Women were nowhere to be found – except in jokes – in the September 1956 edition of The Maine Outdoorsman and Conservationist. One article’s headline was “Warden Force Seeking Young Men Interested In Outdoor Careers.”
“Requirements for the Warden Service were: Applicant must be a citizen of the United States and resident of the State for at least five years; be between the ages of 22 and 32, in good physical condition, not less than 5 feet 9 inches tall, and weigh not less than 140 pounds. The applicant must also be a graduate of an approved secondary school, or furnish satisfactory evidence that his education is the equivalent thereof as determined by the regulations of the State Department of Education.”
Later in the article, I read: “During the warden’s probational period he attends a three-week school in Augusta, where he receives intensive training in the many phases of his work… The Chief Warden urges every interested young man to drop in and talk things over with him, or if this is not possible, to drop him a line.”
They also reported that only 6 of 37 men passed the oral section of the examination in the previous round. Of the six, three were working as wardens and the other three would be soon.
“Finding qualified men for the Warden Service is not an easy job,” states the Colonel, “since we are competing with high salary scales and job opportunities which are attracting young men to all parts of the country.”
Yup, women need not apply.
Two Jokes
On page seven of the newspaper, I read these two jokes by Stumpy McCulloch.
Remember when the only difficult thing about parking a car was getting the girl to agree to it?
Nowadays parking is everybody’s problem. Women, however, seem to find it the most difficult. Lucky Shields, down Oregon way, who sells those chain saws named after me, thinks that women drivers wouldn’t have so much trouble squeezing into a parkin place if they’d imagine it was a pair of shoes.
I DO NOT recommend using these jokes in your next publication!