-u~~ ';;r Georgia Law School 路established a lecture series in her name. Ms. House now Jives in Regents Woods retirement ':community.

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'First jobs' pay off later (From Page E-1)

special agent ·for the FBI for three years after that.

Meyers now lives with his wife, Gladys, in The Atriwn retirement community.

•••

' Charles D. Brooks' first job was when he was 16. He was a janitor in the Hildebrandt Building, now the First Federal Building, doWntown.

"I went down to try to fmd a job, but the man did not want to hire -me because .I was so young," said : Brooks, who is 72 .. ."It was during · the Depression, in the mid-1930s, and nobody had a job. They wanted to hire someone older, with a family." ·. . .

•

But Brooks really wanted the job.

And he didn't give up.· Brooks had a friend who worked in the building. What he did was, he entered the building late at night and polished the hall outside the of- . fice · of William J. Hildebrandt, the building's owner. Brooks polished .the floor so well, that the next morning ~ Hilqebrandt .wanted to know ..who · did it, Brooks said. He . got the job. . .. . - . · • - · ~ "I worked from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. and made a dollar a night," Brooks said. "A dollar was a dollar then.

You could get lard and·pork .chops for 25 cents a pound.:' But Brooks soon traded his mop for textbooks.

"I didn't work there too loilg," he said. ''My mother saw to it that I . . . . . . .c • •. •·· ... ~ • '" M. JKk Luttdk.e/ataff . went to· college arid got me an edu- This is a copy of an old photo of Jessie Eulalia Haas who is now 82 . cation.:· · years old. The photo was taken when. she was 17 . ar:"~d. a dan~er at ' Brooks has -his bachelor's degree the Arcade Theater on Forsyth Street. It was her fi,r.st job.· , . ~ · . in education·from what is now Flor· . . . .., . ..... ; , . ~ 'f • ' .. .

• . . ida A&M University and his mas- she danced o·n stage in between "I just loved dancing,"~ she srud, · ter's degree from Atlanta Universi- movies. This was in.the early 1920s. sniiling. . ty. His first teaching job was at a ju- . "That was in the day of silent ··"'Her · first job led to a career in nior high school . in Plains, Ga.; movies/ ' said Ms. Haas, who is 82. "I dance .. Ms. Haas also danced at the where he got to know Lillian Carter would dance ori the stage at inter- Republic, Palace and Imperial theaand her son ·Jimmy. "They always vals between the movies, : three · ~ers .in · the 1920s. She opened a called me 'professor,"' Brooks said. times a day.~' -~.'·'1· ·. .. ·. · .. stage and ballroom school of dance, After serving as principal of Stan, She danced with a partner ( the ·caned. Jl\~ E~alie Haas Dance Stuton Senior High for 26 years, Brooks tango), with ,~. s-~er .or t;»y h~rself, dio,. ,iff 1926 in ··Miami. After five retired in' 1969. He- is the only black she said. She frequently used casta- -years there, she ·returned to Jackman in Florida ,to serve that many nets and wore costwnes her mother sonville and opened a dance studio . years a.S ; principal. In 1950 he be- made. She was paid $50 to $75 per here: Th~ studio dosed during • ·· World War II, because people could came the first black delegate from · week. · the state of Florida to the National .. \'In those days, they didn't pay as not_afford to give : their children dancing lessons, she said. . . . .

Education Association:; . ,:.. ' ·.. · much as they do now,'~ she ~d. .' ··Today, Brooks lives in "the same It may be' difficult to imagin~ Ms. . During tl}.e ·war, . Ms. Haas perhouse he has livt>d in for 50 years Haas in her 'dancing days, ·biJ.t p~o- formed iil stage shows for the seron Madison Street. He is writing a tographs of her. as .a dancer say vicemen at . Camp Blanding and at book about· his life: One chapter is more, perhaps, than words. ·• · ' .· . Jacks-onVille .Nayal_ Air,; Statio~ "I a}?o~t tuB fU"S~ job. ., : : , . ~ Dr~ssed ~ ,fringed, beaded cos-; 'J~tpil,t on my p~ ~ct, she_~d: · · ·· ••• " · · · tumes :·..:.__ some • Spanisn, ' some · More recently, she was a recep'\" . . . Jessie Eulalie Haas' fU"St job was 'Egyptian - many of which were .tionist at the former ~re~ /\stair~ r at·age 17, as:a: .dancer at the old Ar high-cut -and midriff-baring, the . Dance Studio in .Jacksonville until cade.Theater, later the Center The- slender dark-haired young woman retirement In · the early . 1960s. Ms . . ater, ·which closed in 1983. · looked like a beautiful Cleopatra or .Haas now lives at the Eartha M.M. A ballet, tap and Spanish da.'lcer, Mata Hari. · ·· · · · White Nursin11 HnmP I

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'mite ~loriba 'mimes-~niou, Jacksonville, Wednesday, December 16, 1987

E_dith House dies; ex-U.S. attorney.

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From...rt

Edith House, who was an assistant U.S. attorney in Jacksonville from 1929 to 1959, died Monday. She was 84.

Graveside services will be at 2 . p.m. tomorrow in the Rose Hill Cemetery in Winder, Ga. Miss Hous~. who wa8 born in Winder, moved to Jacksonville in 1929 from Clearwater, where she had lived for four years.

