More on Bronson Quaites. Because I said so, that's why.
You'll recall I profiled Miss Quaites last week. I tried to emphasize her great ability and her importance to the business, in an era when women were kept in lesser positions in spite of their aptitude. It's a testimony to Miss Quaites' abilities that she received recognition for her skills.
So just who is this Bronson Quaites, anyway? Well, I don't know much about her personal life life, but there is one area outside work where Bronson Quaites not only excelled, but also got write-ups in the paper.
It's a sport that caught on in the 20th century in eastern seabord cities: Boston, Baltimore, Norfolk, Philadelphia and Washington DC. (Here's everything you need to get started.) It's like bowling, only harder—the gear is smaller and there has never been a 300-game. Never. It's in decline now and has been for several years, but there is still a dedicated core of players who keep it alive.
So Bronson Quaites took up duckpin bowling as early as 1914, when the Washington Post first reported a Quaites victory. In 1917, she and a team of women bowlers took on a men's team and beat them by 28 pins. Over the next 15 years, Bronson Quaites formed the first league of women duckpin bowlers in DC, beacame its recurring president, expanded the league and established high-end tournament play. All the while, she was a bowling powerhouse, prominently featured in the sports pages. She led her own team, the "Beeques" (B-Qs—Bronson Quaites. Get it?) They set many local team records that stood for years: Best team score and best set (of 3 games). A 1933 story in the Post has her as a "ringer," brought in to nail down the win. And she did.
All this press couldn't have happened by itself. You know Miss Quaites was working the phones, getting reporters to games and tourneys, making duckpin bowling popular. The Post reported in 1939 that there were many more bowlers than lanes in the city, and popularity for the sport was growing weekly. I'm certain that Bronson Quaites was a major factor in that growth, both as star attraction and tireless booster.
In 1932, Miss Quaites was named to the Executive Committee for the National Duckpin Bowling Congress. The Bigs. She was elected President in 1939—never mind the first woman, we're talking top of the Duckpin Bowling world. The Boss. A year later, she declined a second term, insisting the office needed fresh ideas every term. Then she went to the tournament and toppled the maples with a feisty 145.
First Class, that Bronson Quaites.
And all this after hours. A Chief Clerk by day, sports executive and star by night. Bronson Quaites had it all.
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