of freedom within all of us.”4
Along with adjusting emotionally, Virginia also had to make her own way financially.
She paid the rent on her Second Street apartment by working a variety of jobs. She drew upon her many talents and her ingenuity to make her way. Virginia used her awareness of fabrics and her typing skills in her job as receptionist and guide at the Cooper Union Textile Museum. The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art was established in 1859. Located just blocks from Virginia’s apartment, the college continues to offer an education in art, education, and architectural engineering.
The position with Cooper Union didn’t pay enough money to cover her rent, so Virginia learned a new skill to help make ends meet.
Virginia went to a used bookstore on the East Side and purchased an accounting book. She taught herself accounting and got a job working for an architectural firm to pay for her living expenses.5
Still shy of funds to support herself in the big city, Virginia turned to a talent she had enjoyed since childhood. Singing.
The Saint Nicholas Ballroom on the Upper West Side hired Virginia to sing at night. She used her strong, deep voice as she sang with big bands, as a soloist as well as with groups.
Gradually, Virginia eased into the bohemian feel of the big city. And she looked the part. She went about the city wearing a black beret, a dark trench coat, and velvet slacks. “I thought of myself as a young sophisticate developing into an artist,” she said.6
Virginia loved jazz music and befriended many musicians and singers through her own singing gigs. She enjoyed going to different clubs and listening to the musicians wailing on their saxophones, jamming on bass, and working their magic on the piano.
One particular club, the Five Spot Café in lower Manhattan, was a favorite. The Five Spot was just a ten-minute walk away from Virginia’s apartment on Second Street.
“It was a time of cool jazz and ‘shades’ worn at night,” Virginia said.
Virginia fit in with the hip crowd as she sat back in her seat, relaxed while listening to jazz at the Five Spot Café. She tucked a book under one arm and sipped her drink slowly. The audience didn’t applaud after a song. They snapped their fingers to show their appreciation. Virginia did the same.
One such sophisticated evening at the Five Spot changed her life.
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