Reminisce: The creative and generous Virginia Backus

Glistening pearl earrings, bracelets, pins and necklaces arranged in a seashell pattern sat upon sea-blue velvet, catching the attention of passersby. Hartman Jewelry Company, which competed with other retailers in 12 neighboring states, was one of 10 winners of a $50 prize in a 1947 window display contest.

Virginia Backus, owner of Hartman Jewelry Company, designed the display. She is believed to be the first woman in Wapakoneta to own and operate an uninherited business that was not typically considered at that time “women’s shops,” such as milliners, seamstresses and beauticians. Known for her graciousness, she fostered her business know-how, creativity and generosity from a young age.

Lucy and Henry Backus gave birth to their first child, Louise Virginia Backus, on May 12, 1904, in Columbus, Ohio. While in that city, the family grew to include Ruth, born in 1905, and John, born in 1907. They welcomed the youngest son, Paul, in 1913 in Wapakoneta, Ohio.

The family moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma, around 1916, and the four youngsters spent their childhood there. Henry worked as an accountant for the Roxana Petroleum Company and later served in the U.S. Marshals Service.

Virginia Backus’s graduation year of 1922 brought scholarly and artistic achievements. She won fourth place in the state interscholastic meet in Norman in the freestyle drawing category for her charcoal artwork in April. A couple weeks later Backus graduated with academic honors from high school. That year she was also chairwoman of the “snapshot staff” for Tom Tom, her high school’s yearbook.

Backus attended many social functions in Tulsa. She went to luncheons, weddings, and events with dining and games. She frequented games of bridge and was a member of the Triple Deckers bridge club by 1925.

The late 1920s brought change to the family as the children grew into young adults and began working. By then Henry served as Chief Deputy for the U.S. Marshals. Virginia followed in her father’s business footsteps. She worked as a bookkeeper at Palace Clothiers in Tulsa by 1928.

Virginia’s commitment to community began early. During WWI, high school freshman Virginia volunteered with the Red Cross. Ten years later, she utilized her creative skills as an officer of art and charter member of the Thespiterians, First Presbyterian Church’s drama club that performed vaudeville shows and Bible scene performances. Additionally, the group was meant to promote friendliness among the church’s young people. The proceeds of the group funded causes, such as food baskets for children’s families on holidays. Their efforts provided food to 58 families and over 500 children for Christmas in 1928.

Family tragedy also came at the end of the 1920s. Ruth and her infant son died in childbirth in 1928. She left behind her husband, James Rhodes, and two boys who were 2 and 3 years old. Two years later Henry died of apoplexy. Soon after his death, Lucy and Paul moved to Wapakoneta, Lucy’s hometown. Virginia stayed an extra month in Tulsa, and her friends gave her two goodbye celebrations: a breakfast and a bridge gathering turned surprise handkerchief shower.

Leaving behind her social connections and position as a bookkeeper, Backus started over in Wapakoneta at age 26. She lived with her mother on Blackhoof Street until her mother died in 1955 after an 18-month battle with cancer.

Virginia began working as a clerk at Hartman Jewelry Company at 6 West Auglaize Street in 1936. In 1939 the 35-year-old averaged 48 hours per week and made $832 annually, according to the 1940 census. This salary was around half the national average income for white women in 1940 and is equivalent to around $18,700 today.

After working at the jewelry shop for over a decade, she purchased the Hartman Jewelry Company from Dr. Clemense “Clem” Hartman on February 6, 1946, but the Hartmans still owned the building. The store operated under the same name. Dr. Clem Hartman, then also the Vice President of People’s National Bank, continued to operate his optometry business out of the back of the store for over 10 years.

Backus partnered in business for her first 17 years. During the initial months of ownership, she and her step-aunt Kittie Nichols owned the store. Then, she partnered with Chester Metzger in October 1946 until she became the sole proprietor in 1963.

Backus took an active role in her community through her business. Under her ownership, Hartman Jewelry Company participated in the Auglaize County Centennial Fair through providing a crown for the queen in 1948. She also gave a presentation on precious gems at a St. Peter Women’s Guild meeting in New Bremen in 1968.

Obligations filled Backus’s calendar more and more throughout the 1940s to the 1960s. She was involved in her church, the First English Lutheran Church in Wapakoneta, and sang in their choir. Backus also acted as a committee member for the annual combined meeting of the three societies at the First English Lutheran Church. She attended teas and served refreshments at weddings.

An active member of the Ohio Epsilon Phi Chapter of the Beta Phi Sorority in Wapakoneta, she started as director in 1947 and education director in 1950. True to her interests, the sorority hosted an annual bridge and style show benefit in 1950, and she arranged an event based on the topic “Music Into Drama and Dance” for the following year. In 1954 Backus served on that organization’s program committee.

A charter member of the Wapakoneta Soroptimists, which started in 1947, Backus remained active in the organization throughout her membership, serving as vice president in 1959, president in 1961, and program chairman in 1965. Additionally, she served on the board of directors of the Eastern Auglaize Chapter of the American Red Cross, including as Vice President and chairman of the committee revising the chapter’s by-laws in 1960. She was also an executive board member of the Auglaize County Visiting Nurses Association.

Throughout the years, she took an active approach in her support of funding projects for the community. For example, she acted as chairman of a subcommittee for slogans, stickers and posters for a drive in support of the $550,000 school board bond issue vote in 1948.

The Hartman Jewelry Company’s neighbor, People’s National Bank, bought the Hartman Block in July 1972. After initial rental negotiations where she voiced that she wanted to stay no more than two years, the new owners gave her 30 days to move. Without another suitable storefront available, Backus sold as much of her stock as she could. Hartman Jewelry Company closed its doors on September 2, 1972. The Hartman Block was razed to make room for the expansion of People’s National Bank soon after Backus moved out.

After Dudley Schuler bought her display cases, Backus set up in his store to sell off her remaining stock. While at his store, she worked with him to start a Bridal Registry Department and train a salesperson.

The year following her store’s closure, Backus was the manager of the Bridal Emporium. Within two years, she officially retired. Backus died on December 1, 1991 at 87 years old. She is buried in Greenlawn Cemetery in Wapakoneta.

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SOURCE

This feature is a cooperative effort between the newspaper and the Auglaize County Museum and Historical Society.

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Reach Brittany Venturella at [email protected].