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Life Recollections

Chapter 3, Part 2
Into the Working World

The following summer of 1916, we had a lot of visitors from Seattle and many picnics. One lady friend of my parents was a practical nurse. She was working for a well-to-do family in Seattle who had year-old twins and were expecting another baby. She talked Mother into letting me go to Seattle and help out with this family. As I was only 15, she said she would tell them I was 16. The day was set and I was packed away with my suitcase and put on the interurban in Everett and she was supposed to meet me. I had the address, but when I arrived in Seattle there was no one there to meet me. The depot was on 5th Avenue, across from the Coliseum Theater. Being somewhat frightened I was still all agog with the city and decided I would take a little walk but not get further away than I could see the depot. I had planned I would go back to Everett on the interurban when I knew my way around. I walked up to the corner and stood looking around when who should walk by but one of the Swedish boys from home. I was surely glad to see him. I told him what had happened and showed him the address and he didn't know where it was neither but he said his uncle had a city map and we would go up there and find out here it was, which we did. It was in the Mt. Baker district. My friend went with me and we took the streetcar and that's how I came to work for the Lyford family.

They had the day mixed up and I wasn't to arrive until the next day but there I was given a nice room and promptly put to work helping with most everything as they had just moved down from Canada and were not quite settled. I was to spend many happy days and years at the Lyford's. I was never treated like a servant but more as a friend and part of the family. I stayed there the rest of that year and until the next Christmas when I told Mrs. Lyford I was going home and not coming back. She knew what my problem was and told me so. I had two bosses, my parents' friend and Mrs. Lyford, and she told me she would do something about it but I went home for a while and loved being at home. Several of my friends took my place at Lyford's including Ann and her mother. My friend, Helen Nelson, and even Freda, were there for a while. No one seemed to get along with my parents' friend. She finally got married and left.
Ann had left and was working as a waitress at the fraternity house at the University of Washington. I was offered the job at Lyford's alone with Mrs. Lyford's help as the children were getting out of the baby stage.

I was very happy there and Ann and I had some wonderful times and many boyfriends. We started roller-skating on Thursday nights and on Saturday nights we always went to the jitney dance. One dance was the Hippodrome at 5th and Union. The Dreamland was at 6th and Union and the skating arena was on 5th Avenue between Union and University. On Sunday we would take the streetcar to Leslie Park on Lake Washington and dance all afternoon and evening. We sure had some wonderful times and certainly a lot of boyfriends. World War I was going on and there were a lot of service men.

One incident I remember at the dance - Ann had given her purse to a sailor to hold for her and we never saw the sailor again. I had to give her money to get home on. He had, however, told her h is name and he was stationed out on Lake Union. I told her we just had to get that purse back so her not having the nerve left it up to me. I called the base and acting as it was my purse I told him my problem. They took all the information and I was to call back. When I called back they told me they had the sailor and the purse but I was to come out and identify it. Of course I had to get Ann to go with me as I did not know if I could identify the purse. She tried to tell me everything she had in it but we were two frightened girls going to that Navy base. Sailors were all over the place. When we got to the place they had directed us to, they showed us the purse. I said it was mine and told pretty accurately what was in it. She said she had some calling cards in it but when they asked me to name a name on the calling card, I thought it was all over, but do you know I took a wild stab and said "Smith." And, sure enough, she had a card from some guy named "Smith" so we got the purse. Even though she was older than me, I sure told her off for doing such a thing.
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