This letter belongs to Kevin Burg , whose grandmother received it in 1938.  (click here to see it even better)  Kevin notes that despite Disney’s declaration that women aren’t to do any creative work, his grandmother eventually became an animator during WWII when women had to step up “For the War Effort.” 

To be fair, it probably wasn’t entirely sexist, in 1938, to deny women any but the most menial, low-paying jobs.  During the Great Depression, many Americans felt that only men were entitled to jobs, the logic being that men had families to support.  That logic was a little thin, of course, as many women also were supporting families, some of which included their unemployed husbands.  

Don’t you love the stationery?  So perfect to send to all the “girls” looking for jobs.  I wonder what kind of stationery the real adults received?  (and we could do all kinds of things with the witch lurking in the corner, too — hey look, it’s HR Wench’s dopellganger!)

(DRUM ROLL PLEASE) And now for the REAL hall of fame!

Many thanks to all the others who have celebrated rejection with me this week, both here and on your own blogs: (please let me know if I’ve left you out… I’m still chasing down the “pings!)

Mikael, Mikael the Mime) (who has magical bodily functions)
James, James Viscosi’s Scribblings (yes, there’s plenty enough rejection to go around)
Deb, A Little Tea or Something (for understanding what I mean)
Peggy, Career Encouragement Blog (who is going to be the best PhD ever)
Alison, Ask a Manager (one of the blogosphere’s best writers)
Truevyne, The TrueVyne (braver than most people know)
Cassandra, Ophelia Blooming (collage-maker extraordinaire)
Karen, Working Girl (there’s NO place like home!)
Rachel at The Drawing Lady  (PLEASE: What’s a Jerwood?)
Ann, Thomas Trails and Tales (hurray for you!  Only 99 more rejections to join our super-duper hall of fame!)
Linda, The Girl with the Curl (who just GOT a job, but can still remember what it is like…)
Michelle, Philadelphia Stories and Michelle Wittle’s Web log (Inspiring, she is)
Dave, Dare to Dream (The only licensed advice-giver in the bunch)
Bill, not poetry blog (for this collage of rejection letters!)
Jackson, Blue Mosaic Me (who actually LIKED his most recent rejection letter.)

As well as for my blogless-but-wonderful fellow rejectees Kathy, David, Tom R., Felicia, Keith, Pam S., Mini-Betsy, Marisa and Laura E