Helen Welch Long

With her girls settled in their seats at the theater, Helen Long left during intermission to run an errand.  She went to a friend's office in a nearby building to pick up parcels.  She and her daughters would meet outside the theater when the play was over.  As Helen returned to the theater she saw people rushing from the building.  The crowd surging from the theater made entry impossible; soon entrances were guarded by police and she could not re-enter the theater.

A Kentucky native, Helen Welch Long, was a Suffragette sympathizer and active in women's clubs in Geneva, speaking and writing about issues she cared about, including road construction, interurban cars, and pure food. Helen was the daughter of an author and university professor, Rodney Welch, and Abby F. Stevens Welch. At her death in 1927, a portion of Helen's estate went to purchase furnishings for the Children's Room at the Geneva, IL library where she had served on the board. As a school board member, Helen promoted kindergarten as a necessary part of a public school education, and training for girls that put more emphasis on practical skills to prepare them for earning a living and/or helping their husbands do the same.