"Charlotte's Web" author White was one of the writers on staff when Groth interviewed for a position at The New Yorker, and "his shyness ... was of mythic proportions," Groth wrote. "He seemed pained to be in the presence of anyone at all, much less a corn-fed girl from Iowa who was looking for a job." While talking with her, "his eyes [were] cast down, his voice little above a whisper," according to Groth. Nonetheless, after Groth said she'd like to do anything except be part of a typing pool, White handed her over to the secretarial personnel manager to see if there was anything they could do for Groth.
