Page 1 of 28 
 
Washington Women’s Heritage Project records, 1900-2000 
University of Washington Libraries Special Collections 
Etta May Bryant Alldredge 
February 11, 1998 
Cassette 4, Side 2 
 
 
Stephanie Holan  00:02 
This is Stephanie Holan, and I'm here with Etta Alldredge for our third interview, and it's 
February 11, 1998 and it is 3:15.  OK, so you were telling me about Grandpa Moe?  
 
Etta Alldredge  00:21 
Uh-huh.  
 
Stephanie Holan  00:22 
And he was one of the seven men that captured Jeffrey Davis? 
 
Etta Alldredge  00:26 
Yeah. 
 
Stephanie Holan  00:26 
Now, who's Jeffrey Davis?  
 
Etta Alldredge  00:29 
What? 
 
Stephanie Holan  00:30 
Who is Jeffrey Davis? 
 
Etta Alldredge  00:31 
Oh, he's that famous-- that guy, that-- he was in the [?Confederate?] Army, and he would-- they 
tri-- they catch-- don't ask me [laughs]. 
 
Stephanie Holan  00:41 
Oh, OK, the Civil War. OK. I got it. I'm there. I'm with it. I'm sorry [laughs].  And then what 
were you gonna tell me? You had a little-- what were you saying after that? He, um, he was in 
the army. 
 
Etta Alldredge  00:57 
Page 2 of 28 
 
Yeah, he-- my grandfather was in the Union Army, and that Davis [?was in the Confederate?] 
army. They was fightin'. 
 
Stephanie Holan  01:06 
Oh, OK, all right, now I gotcha.  So I went through our tapes. 
 
Etta Alldredge  01:14 
Huh?  
 
Stephanie Holan  01:14 
I went through our tapes, and now I have more questions [laughs].  
 
Etta Alldredge  01:18 
Oh, you got some more questions? Well, I was married in the-- you know, they had the church in 
that little house beside the church.  
 
Stephanie Holan  01:20 
I got more questions. So I was listening to the last one, and you said that you were married in a 
little house in the county seat of Colville?  Oh, OK. 
 
Etta Alldredge  01:43 
Rectory. What do they call it? 
 
Stephanie Holan  01:44 
Rectory. 
 
Etta Alldredge  01:45 
Rectory. 
 
Stephanie Holan  01:46 
Rectory, OK. Because then I was gonna say, "Whose house were you married in?" And then you 
said that instead of a big wedding, you had a big wedding shower? 
 
Etta Alldredge  01:56 
Yes, before I-- before I was-- yeah, before I married, yeah.  
 
Stephanie Holan  01:59 
And so what was-- who all came to your wedding shower? Was it a family event, or big family 
and friends event? 
 
Etta Alldredge  02:05 
All my neighbors and schoolmates and everything. I had a big shower.  
 
Stephanie Holan  02:10 
Was it like a big party? 
 
Page 3 of 28 
 
Etta Alldredge  02:12 
Yes. 
 
Stephanie Holan  02:12 
Sending Etta off to the world? [They laugh.] And then we talked a little bit about when you 
moved to Fort Benton?  
 
Etta Alldredge  02:22 
Yeah. 
 
Stephanie Holan  02:23 
But I never even asked you if you liked Fort Benton. Did you like living up there?  
 
Etta Alldredge  02:26 
Oh, I liked there, yes.  
 
Stephanie Holan  02:28 
And it wasn't that where Ward was logging? 
 
Etta Alldredge  02:30 
And that's where my daughter was-- my oldest daughter was born.  
 
Stephanie Holan  02:34 
And then he was logging there, and before-- and then you talked about when you were homesick. 
And then after that, you were never homesick again?  
 
Etta Alldredge  02:42 
Yes, that's right. 
 
Stephanie Holan  02:44 
It just went and it was all taken care of, and you never were homesick?  
 
Etta Alldredge  02:48 
No. 
 
Stephanie Holan  02:48 
Wow. And then-- what? [Tape cuts.] OK, so you liked living in Fort Benton?  
 
Etta Alldredge  03:03 
I didn't live in Fort Benton.  
 
Stephanie Holan  03:04 
Oh, you didn't live in--? 
 
Etta Alldredge  03:05 
Oh, no, I just went to the hospital to have my daughter there.  
Page 4 of 28 
 
 
Stephanie Holan  03:08 
Oh, OK. 
 
Etta Alldredge  03:09 
We lived out on the homestead. 
 
Stephanie Holan  03:12 
Oh, and that was outside of town? 
 
Etta Alldredge  03:14 
Oh yes, about 50 miles out of town.  
 
Stephanie Holan  03:17 
Oh, OK. 
 
