Mary Ellen (Winter) Atkins
Mary Ellen Atkins’ success on her high school’s competitive typing team led her to a job with the U.S. House of Representatives. From 1943 to 1947, she worked as a secretary in the Washington office of Iowa Congressman Karl Le Compte, greeting constituents, taking dictation, and exploring the capital during the World War II era.
Featured Audio
From the Winning Typing Team to Congress
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From the Winning Typing Team to Congress
Mary Ellen Atkins, Secretary, Representative Karl Le Compte of Iowa
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Abstract & Transcript
In the fall of 1943, Mary Ellen Atkins started working for Congressman Karl Le Compte of Iowa as a secretary. In her oral history, Atkins remembers interacting with constituents, seeing prominent speakers on the House Floor, and spending her summers working in Le Compte’s Iowa district office. Her description of secretarial tasks— typing and answering phones—reveals the role of young women working on Capitol Hill in the 1940s. Atkins’ memories of her time in Washington, D.C., provide a glimpse of life during the tumultuous World War II era, including her experience living on war rations, attending dances with young military men, and witnessing President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s funeral procession in March 1945.
Biography
Born in 1923, Atkins grew up in Centerville, Iowa, with her two younger sisters. Her father, Abijah Winter, was an accountant, and her mother, Hazel (Kirkland), was his secretary. While attending Centerville High School, the local newspaper covered Atkins’ success in shorthand and typing competitions, in which teams won by making as few mistakes as possible in the allotted time.
After graduating in 1941, she worked as a secretary at a local soybean mill and attended Centerville Junior College. The county’s Republican chairman read about her secretarial skills and recommended her to Congressman Le Compte. After a brief interview, Le Compte hired Atkins as a secretary in his Washington office.
Atkins moved to the District of Columbia in September 1943, and resided at Scott’s Hotel, a local boardinghouse for young women. While she worked, she attended speech and writing classes at Georgetown University. Atkins met her husband, Don Atkins, Jr., at weekly dances and banquets for boarders and local military officers hosted by Scott’s Hotel. They were married on June 29, 1947, and later moved to California. Atkins continues to reside in California and enjoys living close to her two sons, Don III, and David.
Audio
"Before Today's Technology"
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"Before Today's Technology"
Mary Ellen Atkins, Secretary, Representative Karl Le Compte of Iowa
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From the Winning Typing Team to Congress
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From the Winning Typing Team to Congress
Mary Ellen Atkins, Secretary, Representative Karl Le Compte of Iowa
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Congressman Le Compte's Office: Part One
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Congressman Le Compte's Office: Part One
Mary Ellen Atkins, Secretary, Representative Karl Le Compte of Iowa
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Congressman Le Compte's Office: Part Two
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Congressman Le Compte's Office: Part Two
Mary Ellen Atkins, Secretary, Representative Karl Le Compte of Iowa
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Secretary's Responsibilities
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Secretary's Responsibilities
Mary Ellen Atkins, Secretary, Representative Karl Le Compte of Iowa
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Scott's Hotel
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Scott's Hotel
Mary Ellen Atkins, Secretary, Representative Karl Le Compte of Iowa
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Dancing with Officers
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Dancing with Officers
Mary Ellen Atkins, Secretary, Representative Karl Le Compte of Iowa
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Summers in Iowa
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Summers in Iowa
Mary Ellen Atkins, Secretary, Representative Karl Le Compte of Iowa
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"Turn on Your Radios! The President Has Died!"
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"Turn on Your Radios! The President Has Died!"
Mary Ellen Atkins, Secretary, Representative Karl Le Compte of Iowa
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