Though much is owed to their pioneering efforts, little is known about the history of women in Atlantic Canada’s retail sector. Yes, we know about general trends, but the individuals themselves? Despite having unique, and in some cases extraordinary stories, their truths are scattered throughout family trees and communities in the region.

Imagine standing on a shop floor for hours and hours, day in and day out, all while people openly spoke and wrote about your presence being distasteful… unwanted. That’s what it meant to be a woman in retail during the early 1900s.

The Plaindealer is a newspaper published in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador between 1907 and 1922. It included snippets of local, national and international news, and in September 1907, happened to carry a short piece titled “Girls in the Shops!” At the time, women were increasingly taking jobs outside of their usual corners as servants, seamstresses and milliners, and showing up more often in general stores and behind department store counters.

“Most of these young women do not get an opportunity to learn the housekeeping duties that are essential for them to know when they get married,” the Plainsdealer piece stated.

 

 

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