Etta Alldredge  03:18 
On the-- out by the [?jail?] on the Missouri River. Well, so is-- Fort Benton's on the Missouri 
River too, but we was north of that. 
 
Stephanie Holan  03:29 
OK. And then you told me a story about when you and Ward were first married--  
 
Etta Alldredge  03:38 
Yeah. 
 
Stephanie Holan  03:38 
--about when you made the bread--  
 
Etta Alldredge  03:40 
Yes. 
 
Stephanie Holan  03:40 
--and your yeast had gone bad? And then you said that Ward took you out to the barn, and you 
forgot all about it. Was he always that loving when something was was bothering you?  
 
Etta Alldredge  03:51 
Oh, yes, he-- we were just married then. [Laughs] Yeah. Oh, he's good. Yes, I had a good life 
with him, 
 
Stephanie Holan  04:00 
Because he was sweet-- I mean, that was really sweet, you know, you'd think... The bread was 
messed up and you were all upset, and... 
 
Etta Alldredge  04:08 
[Laughs] Yeah, he dragged me down to the barn deck. 
Page 5 of 28 
 
 
Stephanie Holan  04:13 
So he was always really loving and caring? That's very neat. And then when you left Fort Benton 
to go-- to move to Kettle Falls, were you happy to leave that place and move to a new place?  
 
Etta Alldredge  04:16 
Yeah. Oh, yes, because it was so dry, there was nothing-- no-- nothing was growing there in 
Montana at that time. 
 
Stephanie Holan  04:36 
Mm-hmm. 
 
Etta Alldredge  04:36 
Yeah.  
 
Stephanie Holan  04:37 
So you were happy to go back to Washington? 
 
Etta Alldredge  04:39 
Yeah, yes. Oh, yes.  
 
Stephanie Holan  04:41 
And then you were closer to your family again?  
 
Etta Alldredge  04:44 
Yeah, for a few days. And then he got [inaudible]. Ah, see. He had a job in Colville, I guess, 
[?20?] [inaudible]. 
 
Stephanie Holan  05:01 
And then he did logging in Colville?  
 
Etta Alldredge  05:03 
Yeah. 
 
Stephanie Holan  05:08 
And then you said sometimes during the year, Ward didn't work--  
 
Etta Alldredge  05:11 
Yes. 
 
Stephanie Holan  05:12 
--because he would do other things? So what was it like when he wasn't working?  
 
Etta Alldredge  05:15 
Page 6 of 28 
 
Well, it wasn't-- there's-- I don't know. We just lived. I don't know. I couldn't tell you, I guess. 
But we just... We had two daughters, and so we just lived, I guess. I don't know. He used to go to 
the pool hall once a while and play pool with the boys. 
 
Stephanie Holan  05:41 
Yeah. And you didn't mind the pool? 
 
Etta Alldredge  05:45 
I didn't like him to go there so often [laughs]. 
 
Stephanie Holan  05:49 
Did you-- did he ever stay home with the girls and you'd go off and do things? 
 
Etta Alldredge  05:53 
No. His mother lived there, and we used to go up there lots and spend the time with her. That's 
where she had that maternity hospital.  
 
Stephanie Holan  06:03 
Oh, that's right, and that's where Ruby and Wanda were born? Was that--? 
 
Etta Alldredge  06:09 
Wan-- no, all three of the girls born there, at her house. No, Barbara was born at Fort Benton, 
and Wanda and-- 
 
Stephanie Holan  06:21 
Ruby.  
 
Etta Alldredge  06:22 
--Ruby was born in maternity hospital, in her house. 
 
Stephanie Holan  06:29 
Then you said that you had a friend that we didn't talk about very much, Mrs. Stratton? 
 
Etta Alldredge  06:36 
Who? 
 
Stephanie Holan  06:37 
Ms. Stratton? When you lived...  
 
Etta Alldredge  06:38 
Oh yes, oh yes. We used to have [inaudible]-- she lived next door to me.  
 
Stephanie Holan  06:43 
OK.  
 
Etta Alldredge  06:44 
Page 7 of 28 
 
And we used to have so much fun together. 
 
Stephanie Holan  06:47 
So how long were you friends with Ms. Stratton?  
 
Etta Alldredge  06:51 
Friends?  
 
Stephanie Holan  06:52 
Or are you still friends with her?  
 
Etta Alldredge  06:53 
Oh, she passed away a long time ago.  
 
Stephanie Holan  06:55 
Oh, she did? 
 
Etta Alldredge  06:55 
Oh yes. 
 
Stephanie Holan  06:56 
And were you friends with her up until she passed away? Did you keep in contact with her?  
 
