The Waitresses
The Lunchroom Waitresses
One of the most iconic parts of the lunchroom was the waitresses. They were known not only for their blue uniforms with white aprons but also for their kindness and diligence. The workers created a family atmosphere that made the customers feel as if they were getting a home-cooked meal at their grandmother’s house. Most of the waitresses began their work while in high school and stayed employed at the Exchange until their retirement, most of them being in their 80s and 90s. Even into its later years when the consignment shop saw fewer visitors and consignors, the Exchange used its lunchroom to offer secure work for the young women of Baltimore. The lives of a few of the most popular waitresses are documented below.
Carrie Geraghty
Carrie Willback was born around 1907 in Baltimore, Maryland. She was raised on Aiken Street and attended St. John’s Parochial School when she was a child. She did not like school and therefore applied to work at the Hochschild Kohn tearoom at 16 years old where
Wilhelmina “Willy” Godwin
Wilhelmina Godwin was born in 1910 to Charles Fischer Godwin and Lucia Fischer Godwin. She had a brother named John R. Godwin Jr. who she grew up with in Baltimore, Maryland. She attended public schools and completed up to two years of high school.
Christy Bergland
Christy Bergland is an artist and art therapist from Baltimore, Maryland, who lived and worked at the Woman’s Industrial Exchange in the 1970s. Christy’s mother, Dorothy Mower Bergland, and paternal grandmother, Alice Lloyd Pitts Bergland, also worked at the Woman’s...
Famous Guests of the Lunchroom
The lunchroom kept a book that held the signatures of every guest who dined at and visited the Exchange. The book holds the names of wealthy and well-known Baltimorean families as well as more modern-day celebrities. Judith Rousuck recalled that former State Senator Julian ‘Jack’ Lapides “was a regular too but he ate upstairs most of the time. However; for his 70th birthday, he rented the place on a Saturday. There was a buffet set up and a couple waitresses. I don’t know how often, or if ever, they rented the place out.”
Layne Bosserman, an Exchange waitress, remembers serving Donna Hamilton, a former WBAL-TV news anchor, and her daughter. She added that she “was way down on the totem pole and if someone came and sat in her section that was famous or if it was one of the other waitress’ regular, [the other waitress] got them, not me. I would just get one of the tables in her section.”
In terms of national celebrities, Miss Willie (Wilhelmina Godwin) who worked the baked goods counter in the consignment shop would read the society news section of the paper to discover which famous celebrities would be visiting Baltimore. She would then write to them and invite them to come dine at the Exchange. A few even accepted her invitation and stopped in to visit one of the most iconic places in Baltimore. Katharine Hepburn was one of these celebrities. Her name is recorded in the guest book and the Exchange even received a letter she wrote to thank them for some heart-shaped cookies they had sent her.
Rousuck also mentioned that a lot of the actresses and actors performing at Ford’s Theater or the Mechanic stayed in hotels near the building for work and would come to the Exchange for their breakfast. This was how Jessica Tandy’s and John Waters’ names were found in the guest book.
Letter from Katharine Hepburn (1977), WIE Archive