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Fern Hobbs (May 8, 1883 – April 10, 1964) was an American attorney in the U.S. state of Oregon, and a private secretary to Oregon Governor Oswald West. She was noted for her ambition and several accomplishments as a young woman, and became the highest-paid woman in public service in America in her mid-twenties. Hobbs made international news when Governor West sent her to implement martial law in the small Eastern Oregon town of Copperfield. The event was considered a strategic coup for West, establishing the State's authority over a remote rural community and cementing his reputation as a proponent of prohibition. Hobbs later worked for the American Red Cross in Europe and at the ''Oregon Journal'' newspaper. She died in Portland in 1964. ==Early life== Hobbs was born on May 8, 1883, in Bloomington, Nebraska, to John Alden Hobbs and Cora Bush Hobbs.〔Kirby, Jo Ann. Hillsboro lady pursues career in politics, law. ''Hillsboro Argus'', October 19, 1976.〕 Her family moved to Salt Lake City, Utah when she was six years old; she lived there for 12 years, finishing high school.〔 Her father then met with financial difficulties, and she moved to Oregon,〔 settling in Hillsboro. There, she put her younger brother and sister through school, while studying stenography and working for a living.〔 She soon became a private secretary to the president of the Title Guarantee and Trust Company.〔 The bank, which held many assets of the Oregon Common School Fund, failed during Hobbs' time there. Ben Olcott, who was the Secretary of State and a member of the State Land Board, was charged with protecting the Common School Fund, and was involved in negotiating with the failing bank over the State's assets.〔 He took note of Hobbs' strong loyalty to her employer.〔 After the bank's failure, Hobbs worked as a governess for J. Wesley Ladd (brother of William S. Ladd) in Portland.〔 She also helped raise her younger brother and sister, studied stenography and the law, and worked as a secretary.〔 In 1913, Hobbs graduated from Willamette University College of Law with a Bachelor of Laws degree, and was admitted to the Oregon State Bar.〔Terry, John. Oregon’s Trails: Spotlight was not intoxicating for envoy who downed saloons. ''The Oregonian'', January 9, 2005.〕 Olcott, who managed Oswald West's successful 1910 campaign to become Governor of Oregon, recommended that West hire Hobbs as his private stenographer.〔 She was hired, and impressed West to the point that he hired her as his private secretary two years later. At that time, at age 27, she was the highest-paid woman in public service in the United States, earning $3,000 per year.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Fern Hobbs」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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