Etta Alldredge  07:01 
Oh, yes, I kept-- when I moved to Seattle, why, then I didn't see her so often. Then she passed 
away one winter, after that. 
 
Stephanie Holan  07:13 
How did she die? You don't...? That's OK. See, I'm just kind of running down a list here-- 
 
Etta Alldredge  07:27 
Yeah, go, it's all right. 
 
Stephanie Holan  07:28 
--of things that I was thinking about when I was listening to the tapes.  And then you talked 
about when you lived in Seattle-- 
 
Etta Alldredge  07:38 
Yeah. 
 
Stephanie Holan  07:38 
--you worked at the school for a while.  
 
Etta Alldredge  07:40 
Yes. 
 
Page 8 of 28 
 
Stephanie Holan  07:40 
Was that-- I was going to ask you, was it nice to get out of the house a bit and work in the 
schools and do things outside of the house?  
 
Etta Alldredge  07:50 
Oh-- yeah-- I guess, well, because I never-- I was fortunate, I never worked out. That's the first 
time I ever worked out. No, I-- it was just, I lived so close to the school, I thought that if I could 
get a job, then I could work there, which I did one season. 
 
Stephanie Holan  08:16 
And then when you had the store, you really liked the store. 
 
Etta Alldredge  08:20 
Yes, I did. 
 
Stephanie Holan  08:21 
And you really liked having the store. And so that was your second work experience, at the store 
then. 
 
Etta Alldredge  08:29 
Well, I worked during the war. I worked--  
 
Stephanie Holan  08:33 
Oh, you did? 
 
Etta Alldredge  08:34 
Oh yes, I-- didn't I tell you that I worked in the war plant down at-- in Seattle?  
 
Stephanie Holan  08:43 
No, you didn't tell me about that!  
 
Etta Alldredge  08:46 
Well, I worked, let's see... I worked once about six months in the war plants.  
 
Stephanie Holan  09:04 
You did?  
 
Etta Alldredge  09:06 
And then I told you that Wanda was out of school, and I didn't want to-- her to run on the streets, 
so I quit working. And that's [inaudible]. 
 
Stephanie Holan  09:19 
And that was when you were working at the war plants? What'd you do in the plant? 
 
Etta Alldredge  09:23 
Oh, I did several jobs. I did-- I put two tanks together.  
Page 9 of 28 
 
 
Stephanie Holan  09:34 
Like--  
 
Etta Alldredge  09:35 
Put tubes in-- 
 
Stephanie Holan  09:37 
Oh, OK. 
 
Etta Alldredge  09:38 
--between one tube to the other.  
 
Stephanie Holan  09:39 
OK.  
 
Etta Alldredge  09:41 
And then when I was doing that right, I broke this finger down.  
 
Stephanie Holan  09:48 
Ow, you broke your middle finger?  
 
Etta Alldredge  09:50 
No, I didn't break it. It just-- the tendon broke and just fell right down and just laid right flat in 
my hand like this.  
 
Stephanie Holan  10:00 
Ow!  
 
Etta Alldredge  10:01 
Then I went to doctor, and he splint it. So I wore that splint for about six weeks, it was all right. 
 
Stephanie Holan  10:08 
Ow. 
 
Etta Alldredge  10:11 
Just laid flat right [laughs]. I couldn't [inaudible] it up. 
 
Stephanie Holan  10:14 
Oh, that must have been weird, because we talk about that a lot in our women-- in my Women's 
Studies classes, when the women went into the plants and stuff and were working with the 
machines and doing the jobs that the men traditionally do. And I didn't know that you had done 
that.  
 
Etta Alldredge  10:15 
Oh, yes, that-- during the war we had to do something [laughs]. 
Page 10 of 28 
 
 
Stephanie Holan  10:37 
Did you like working down there? 
 
Etta Alldredge  10:39 
Oh, it was all right.  
 
Stephanie Holan  10:40 
It was all right? 
 
Etta Alldredge  10:41 
Yes, I enjoyed it.  
 
Stephanie Holan  10:42 
You liked it?  
 
Etta Alldredge  10:43 
Yeah. 
 
Stephanie Holan  10:44 
And so then-- so you had three jobs. You did this-- you worked at the school. 
 
Etta Alldredge  10:50 
Yeah.  
 
Stephanie Holan  10:50 
And then you worked in the war plant.  
 
Etta Alldredge  10:52 
Yeah.  
 
Stephanie Holan  10:53 
And then you owned the store.  
 
Etta Alldredge  10:55 
Yeah, what?  
 
Stephanie Holan  10:55 
And then you owned the store--  
 
Etta Alldredge  10:57 
Oh, yeah.  
 
Stephanie Holan  10:57 
--in Seattle.  
 
