At the turn of the century, there were not many occupations deemed respectable for women. Up until 1890, any woman working on her own, other than in the field of teaching, was considered to be daring. Several became interested in the field of photography after the process became more refined and were assistants or had their own studios.
Many continued as entrepreneurs in other areas.
In 1909, Miss Kate McDonald learned the art of photography in Swearingen’s studio. However, school teaching became her occupation. She also was a talented poetess and pianist and wrote a copyrighted song “Irene”. She married S.C. McKee of St. Paul in 1915 and they moved to Des Moines. She moved back to Osceola after his death, was involved in real estate and operated the Osceola Theater.
Walter E. Headlee, owner of Headlee Photography, and his assistant, Eunice Ray, went to McMinnville, Tennessee in 1909 to study at the Southern School of Photography. In May, 1910, they attended a photographer’s convention in Des Moines. Eunice was enumerated with her parents, George and Mary Ray in the 1910 census as a retoucher in an art gallery (as many photography studios were called at that time).
Eunice and Walter were married on August 2, 1911. They moved to Arkansas and then Kansas where they operated a studio. In 1919, they bought the East Side Studio from Cobun and moved back to Osceola. It was refitted with modern equipment, including the rapid finishing of Kodak views. “Mr. and Mrs. Headlee are each expert photographers having broadened their practical experience in a school of special preparation. They will each give their entire time to the work in the studio.” (Although in ads, her name was never mentioned, a sign of the times). They sold the studio in 1928 to Walter Hill and Headlee continued working there, repurchasing it in August, 1930.
They were living with her parents in April, 1930, and Eunice was listed as a dancing master who gave private lessons. They divorced September, 1930, and had no children.
Ada Hurd was an assistant at Headlee Studio in the 1930’s. She attended many photography conventions and went to the Chicago World’s Fair in 1933. Headlee spent the winter in Long Beach at least one year, presumably Ada ran the studio in his absence. She married Cleo Bryant in 1935. He worked for the railroad and was transferred to Kansas in 1950, where she died in 2001.
In an interesting turn of events, Walter Headlee sold the studio to ex-wife Eunice in 1940, when he and his second wife moved to her home state of Tennessee. Eunice had been involved in her parent’s store, Ray’s Grocery, after their divorce. She sold her studio to Carl Tidgren in 1958 and continued as receptionist. She had a household sale in 1970, moved to Leisure Manor and passed away June 7, 1972.