She was a graduate of the Law School at the University of Georgia.

After serving as an assistant U.S. attorney for 30 years, Miss House was named the U.S. attorney in Miami in 1959.

She served in that office until she retired in 1963 and returned to Jacksonville.

Miss House is survived by several cousins.

Jacksonville funeral arrangements are being made by Hardage-Giddens Guardian Chaptl and arrange- ~ ments in Winder are being handled

by Wise Funeral Home.'

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that memorials be made in her name to the House Lectures at the University of Georgia Law School.

HOUSE - Miss Edith House, 7130 Southside Boulevard, JacksOnville, Fla, died December 14, 1987. Born in 1903, in Winder, Ga, she moved to Clearwater, Fla, in 1925, and to Jacksonville in 1929.

For 34 years she served as an Attorney in the United States Department of Justice as Assistant United States Attorney, and for a short time as United States Attorney by Court Appointment for the Southern 路District of Florida, serving in Jacksonville for 30 years and in Miami for 4 years, where she retired in 1963. She is survived by her sister-in-law, Mrs. Clyde House, Greenwood, S.C.; and by several cousins. Graveside Services and. interment will be held in Rose Hill Cemetery, Winder, Ga, at 2 p.m. Thursday, December 17, 1987, by WISE FUNERAL HOME, Winder Ga Memorials may be sent to University of Georgia Foundation for Law School/House Lectures, Athens, Ga 30602. Local arrangements by HARDAGE - GIDDENS GUARDIAN CHAPEL.

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Memorial Tribute to Edith House

by Gwen Wood April 6, 1988

Our audience is assembled here today to hear an accomplished scholar

spea~

under the auspices of the Edith House Lecture Program.

It is also a time when we pause for moments of reflection upon the life and career of the woman in whose honor this lecture series is named.

It is entirely fitting that we do" so, for today's lecture program is the first since the death of Miss House last December.

She died on

December 14, 1987 in a retirement village in· Jacksonville, Florida.

She was 84 years old.

The move to the retirement home had been a

recent one for Miss House. ·

It was · brand new and had all of the

conveniences, yet it was sad for her as she left the modest oceanview · apartment she had occupied for the 23 years of her retirement. It was sad because she could no longer care for her cat Chessie.

It was sad

because her self-sufficient .life style had to end in order to join forces with a nursing '· . ~ancer.

st~ff

and doctors in

th~

battle against mouth

F~r twenty ,years, she . had .fought that battle and won each time

with a repeated pattern of surgery and treatments.

She was a serene and cheerful individual who spoke very little about her illness.

In fact, she never dwelled upon herself and was

genuinely surprised that anyone would want to write an article about her, much less go so far as to name a lecture series after her.

She

even blushed about the School's attention on her as the first woman graduate, and reminded everyone that · she and Gussie Brooks graduated together, and "B" comes before "H."

Miss Brooks practiced less than a

year and engaged in a satisfying lifelong career as homemaker, so she

asked the School to focus its attention on her good friend Edith House, who earned highest honors as co-valedictorian of the class.

"I never have figured that I accomplished anything extraordinary," Miss House once said.

It didn't occur to her that she was ahead of her

tjme -- a pathblazer in opened to them in the

a~

era when single career women had few doors

trad~tionally

male-dominated field which was the

legal profession in 1925.

Yet she had no stories to tell of struggle for survival or acceptance.

Instead, she thought that it was an embarrassment of

riches to have three job offers upon graduation and to have to turn . ·down two of them.

She accepted a position with a law firm in

.Clearwater, Florida, wherethe land boom was on, ahd earned a princely salary of $175 a month.

Four years later the U.S. Attorney of the

Southern District of Florida persuaded her ·to join the legal staff as assistant U.S. Attorney, ·and she had found her· niche.

During the

course of the next 34 years, she handled every't hing from condemnation work and counterfeiting to moonshinlng and drug violations.

When the district was · sub-divided in 1963, Miss House was appointed acting U.S. Attorney until the position ·w as -permanently filled through

~

presidential appointment and Senate confirmation.

No

doubt the position could have been hers, but ·she dec.ided to retire at that point.

The cancer had been diagnosed and she was ready to step

aside •nd do some private ,practice for a change.

Her attention turned

to assisting family members in legal matters related to business and estate planning and she never did open her general practice nor collect a fee.

Somehow it just wasn't in her nature to do so.

helping others without compensation.

·•,

She enjoyed

Her classmates in Law School, her associates in the U. S. Attorney's Office, and her family members attest to the generosity of . her spirit, and the Law School has been the beneficiary of her annual alumni gifts throughout many years.

She gave sustaining support to the ·~ l~ 1 1

lect1.1re series in its early fledging years, and she provid'e d for it in ·•,

her bequest. · The women of national renown who come to the campus to give law lectures under the auspices of the Edith

House Lecture. Endowment are

"pathfinders in. the law" and they provide role models for law students in their career choices, just as Miss House did.

Her life and career

exemplified the abundant talent which women bring to the legal .profession today.

We feel a sense of great loss in her death.

Yet we

can share in her sense of contentment as she told those around her that she 'iived life abundantly and with no regrets.