Gertrude Nichols, or her sister, Blanche, at the NW corner of 10th and Broadway in Hamilton.
'Ninno', one of two spinster sisters, was the name we used to refer to her by. Her parents were George W. and Lizete A. Nicholas. She lived across Fourth Street in a brick house that looked the mirror image of 421 Oak (although it had only 2 stories). Her name was Nicholas on the 1900 and 1910 censuses, changing to Nichols on the 1920 census. Gertrude was a stenographer with the Standard Oil Company in 1910 and then a stenographer with the Bee Journal in 1920. Her brother, Harry worked as a stock clerk at the Power House in 1920.
Ninno was born February 27, 1875 in Red Oak, Iowa, (but note that the 1900 census listed the date as Jan 1877). Gertrude passed away on January 2, 1952.
She was a good neighbor, who would look after Esther and me in our early years. When the tide turned and we became teenagers, we would look after her. I remember walking her up the sidewalk to come to our house for a meal on one particularly icy day. The walk was treacherous and although we were both wearing ice cleats strapped to our boots, I was very afraid that she might slip and fall.
As Ninno was a spinster, I'm afraid that not many would remember her.