Page 11 of 28 
 
Etta Alldredge  10:58 
Yeah. 
 
Stephanie Holan  10:59 
And what-- and you said that you liked working the store more than Ward did?  
 
Etta Alldredge  11:04 
Yes, I think-- he never said anything, but I kind of got the impression that he wasn't as interested 
as I was in it. 
 
Stephanie Holan  11:14 
Did you like working with the people and-- 
 
Etta Alldredge  11:16 
Yeah. 
 
Stephanie Holan  11:17 
--and things like that?  
 
Etta Alldredge  11:18 
Yes, I did. 
 
Stephanie Holan  11:20 
Did you have a lot of regular customers that came in?  
 
Etta Alldredge  11:23 
What? 
 
Stephanie Holan  11:23 
Did you have a lot of regular people that would come in every day or every other day, people in 
the neighborhood that would come in at the store? 
 
Etta Alldredge  11:32 
Oh yes, yes, oh yes, all around the neighborhood, yeah. 
 
Stephanie Holan  11:37 
Because that's fun; that's what I like about my job, is that there's a lot of people that come in 
every day.  
 
Etta Alldredge  11:42 
Yeah.  
 
Stephanie Holan  11:42 
And you kind of get to know them. 
 
Etta Alldredge  11:44 
Page 12 of 28 
 
Oh yes, you get to know a lot of people. 
 
Stephanie Holan  11:48 
So when you were working the store, what was-- what did Ward do? Was he working the store 
with you? Or did he [inaudible]? 
 
Etta Alldredge  11:56 
No, he worked the store with me.  
 
Stephanie Holan  11:58 
He did? 
 
Etta Alldredge  12:00 
And I'll have to tell you about the little boy that-- he's about two and a half, about three years old, 
I guess. He came down to the store one time without his mother, and he told me, he says, "I had a 
guy follow me all the way down here." And I said, "What did he do? He said, "Well, he just 
followed me." And after he left, I got to thinking it was his shadow. He was just-- he noticed that 
shadow. It was in the afternoon, you know, and the sun... And that's what he was referring to, but 
he-- I don't think he knew what the man was doing there, but... [laughs]. I always thought that 
was kind of cute. 
 
Stephanie Holan  12:47 
His shadow followed him. 
 
Etta Alldredge  12:48 
Yeah. I don't think he'd never noticed his shadow before [laughs]. 
 
Stephanie Holan  12:59 
And then we talked a little bit about when Wanda left home-- 
 
Etta Alldredge  13:02 
Yeah. 
 
Stephanie Holan  13:03 
--and how you were upset when Wanda left. Was Ward upset? Or was he really supportive when 
she left, or...? 
 
Etta Alldredge  13:10 
Oh yes, he missed her too. 
 
Stephanie Holan  13:13 
He missed her too?  
 
Etta Alldredge  13:14 
Yeah. Yeah.  
 
Page 13 of 28 
 
Stephanie Holan  13:15 
So it wasn't-- 
 
Etta Alldredge  13:17 
She moved to Coos Bay. 
 
Stephanie Holan  13:19 
To Coos Bay. 
 
Etta Alldredge  13:20 
But they was only down there a short time, and then she moved back-- 
 
Stephanie Holan  13:24 
Oh, OK. 
 
Etta Alldredge  13:26 
--back into Seattle, and rented a house in in town there, so I got to see her lots.  
 
Stephanie Holan  13:33 
Oh, good. So when you lived in Wallingford in that first house, before the store, did you guys 
own that house? 
 
Etta Alldredge  13:40 
Yes. 
 
Stephanie Holan  13:41 
And then when you owned the store, did you still own that house, or did you sell it? 
 
Etta Alldredge  13:48 
We rented it. 
 
Stephanie Holan  13:49 
You rented it out?  
 
Etta Alldredge  13:51 
Yeah. 
 
Stephanie Holan  13:52 
So then when you sold the store, you moved back into that house again, the same house? 
 
Etta Alldredge  13:58 
Yes. 
 
Stephanie Holan  13:59 
OK.  
 
Page 14 of 28 
 
Etta Alldredge  14:00 
Yeah. 
 
Stephanie Holan  14:01 
OK, I got it. So was it weird-- was it-- what was it like to live in the same place that you worked, 
when you lived in the store in the back part? 
 
Etta Alldredge  14:14 
What? 
 
Stephanie Holan  14:14 
When you-- didn't you live in the store?  
 
Etta Alldredge  14:16 
Yeah? 
 
Stephanie Holan  14:18 
Did you like that, living there and working there? 
 
