Christopher N. Brieseth wrote this essay in 1966, the year following the death of Frances Perkins. He was one of the members of Cornell’s Telluride House who invited Perkins to live with them for what would be the last five years of her life.
Sent to Perkins in an envelope postmarked 28 February 1933, this photograph would have been taken just as her appointment as Secretary for Labor was announced
When Perkins was appointed Secretary of Labor, she asked her loyal secretary, Frances Jurkowitz, known as Miss Jay, to come to Washington with her. A dedicated and very hard worker, Jay was sometimes over-protective of Perkins, resulting in feelings…