Gertrude Hemken (1912-1992)

Aka "Trudy," "Miss Hemken"
Letter Writer, Cook, Secretary/Stenographer, Columnist
Born September 10, 1912, Chicago, Illinois
Died July 21, 1992, Kankakee, Illinois

If you have ever read Robert Weinberg's history The Weird Tales Story (1977), you may remember what he wrote about frequent letter writer Gertrude Hemken. In his chapter on "The Eyrie," the letters column of the magazine, he commented:

Another regular was Gertrude Hemken, whose letters were disjointed patches of baby talk nonsense. [. . .] Strangely enough, Gertrude Hemken had a number of followers in the column who wrote in praising her letters and complaining when [Farnsworth] Wright did not feature one. He usually did, as she was one of the most prolific writers ever to The Eyrie. (p. 124)

With 32 to her credit, Gertrude Hemken wrote the third most letters printed in "The Eyrie." Only Jack Darrow (35) and B.M. Reynolds (33) had more. If B.M. Reynolds was a man, then she had the most of any woman, and she was the only member of her sex in the top ten. Her heyday came in the period January 1936 to July 1938 when she was referred to as "Trudy" or "Miss Hemken" and practically had her own column within "The Eyrie." One highlight: In a letter printed in February 1935, she heaped praise on C.L. Moore and her character Jirel of Joiry. Not nonsense at all.

Gertrude Carolina Hemken was born on September 10, 1912, in Chicago, to Henry Hemken, a bread baker, and Constantina (Haenel or Hanel) Hemken. Both were natives of Germany. Gertrude was an only child who lived with her parents into adulthood, as children of old-world families do. In 1936, Gertrude won one of seven grand prizes, a $635 Graham Supercharger Sedan, in the Gold Medal Nomination Sweepstakes Contest, sponsored by Gold Medal Flour. What a prize!

She was married twice, first to Erwin J. Schmidt, who died in 1949, afterwards to Ferdinand Berens (1897-1978), a widower, on June 12, 1971.  Gertrude was a secretary/stenographer, a member of St. Patrick's Church in Kankakee, a member of DANK, a German-American organization, and a columnist for Voice of East Peoria, a publication for senior citizens. She died on July 21, 1992, in Kankakee and was buried at Mount Calvary Cemetery in that city. She was seventy-nine years old.

Gertrude Hemken's Letters in Weird Tales & Other Fantasy & Science Fiction Magazines
(from the Internet Speculative Fiction Database and other sources)
Letter in Astounding Stories (Mar. 1931): "Or What Have You?" 
Letter in Astounding Stories (Mar. 1931): "Gr-r-r—She's Mad!" 
Letter in Weird Tales (Oct. 1931)
Letter in Weird Tales (May 1932)
Letter in The Fantasy Fan (Aug. 1934)
Letter in Weird Tales (Sept. 1934): "The Master of Souls"
Letter in Weird Tales (Feb. 1935): "Jirel of Joiry"
Letter in Weird Tales (Jan. 1936): "Enthusiasm Plus"
Letter in Weird Tales (Feb. 1936): "A Loyal Fan Comments"
Letter in Weird Tales (Apr. 1936): "Ooooh!"
Letter in Weird Tales (May 1936): "Here She Is Again"
Letter in Weird Tales (June 1936): "Eye-Widening Horror"
Letter in Weird Tales (July 1936): "Again!"
Letter in Weird Tales (Aug.-Sept. 1936): "Miss Hemken's Comments"
Letter in Weird Tales (Oct. 1936): "French Phrases"
Letter in Weird Tales (Dec. 1936): "Oogy-Woogy Tales"
Letter in Weird Tales (Jan. 1937): "Trudy"
Letter in Weird Tales (Feb. 1937): "Oogy! Oogier! Oogiest!"
Letter in Weird Tales (Mar. 1937): "Here She Is"
Letter in Weird Tales (Apr. 1937): "Comments from Trudy"
Letter in Weird Tales (May 1937): "Presenting Trudy"
Letter in Weird Tales (June 1937): "A Letter from Trudy"
Letter in Weird Tales (July 1937): "The Little Eaglets"
Letter in Weird Tales (Aug. 1937): "Concise Comments"
Letter in Weird Tales (Sept. 1937): "Miss Hemken Speaking"
Letter in Weird Tales (Oct. 1937): "Trudy Answers Our Critics"
Letter in Weird Tales (Nov. 1937): "Miss Hemken Again"
Letter in Weird Tales (Dec. 1937): "Here It Is"
Letter in Weird Tales (Jan. 1938): "Trudy's Letter"
Letter in Weird Tales (Feb. 1938): "Trudy"
Letter in Weird Tales (Mar. 1938): "A Letter from Miss Hemken"
Letter in Weird Tales (Apr. 1938): "From Gertrude Hemken"
Letter in Weird Tales (May 1938): "Oogy"
Letter in Weird Tales (June 1938)
Letter in Weird Tales (July 1938)
Letter in Golden Fleece (Mar. 1939)

A recipe by Gertrude Hemken, syndicated by The American Weekly in its "Housewife's Food Almanack" feature, January 22, 1939. 

Thanks to Randal A. Everts for information.

Original text copyright 2022 Terence E. Hanley