Helen Jewett McAleer traveled the world with her mother, Clara Lucy Jewett and her uncle, David Eugene Smith, eventually circling the globe three times and making 27 trips across the Atlantic. Rather than attending college, travel severed as a form of education for Helen. Her uncle, David Smith was a renowned mathematician at Columbia College and traveled the world in search of mathematical instruments.
In 1919, Helen Jewett opened The Little Bungalow Shop within her own residence.
Her shop was on the lower levels of the residence and featured a a wide variety of items from all over the world. She also created a library for visitors to browse over a thousand volumes pertaining to the things she collected abroad.