Etta Alldredge  14:20 
Oh yes, [?I did like?]. He opened the store in the morning. Then I did my work in the kitchen -- 
breakfast, dishes, and make the beds. And then I took over then for a while while he went-- had a 
rest. And then the time lunch come, well, then when he got up, why, then I went back in the 
kitchen and [inaudible] the dinners. 
 
Stephanie Holan  14:53 
So you guys kind of took turns?  
 
Etta Alldredge  14:54 
Oh yes.  
 
Stephanie Holan  14:55 
Took shifts? 
 
Etta Alldredge  14:55 
Yeah, yeah.  
 
Stephanie Holan  14:57 
Well, that's good. And it wasn't weird living there too? Did you guys stay open late, or did you 
close down early? And then, did you--? 
 
Etta Alldredge  15:07 
What?  
 
Stephanie Holan  15:08 
Did you guys close the store early in the evening? Or were you--?  
Page 15 of 28 
 
 
Etta Alldredge  15:10 
No, we stayed until eight o'clock.  
 
Stephanie Holan  15:12 
Oh, wow. And then you guys spent the evenings together? 
 
Etta Alldredge  15:19 
Yes. 
 
Stephanie Holan  15:20 
That's cool. And so then when you moved back into the house in Wallingford, after you sold the 
store--  
 
Etta Alldredge  15:29 
Yeah.  
 
Stephanie Holan  15:30 
--and then Ward passed away--  
 
Etta Alldredge  15:32 
Yes. 
 
Stephanie Holan  15:32 
--a few years later, and then did you sell the house in Wallingford? 
 
Etta Alldredge  15:41 
No, the school bought us out.  
 
Stephanie Holan  15:44 
Oh. 
 
Etta Alldredge  15:45 
Yeah, the school bought us all out. That's how we got to go into store. The school bought us out, 
our house. They wanted to enlarge it, the school.  
 
Stephanie Holan  15:59 
OK. 
 
Etta Alldredge  16:00 
And after they bought us out, we went-- bought into the store. 
 
Stephanie Holan  16:05 
Oh, I see, OK.  
 
Etta Alldredge  16:08 
Page 16 of 28 
 
Yeah.  
 
Stephanie Holan  16:09 
And then when you moved out of the store, you rented a house in Wallingford? 
 
Etta Alldredge  16:13 
Yeah, yeah, no, I rented a house just above the store.  
 
Stephanie Holan  16:17 
Oh, OK, I understand now. 
 
Etta Alldredge  16:19 
And that's where he passed away. 
 
Stephanie Holan  16:21 
OK. And then you stayed there for a while?  
 
Etta Alldredge  16:25 
Oh, yes, I stayed there three or four years. 
 
Stephanie Holan  16:29 
And was-- and then I was going to ask you about that, because you lived-- when you were 
young, you lived with your parents, and then you lived with Ward, and then that was the first 
time that you'd really lived by yourself.  
 
Etta Alldredge  16:42 
Yes.  
 
Stephanie Holan  16:42 
And was that scary at all, or...?  
 
Etta Alldredge  16:45 
Well, it wasn't very funny, no. 
 
Stephanie Holan  16:47 
Wasn't very fun? [They laugh.] 
 
Etta Alldredge  16:49 
No, no, I wasn't afraid live by myself.  
 
Stephanie Holan  16:53 
No? 
 
Etta Alldredge  16:53 
No. 
 
Page 17 of 28 
 
Stephanie Holan  16:53 
And after a while, did you kind of like it? And--  
 
Etta Alldredge  16:56 
Well, I had so many neighbors around me. Maybe had-- it was a double house, and had one 
person [?in one half?] and I lived the other half. And then I had neighbors all around me. I knew 
everybody around there. 
 
Stephanie Holan  17:11 
Oh, so you had people that go talk to and-- 
 
Etta Alldredge  17:12 
Oh yes. 
 
Stephanie Holan  17:13 
--play cards with. So were-- you were close with the people around you, then? 
 
Etta Alldredge  17:19 
Mm-hmm. 
 
Stephanie Holan  17:23 
And you and Ward were married 50 years?  
 
Etta Alldredge  17:27 
Yes. 
 
Stephanie Holan  17:28 
Or almost 50 years? 
 
Etta Alldredge  17:30 
No, just three years-- two-- I'm not very keen today for some reason [they laugh], like I was the 
other day. Hedied two years before we-- he-- two years from being 50 years.  
 
Stephanie Holan  18:00 
Wow. And then how long have you been a widow, now? It's been...  
 
Etta Alldredge  18:08 
Quite a while.  
 
Stephanie Holan  18:09 
Quite a while [laughs]. Did you ever date anybody after Ward?  
 
Etta Alldredge  18:14 
No.  
 
