Page 1 of 29 
 
Washington Women’s Heritage Project records, 1900-2000 
University of Washington Libraries Special Collections 
Anna Frye Cox 
December 16, 1980 
Cassette 1, Side 1 
 
 
Bonita Corliss  00:02 
I'm interviewing Mrs. Anna Cox for the Washington Women's Heritage Project. First of all, Mrs. 
Cox, could you tell me a little bit about yourself? What date you were born, and where you were 
born, and [inaudible].  
 
Anna Cox  00:31 
Well, I was born in Seattle, in the University District on March 22, 1905. And I lived there until I 
was married and, I lived there until my little girl was about eight years old. 
 
Bonita Corliss  00:08 
Could you tell me about your family? Your mother and your father and brothers and sisters that 
you might have had. 
 
Anna Cox  00:48 
Mm-hmm. 
 
Bonita Corliss  00:48 
Well, first of all, tell me a little bit about your father.  
 
Anna Cox  00:50 
My father was a wonderful man. [?He was in New England and he came from Maine?], and he 
was very strict. My parents were fair, he was very fair. I just worshiped him. And he had a fuel 
business and, in University District, it's called the Frye Fuel Company. And they had horses at 
that time, no anything else. He had his [inaudible]. They had a terrific fire one day, he was gone 
and they rescued all the horses, but it was-- It catched the houses on fire two or three blocks 
away, it was such a fire, burnt them out. [?They started the business again?].  
 
Bonita Corliss  01:38 
What year was that fire?  
 
Anna Cox  01:38 
I imagine that that was about 1910. 
 
Page 2 of 29 
 
Bonita Corliss  01:41 
What kind of fuel business was it? Was it coal or?  
 
Anna Cox  01:43 
Coal and wood. And then he did a lot of paving and the cement work. He, the South Seattle, 
Seattle that was just beginning to grow up again. And he was in the construction business along 
with his fuel business. And he paved and made a lot, an awful lot of the streets and roads that 
were there.  
 
Bonita Corliss  01:55 
Could you tell me a little bit about your mother?  
 
Anna Cox  01:59 
Oh mother, she was sweet. She was busy all the time. She was a little Scotch-Irish woman.  
 
Bonita Corliss  02:09 
What was her name?  
 
Anna Cox  02:09 
Her name was Angie, Angeline, and everyone called her Angie, and she was always busy doing 
things for people. She would go out, take care of children, take care of people that were having 
babies. If they couldn't, didn't, couldn't take care of having her at the house and, she would take 
the woman into her house and take care of them.  
 
Bonita Corliss  02:33 
So she was a midwife? 
 
Anna Cox  02:34 
She was a midwife.  
 
Bonita Corliss  02:35 
Was she paid for it? 
 
Anna Cox  02:37 
Yes, she was paid and she made a profession of it. She worked with [?Dr. Hofsky?] for a while, 
until he stopped taking cases [inaudible]. 
 
Bonita Corliss  02:48 
Did she have any professional training for being a midwife, or was it just something that--  
 
Anna Cox  02:53 
Something that she learned, she wanted to be a nurse, she said, but she got married too soon and 
started having her family. 
 
Bonita Corliss  02:58 
Did you have any brothers and sisters?  
Page 3 of 29 
 
 
Anna Cox  03:02 
Yes, I did. I had a brother, Harold, who's deceased, and a brother-- sister, Inez, who lives in 
Santa Rosa, sister Leone lives in San Bruno, and my brother George, [?he just lives down the 
street?].  
 
Bonita Corliss  03:16 
What position were you in the family?  
 
Anna Cox  03:20 
I was the second oldest. 
 
Bonita Corliss  03:22 
Were there any kind of expectations about your role in family? Were there chores assigned?  
 
Anna Cox  03:30 
Oh, my goodness, yes, I was the head of the house. And if we had a piece of pie and it was extra 
on the plate or something, my younger brother and sister would look over to me, see what I was 
doing, and if I wasn't frowning, they would ask if they could have it. So I assumed the maternal 
role as well as the big sister's role.  
 
Bonita Corliss  03:45 
How did you feel about that? Was that a good experience for you? 
 
