Helen Mooney was the second of nine children of Patrick Joseph Mooney and Anna Elizabeth Durkin. She married Thomas Buckley in 1903, and they had two children, Anna and Thomas. Helen and Thomas were apparently divorced by 1906, when he married again. By 1915, Helen had a "star boarder" (as the family put it) by the name of Eugene Joseph Raymond. Helen worked as a switchboard operator City of New York, Office of Special Prosecutor. At that time, during Prohibition, Thomas E. Dewey, known as the "Gangbuster," was conducting raids on speakeasies in New York City. Helen's brother, Walter Mooney, owned a restaurant and speakeasy, and she warned him when a raid would take place. Dewey found out and fired her with the warning, "I'll fix it so you'll never get another job in this City!" However, the very next day, Helen was working at the U.S. Post Office, and was the only woman employed by the Post Office in the City at that time. She claimed she "had connections" and boasted, "I fixed it, Dewey! I fixed it!" She was outspoken and ahead of her time when it came to women's rights. As the only female employee at the Post Office, she demanded a Ladies Rest Room and got it. There are many more colorful family stories about Helen Mooney Buckley, who was known to the family as "Aunt Helen."
Helen Mooney was the second of nine children of Patrick Joseph Mooney and Anna Elizabeth Durkin. She married Thomas Buckley in 1903, and they had two children, Anna and Thomas. Helen and Thomas were apparently divorced by 1906, when he married again. By 1915, Helen had a "star boarder" (as the family put it) by the name of Eugene Joseph Raymond. Helen worked as a switchboard operator City of New York, Office of Special Prosecutor. At that time, during Prohibition, Thomas E. Dewey, known as the "Gangbuster," was conducting raids on speakeasies in New York City. Helen's brother, Walter Mooney, owned a restaurant and speakeasy, and she warned him when a raid would take place. Dewey found out and fired her with the warning, "I'll fix it so you'll never get another job in this City!" However, the very next day, Helen was working at the U.S. Post Office, and was the only woman employed by the Post Office in the City at that time. She claimed she "had connections" and boasted, "I fixed it, Dewey! I fixed it!" She was outspoken and ahead of her time when it came to women's rights. As the only female employee at the Post Office, she demanded a Ladies Rest Room and got it. There are many more colorful family stories about Helen Mooney Buckley, who was known to the family as "Aunt Helen."
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