Stephanie Holan  18:15 
Page 18 of 28 
 
No? Wow. And so then after you moved out of the-- out of Seattle, well, not out of Seattle, but 
you moved more to the Northgate area, and you said you lived there for about two or three years. 
 
Etta Alldredge  18:32 
Yes, I told you, about six years. 
 
Stephanie Holan  18:35 
Six years.  
 
Etta Alldredge  18:36 
Yeah.  
 
Stephanie Holan  18:36 
And did you like living in Northgate?  
 
Etta Alldredge  18:39 
Oh, yes, I liked that living in the trailer park. 
 
Stephanie Holan  18:43 
And did you have a lot of friends there?  
 
Etta Alldredge  18:45 
Yes. 
 
Stephanie Holan  18:45 
And was it right kind of near town so you could go into town if you needed to? 
 
Etta Alldredge  18:50 
Mm-hmm.  
 
Stephanie Holan  18:55 
And then, so what was a typical day like for you when you were living in Northgate? 
 
Etta Alldredge  19:00 
Trailer park? 
 
Stephanie Holan  19:01 
Mm-hmm. 
 
Etta Alldredge  19:03 
Oh, they were nice people. We had-- they had pretty nice people living in there.  
 
Stephanie Holan  19:15 
Nice people in there? 
 
Etta Alldredge  19:16 
Page 19 of 28 
 
There was about 30 people-- 30 trailers, I think was in that park.  
 
Stephanie Holan  19:21 
Oh, wow. So it was big.  
 
Etta Alldredge  19:23 
Yeah. 
 
Stephanie Holan  19:24 
And was your trailer big? Was it a big [?place?]?  
 
Etta Alldredge  19:26 
Yes, 6-- 60 feet long.  
 
Stephanie Holan  19:33 
Wow.  
 
Etta Alldredge  19:34 
Two bedrooms.  
 
Stephanie Holan  19:35 
Oh, two bedrooms? Oh, wow.  
 
Etta Alldredge  19:38 
They were big bed-- the master bedroom was big, and the other room, not quite so big, but it was 
a big bedroom.  
 
Stephanie Holan  19:45 
Yeah? And then you said they bought you out of there?  
 
Etta Alldredge  19:50 
Yeah, they bought us out of that.  
 
Stephanie Holan  19:51 
And then you moved...  
 
Etta Alldredge  19:52 
Then I took that money that they gave me, and I moved. Had-- hired people to move the trailer 
up into Kenmore. 
 
Stephanie Holan  20:02 
Into Kenmore? And then-- and you stayed there by yourself.  
 
Etta Alldredge  20:06 
Yeah.  
 
Page 20 of 28 
 
Stephanie Holan  20:07 
And then your daughters lived-- where did all your-- where'd all your family live? 
 
Etta Alldredge  20:11 
Well, Ruby's living-- Ruby's living where she is now. And Wanda was living down below me 
when I lived in that house that I rented from the store. She lived below me. And I think Barbara 
was in Spokane, lived in Spokane.  
 
Stephanie Holan  20:34 
OK. So everyone was kind of spread out a little bit? 
 
Etta Alldredge  20:38 
Yeah, but-- yeah.  
 
Stephanie Holan  20:41 
And then, did you like living in Kenmore as much as you liked living--?  
 
Etta Alldredge  20:46 
I liked living in Kenmore.  
 
Stephanie Holan  20:47 
You did? And then--  
 
Etta Alldredge  20:49 
They had [inaudible][?soft?] and they had big dinners up there, and we'd all take a potluck dish 
and go up and have dinner up there.  
 
Stephanie Holan  20:56 
Aww, well that's fun.  
 
Etta Alldredge  20:58 
And then, two or three of my birthdays, I-- they-- I could use it, the-- God, [inaudible] thing 
today. They had a big building up there that they-- we'd go up and play cards and stuff in this... 
What do they call that? [Laughs.] 
 
Stephanie Holan  21:35 
Like a rec room kind of a place?  
 
Etta Alldredge  21:37 
Yeah.  
 
Stephanie Holan  21:37 
Like a recreational center? 
 
Etta Alldredge  21:39 
Yeah. 
Page 21 of 28 
 
 
Stephanie Holan  21:39 
OK. 
 
Etta Alldredge  21:40 
Yeah, that's what it was. And they-- in my-- then I could use it. I had to ask for it ahead of time, 
so everybody uses it. And then I-- we'd ask for it and then we'd go up there, and spend my 
birthdays up there, two bi-- three birthdays up there. 
 
Stephanie Holan  22:00 
Aww. And did your family come for your birthday?  
 
Etta Alldredge  22:03 
Oh yes. All the family came.  
 
Stephanie Holan  22:05 
And then your friends, too? 
 
