Miss Becomes a Master

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ARLINGTON COUNTY GETS FIRST WOMAN PLUMBER

By Tom Burke

A 21-year-old Arlington girl, Lillian Ann Baumbach, became the first
woman licensed as a Master Plumber in Arlington County, last week.
As far as can be determined Miss Baumbach, daughter of W.J.
Baumbach, founder of the W.J. Baumbach Plumbing and Heating
Co., of 4147 Wilson Blvd., is the only female Master Plumber in the
entire Washington area.

At present Miss Baumbach, who lives at 4439 N. 15th St., is service
manager of her father’s company.

An only child, the attractive Washington-Lee High School graduate,
indicated an early desire to follow in her dad’s footsteps. She
scorned dolls for monkey wrenches when she was six years old and
by the time she was 12 was a regular plumber’s helper on jobs with
her dad.

At 4 p.m., today Miss Baumbach will be awarded the Master
Plumber’s certificate she qualified for in an examination given
January 18 by Director of Inspections Norbert C. Melnick. County
Manager A.T. Lundberg will award the certificate. Miss Baumbach
took the examination with six male plumbers, only two of whom
passed.

Her only other talent, Miss Baumbach admits, is her fishing ability.
She declared that she loves fishing on the Chesapeake Bay on her
father’s motor boat at every opportunity.

While a student at W-L High, she was interested in athletics more
than home economics and was a mainstay on the girls’ softball team.
She has attended a course conducted by her father at the High
School one night a week for the past several years. It is a plumbing
course designed to train future Master Plumbers.

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