A January Conversation

Several years ago on a frosty January morning, I went over to a dear friend's house to conduct an interview for a school assignment. Ever since I did that interview I have loved digging it out to read over it again so much that I thought you might enjoy it, too! Perhaps you will even be inspired to interview someone as well--it is such rewarding experience. We have so much to learn from our elders--so many life lessons, and so much wisdom and history! Mrs. K is rich with these blessings, so without further introduction, here is the interview between my 16 year old self and Mrs. K!

Lauren: Good morning! Thank you so much for doing this interview with me!
Mrs. K: Of course—I’m excited to get started!

L: All right—first question. Were you born here in this town?
K: Yes—I’ve lived here or in this area my whole life.

L: And how old were you when you became a Christian?
K: I was nineteen years old.

L: How did you meet your husband?
K: Roller-skating. I wasn’t a Christian at the time, but he was. He wasn’t “interested” in me for a while, though, even though I liked him.

L: What was invented during your lifetime that you remember best?
K: Microwaves…self-cleaning ovens (laughs)I love those!… and minivans.

L: What is the best decision, choice, or sacrifice that you ever made?
K: Marrying my husband. He actually brought me to the Lord.

L: Wow! I didn’t know that.
K: Yeah. Some people aren’t really comfortable about that, but I feel that the Lord actually had his hand on me throughout my whole life and used Mr. K to bring me to Him. All of my brothers and sisters divorced several times and two of them died because of alcohol, so I can really see how the Lord protected me from bad influences.

L: And you had four brothers and sisters?
K: Yes.

L: Did you ever recommit your life to Christ?
K: Um, not really. I mean, I’ve gone forward in church several times because the
sermon spoke to me or I really agreed with it. So, I guess some people would call that recommitting your life, but I wouldn’t.

L: And when were you baptized?
K: Well, I don’t have the exact date, but it was September 1964.

L: What historic event do you remember most vividly?
K: Probably the eruption of Mt. St. Helens. That was the one we were nearest to,
you know, and I think it affected us more than some of the nationwide or global events.

L: What event that occurred in our town do you remember best?
K: What event? (pause)… I guess the thing that comes to mind is when they built the mall. It took a lot of the industry away from the downtown and really changed the downtown area.

L: Oh—interesting! I didn’t realize that. Here’s another history question: did the Vietnam War affect our town in any big way?
K: Oh, yeah. We lost a lot of men; a lot of men.

L: Were there any protests or anything?
K: Um, not that I remember; I don’t think so. (laughs) At least, I wasn’t involved.

L: Well I guess that’s good! Now, what is your earliest memory?
K: When I was three, I think, I got stuck between some bars in our chicken coop.
Mom had to come rescue me!

L: (laughs) What fad do you remember best?
K: The poodle skirt.

L: Did you have one?
K: Definitely! They were very popular!

L: Is there a tradition that you have or had that is special to you?
K: On Thanksgiving we always make butter in my butter churn.

L: So, tell us the story: where did you get the churn?
K: I got it a long, long time ago at an estate sale of a friend. I asked her to save something special for me, and she got me that, so every year the kids look forward to making butter in it!

L: What was your favorite thing to do when you were growing up?
K: I loved to go roller-skating. My brothers and sisters and I skated five nights a week. We would walk over from our house- which was quite a long walk!

L: Wow! Five nights! When did you have time for homework?
K:(laughs) Homework? No, actually we’d roller skate mostly on the weekends—you know, Friday, Saturday, and even on Sundays we’d go over.

L: Did your dad fight in WWII?
K: No, he didn’t.

L: Did anyone that you knew fight?
K: Yes, an uncle of mine did fight.

L: When you were growing up what did you want to do with your life? And did you ever actually do that?
K: Actually, I always wanted to be a mom and a housewife… and yes, I did do that!

L: That’s so great! Now, did you ever have a job outside your home?
K: Um, just for short durations, like six months and things like that. I worked at the mill two separate times for a short while.

L: Did any famous person ever visit our town, and if so, did you see him?
K: Bill Clinton. I didn’t see him because I was in Seattle at the time. But I remember him coming because someone parked in our driveway since there were no other parking spaces. [My son and his wife] came up and saw the car in the driveway, so they wrote a nasty note and put it on the windshield. Well, it ended up that it was actually an old friend, so that was quite interesting!

L: And when did he come visit?
K: 1996. September of 1996.

L: What is your favorite memory?
K: My favorite memory…. That’s hard; I have a lot of favorite memories…. I guess being together at Christmas. Once the whole family came over to our house for Christmas, and that was really neat to be together. Especially because now a lot of them are gone.

L: What would you say is your favorite song?
K: Oh, what is the name of it! I want it sung at my funeral, and I even have it written down… “When We All Get To Heaven”…that’s it.

L: Oh, I love that song! Now, if you could relive your life, what would you do differently?
K: Teach my kids the value of money. They saw me taking money out of the bank all the time, but I never explained to them that their dad had to work hard to get that money.

L: Mrs. K, did you go to college?
K: No.

L: What year did you graduate from high school?
K: ’62.

L: What would you like people to think of when they think of you?
K: Helpful… considerate… I guess just willingness.

L: What was the most frightening moment in your life?
K: While the Cuban Crisis was going on my aunt and uncle found out that they weren’t actually legally married, and so my mom went down to Reno to be a witness for their wedding and left me with all of the household money. I slept with the money in my bed- actually I didn’t really sleep that night. I was so scared!

L: Wow! Was she gone just for that night?
K: Oh no, she was gone for several days.

L: What was your favorite subject in school?
K: Well, I didn’t really like school, but let me see… what would have been my favorite subject…. I guess it would have been Home Ec! I loved to cook and sew.

L: What is your favorite book?
K: The Bible. There is also another book that is actually in the church library now, but it is really good; it’s called Whiter Than Snow. Also I like the book Not My Will.

L: I’ll have to check those out! Now, what do you remember about Kennedy’s assassination?
K: Oh, yes. Well, just the shock. I think it really changed everyone in America. I had just bought my first TV, and took it home and turned it on for the first time. We all saw the news report come on and we were saying, “What’s this?”

L: So did you like him…I mean, did you vote for him?
K: Well, I couldn’t vote at the time. But I think he was pretty good. I’m not sure if I would have voted for him because he was Catholic and everything, but I liked him.

L: Well, that’s all of the questions that I have! Are there any final thoughts you would like to share?
K: Well, you know, just that my life was really changed by the Lord. I can definitely see God’s hand all throughout my life!

L: What a great testimony! Thank you so much for doing this!

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