Etta Alldredge  22:07 
Yeah. Yeah. 
 
Stephanie Holan  22:07 
Wow. And then I never asked you; why did you leave Kenmore? Why did you leave your little--
?  
 
Etta Alldredge  22:15 
Well, Nancy bought-- she bought this trailer, and the trailer was getting pretty old. And it had to 
have a lot of work done on it. And I was thinking about-- I didn't know what I was going to do. 
So then Nancy says, "I'll buy a trailer and you can come live here." So that's what-- she came 
over, and I sold the trailer, got the money for it, and then I moved over here into this trailer.  
 
Stephanie Holan  22:51 
And now you live-- and how long-- gosh, Nancy's lived here about 10 years now?  
 
Etta Alldredge  22:56 
Nancy? 
 
Stephanie Holan  22:57 
And you, how long have you--?  
 
Etta Alldredge  22:58 
Four years, just four years.  
 
Stephanie Holan  23:00 
Just four years-- 
 
Page 22 of 28 
 
Etta Alldredge  23:01 
Yeah. 
 
Stephanie Holan  23:01 
--you've lived here? 
 
Etta Alldredge  23:01 
Yeah.  
 
Stephanie Holan  23:03 
And I know you living here with Nancy, but I had met you when I was younger, too. You came 
out to visit Nancy in Carnation--  
 
Etta Alldredge  23:14 
Yeah. You could-- yeah.  
 
Stephanie Holan  23:15 
--quite a few times. 
 
Etta Alldredge  23:16 
Yeah, oh yes. [Inaudible] uh-huh. 
 
Stephanie Holan  23:20 
I lived right next door. And then I was gonna ask you, because I never did know... Your one eye-
- 
 
Etta Alldredge  23:26 
Yeah. 
 
Stephanie Holan  23:26 
--is stitched up a little bit. 
 
Etta Alldredge  23:28 
Oh, yeah.  
 
Stephanie Holan  23:28 
What happened? 
 
Etta Alldredge  23:30 
Well Nancy and I was-- I went to-- over to my sister's, and spent the night. She lived in 
Carnation. I took the bus, came over and spent. And then Nancy and Richard came over and got-
- picked me up the next day, and [inaudible]-- it was the 11th of October.  
 
Stephanie Holan  24:02 
The 11th of October.  
 
Page 23 of 28 
 
Etta Alldredge  24:07 
No, November, the 11th of November. [Laughs] I'm not keen today. And this young kid came up 
and hit us. 
 
Stephanie Holan  24:27 
You guys were hit?  
 
Etta Alldredge  24:28 
Oh yes. Nancy was hurt bad, and I had three [?legs?][?bone?], and this leg broke. 
 
Stephanie Holan  24:36 
[Gasps] Ow. 
 
Etta Alldredge  24:38 
And then this shoulder broke, and this finger broke. Oh, I was an all bad shape.  
 
Stephanie Holan  24:49 
Wow. How long were you in the hospital?  
 
Etta Alldredge  24:50 
I was there a month.  
 
Stephanie Holan  24:52 
A month.  
 
Etta Alldredge  24:53 
And then I went into... what do they call-- a convalescent home.  
 
Stephanie Holan  25:02 
Oh, you did?  
 
Etta Alldredge  25:03 
Yeah, and I was there about-- all together I was in the hospital for five months, in this 
convalescent home-- 
 
Stephanie Holan  25:12 
Wow. 
 
Etta Alldredge  25:12 
--getting well. 
 
Stephanie Holan  25:13 
And so your eye was hurt in the car accident? 
 
Etta Alldredge  25:15 
Page 24 of 28 
 
Oh, yes, the car was p-- I had glasses, my glasses, on, and when the car hit my... The-- I didn't-- 
we didn't have a seatbelt on. I was in the back seat, and I [makes noise] of course went forward, 
and I guess the glass broke, and went cut my eye up. 
 
Stephanie Holan  25:33 
Oh, ow. And was-- is-- was it just some kid that was driving in his car that hit you guys, or was it 
a drunk driver, or...? 
 
Etta Alldredge  25:42 
No, he came up and the car slid--  
 
Stephanie Holan  25:48 
Oh no. 
 
Etta Alldredge  25:49 
--on ice [inaudible]. 
 
Stephanie Holan  25:52 
Wow. And you were-- they put you in the convalescent-- convalescence home? 
 
Etta Alldredge  25:57 
No, they took me to hospital.  
 
Stephanie Holan  25:58 
They took you to the hospital first--  
 
Etta Alldredge  26:00 
A month, yeah.  
 
Stephanie Holan  26:01 
--for a month, to get better.  
 
Etta Alldredge  26:02 
Yeah.  
 
