Horn, Mrs. O. J.

ONLY WOMAN HOISTERMAN, HANDLES TWO MEN'S JOBS - Mrs. O. J. Horn, of Picher, handled two men's jobs at the Mahutska Mine for two weeks recently, while her husband who, "Buddies" with her, was nursing a crushed foot. Mrs. Horn is supposed to be the only woman hoisterman in the world. She handles the great steam hoist which shoots the ore cars from the railroad between the two shafts to the mill derrick with as much skill as any man in the field and is ready at any time she is called to go in the derrick and pull from the ground for the hoists are just the same. The Horns came from Tennessee nearly a year ago with a small mule team and Mr. Horn, at once secured a contract for hauling the ore from the field shaft of the Mahutska Mine to the mill, using the little mules, one hooked to each car, Mrs. Horn driving one of them. Soon it was found that the mules could be hitched tandem fashion to two cars, then another was added and Mrs. Horn was only needed to do the switching but this was not enough for so active a woman so Mr. Horn learned to handle the hoisting engine and taught his wife, then she became a full-fledged hoisterman. A few weeks ago, Mr. O. J. Horn had the misfortune to mash his foot and was not able to work for two weeks, but the contract was carried out just the same as the lady hoisterman added her husband's duties to her own and actually did the work of two men for that period, hauling as high as 114 carloads of ore from the shaft and hoisting it to the mill in a day. Mrs. Horn is a picturesque character. She is small but stocky. She dresses in a man's attire from head to foot, jumper, overalls, cap and shoes. Her hair is cropped and her masquerade is complete except for the telltale gold hoops in her ears, which womanlike, she cannot give up, and a smile that is 100 per cent woman. The lady hoisterman is cultured and good looking in spite of her makeup. She appears to be about 30 years of age and is a mother. When asked where her daughter was, Mrs. Horn hesitated, but finally acknowledged that she was married and lived in Memphis Tennessee.