Making the news
May Garrettson Evans began her career with the Baltimore Sun in 1888 as a general reporter and a music and drama critic, breaking in after assisting her brother, reporter Henry Ridgely Evans. The first female reporter in the city found herself making news as well as reporting it. As she recalled in an interview in 1947, "My adventure into the newspaper field created a commotion. At first I was more interviewed than interviewing. I had to explain myself everywhere."
Seeking out one particular story eventually led to a career change and a milestone in Peabody Institute history. "One day," Evans told a Sun writer in 1928, "instead of any assignments on my desk, I found a little note that read 'Hustle for news.' I started out to get a story -- where, I didn't know, but I wasn't coming back until I had discovered some news. I had been a Peabody student, and, of course, I was interested in the Conservatory. I had often thought that some kind of preparatory school, to give the students an adequate preparation for the advanced work of the Conservatory, was needed, so I wandered up to the Peabody and talked to the Director about it."
Peabody Conservatory Director Asger Hamerik supported the idea of a preparatory school, but neither the Institute nor the Alumni Association took action to start one. Instead, May Garrettson Evans and her sister Marion founded the Peabody Graduates' Preparatory and High School of Music themselves in 1894. The following year, May left her job at the Sun to work full-time on running the rapidly growing school.
Miss Evans successful in two fields of work
Profile of May Garrettson Evans for the Baltimore Sun in 1911.
Letter from Hans von Bülow to May Garrettson Evans
The famous German conductor met Evans during a tour in 1890.
Blazing a trail
Near the end of her life in 1947, Evans was once again an interview subject for the Sun. The reporter profiled her for a Sunday magazine story, gathering Evans's reflections on her work at the paper and at Peabody. The next day, a group of 14 women reporters at the Sun wrote Evans a letter in gratitude for fearlessly blazing a trail for them at the newsroom.
Letter from Baltimore Sun reporters to May Garrettson Evans, 1947 January 6
Fourteen female reporters thank Evans for paving the way for women in the newsroom.