Stephanie Holan  26:03 
And so you had a million casts on. 
 
Etta Alldredge  26:05 
Oh yeah. [Laughs] yes I did. 
 
Stephanie Holan  26:08 
And Nancy was in the hospital too.  
 
Etta Alldredge  26:10 
Oh yes.  
Page 25 of 28 
 
 
Stephanie Holan  26:11 
And Richard-- was Richard in the hospital? 
 
Etta Alldredge  26:13 
No, he had a lot of bruisin', and-- but he wouldn't-- didn't get as hurt.  
 
Stephanie Holan  26:18 
He didn't get broken? 
 
Etta Alldredge  26:19 
No.  
 
Stephanie Holan  26:20 
So were you and Nancy right next to each other in the same hospital rooms? 
 
Etta Alldredge  26:24 
Oh, she went to one hospital, and I was in the other. 
 
Stephanie Holan  26:26 
Oh, I see.  
 
Etta Alldredge  26:28 
You can ask her about the hosp-- her part of [?it?] [laughs]. 
 
Stephanie Holan  26:33 
And-- wow. And so then you went to the convalescence home just for the extra care, because 
you were so [?injured?]? 
 
Etta Alldredge  26:38 
Oh yes, I wasn't able to take care of myself.  
 
Stephanie Holan  26:41 
And then after that, you went back to Kenmore? That's where you were living at the time?  
 
Etta Alldredge  26:47 
Yeah. 
 
Stephanie Holan  26:48 
So that was pretty scary.  
 
Etta Alldredge  26:50 
Yeah? 
 
Stephanie Holan  26:51 
Have you been in the hospital any other times for serious things?  
Page 26 of 28 
 
 
Etta Alldredge  26:55 
Oh, yes. I had a miscarriage one time, and my [inaudible] broke. And so [inaudible] and I had 
miscarriage. 
 
Stephanie Holan  27:04 
Oh, wow. And that's when you were younger? 
 
Etta Alldredge  27:07 
I was 27 years old. 1927.  
 
Stephanie Holan  27:14 
Oh, wow. That must have been hard, wow. 
 
Etta Alldredge  27:20 
Oh, yes, you have ups and downs in your life [laughs].  
 
Stephanie Holan  27:24 
Yeah. So you were in the hospital for that, and then all the broken times. And have you ever had 
any other problems? No? 
 
Etta Alldredge  27:36 
Oh, I've had ups and downs. I've been to the doctor's several times, little things.  
 
Stephanie Holan  27:40 
Just little things?  
 
Etta Alldredge  27:41 
Yeah. 
 
Stephanie Holan  27:42 
But nothing-- 
 
Etta Alldredge  27:42 
No. 
 
Stephanie Holan  27:43 
--too severe, or no heart attacks, or...? 
 
Etta Alldredge  27:45 
No, no. No, no, I'm-- and now all I-- I just take two pressure pills. That's all I take. 
 
Stephanie Holan  27:58 
That's-- you know, that's amazing for someone your age. 
 
Etta Alldredge  28:03 
Page 27 of 28 
 
Yeah, yeah, I feel fine. But I'm not on the [inaudible]. 
 
Stephanie Holan  28:08 
Oh, you're doing great! You're doing great. And then I was going to ask you, because we didn't 
really talk about it too much, but during your marriage, your brothers and sisters...  
 
Etta Alldredge  28:20 
Yeah.  
 
Stephanie Holan  28:21 
Were they living--  
 
Etta Alldredge  28:22 
Close by.  
 
Stephanie Holan  28:23 
They were all close by?  
 
Etta Alldredge  28:24 
Yeah.  
 
Stephanie Holan  28:25 
And so did-- did your family, you know, Ward and the girls, spend a lot of time with your other 
relatives during the holidays and other things like that?  
 
Etta Alldredge  28:35 
Oh, yes, yes.  
 
Stephanie Holan  28:36 
And was everybody-- were you close with your sisters? Because I know you said the one-- 
 
Etta Alldredge  28:41 
Oh yes.  
 
Stephanie Holan  28:42 
--you went to the World's fair with. 
 
Etta Alldredge  28:44 
Yeah.  
 
Stephanie Holan  28:46 
And then the other one--  
 
Etta Alldredge  28:48 
She lived in Seattle, too.  
 
Page 28 of 28 
 
Stephanie Holan  28:50 
Oh, she did?  
 
Etta Alldredge  28:51 
Yeah. So we-- we was together. I'd go to her house and she'd go to my house a lot of times.  
 
Stephanie Holan  28:56 
That's cool, that you can be so close. And then I was going to ask you, where were your-- what 
are we doing on tape, here? I'm going to flip the tape. 
 