We ran across a fascinating article in the American Thresherman
for January, 1908. It told of Miss Alice V. Downes, of Canton,
Ohio, who passed the state examination for mechanical engineer
‘and now holds a license for operating a steam engine.’
Miss Downes was ‘probably the only lady in Stark County,
Ohio, to pass this exam,’ the magazine said. Without formal
education in the subject, she displayed ‘a ready knowledge of
the application of steam, the horse power which can be developed in
different sized engines, the tensile strength of boilers and all
details of mechanical engineering.’ She learned it while
helping her father in his duties as an engineer.
A photo with the article shows a bright young woman. We wonder
did Miss Downes ever operate a steam traction engine on a farm, and
does Ohio have any equal to her today among its female
residents?
