We can hardly imagine a world where there was no 'life insurance' or Social Security, and the impact of widowhood as a consequence. Opportunities for women to earn a way for themselves were severely limited, other than domestic paths - seamstresses, baking, boarding houses, etc.
It would have been a tough row to hoe for those with limited skills....makes you appreciate all the more, those women with 'gumption' who succeeded in coping well.
Whatever would Betsy have thought of a woman as the pilot of a B-2 bomber, such as the one who participated in the May Sea & Air Show at Ft. Lauderdale?!!