Anna Cox  03:50 
I expect it was, I don't know if I had any special feelings about it. Oh, I had resentments at times 
when I wanted to go out and play with the other kids my age and I'd have to take care of my 
younger brothers and sisters.  
 
Bonita Corliss  04:04 
What kinds of things did you do when you were growing up?  
 
Anna Cox  04:10 
Well, we had a lot of little tea parties. And I had one special cousin on the Frye side, we were 
always playing dolls, and she would come down and [?play paper dolls?] all the time. We 
weren't allowed to go very much, we had to stay home and have our pleasures at home.  
 
Bonita Corliss  04:10 
What kinds of things would you do at home?  
 
Anna Cox  04:36 
Well, we [?dried fruit?], that was to [inaudible] on, we dried fruit and made dollhouses, the usual 
things that girls did then, preparing themselves for motherhood.  
 
Bonita Corliss  04:15 
Did you feel that that was going to be your role in life?  
Page 4 of 29 
 
 
Anna Cox  04:21 
Well, yes, I wanted to get married. I was, that was the happiest time in my life, when I was 
[?married?]. 
 
Bonita Corliss  04:47 
Did you go to school?  
 
Anna Cox  04:49 
Yes, I went to Latona first, and then over to Lincoln until Roosevelt was finished, then I 
graduated.  
 
Bonita Corliss  05:01 
What kinds of courses did you take in school?  
 
Anna Cox  05:07 
I took the [inaudible] course in high school.  
 
Bonita Corliss  05:07 
Did you like that?  
 
Anna Cox  05:08 
Not especially, but that was the thing to do. Because I wanted to get married, really simple.  
 
Bonita Corliss  05:15 
Where did you meet your husband?  
 
Anna Cox  05:18 
Well, [?not a very nice thing to say?], but I met him in the public dance. 
 
Bonita Corliss  05:25 
Really? Where was the public dance? 
 
Anna Cox  05:27 
Well, it's a horrible neighborhood now, but it was on 1st and Pike, but it was all right then. 
 
Bonita Corliss  05:35 
Was there a ballroom there? 
 
Anna Cox  05:37 
Yes, there was a ballroom.  
 
Bonita Corliss  05:39 
What was it called, do you remember? 
 
Anna Cox  05:42 
Page 5 of 29 
 
[Inaudible]. 
 
Bonita Corliss  05:43 
Were these public dances held [?all the time?].  
 
Anna Cox  05:46 
All the time. And my mother would take me down there and [?bring me home?].  
 
Bonita Corliss  05:52 
How old were you?  
 
Anna Cox  05:54 
I was 17. The minute I saw him, I knew [?at the dance?], he was the one.  
 
Bonita Corliss  05:58 
Really?  
 
Anna Cox  05:59 
Yeah. 
 
Bonita Corliss  06:00 
It was love at first sight? 
 
Anna Cox  06:01 
Love at first sight [inaudible]. 
 
Bonita Corliss  06:02 
Did he come over and ask you to dance? 
 
Anna Cox  06:20 
Mm-hmm, [inaudible]. 
 
Bonita Corliss  06:04 
Just like that?  
 
Anna Cox  06:04 
Just like that. 
 
Bonita Corliss  06:04 
Could you tell me a little bit about the courtship period, when it started, and what it was like?  
 
Anna Cox  06:20 
Earl took me out to supper. Took me out to dinners, took me out to shows, oh, [?the usual things, 
out to the park?], all of it. 
 
Bonita Corliss  06:28 
Page 6 of 29 
 
I was thinking a little bit about your role as the eldest daughter and wanting to get married and 
those sorts of things, I need to know, if you have any kind of-- you had any kind of preparation 
or background from your mother about such issues as menstruation or being married and 
responsibility and those kinds of preparatory things for marriage?  
 
Anna Cox  06:51 
No, I can't remember my mother ever preparing me with the facts of life at all. The only thing 
that I ever remembered was when my father told my mother, he said, "Go tell Anna to not have 
any children."  
 
Bonita Corliss  07:08 
Why?  
 
Anna Cox  07:09 
I don't know, he didn't seem to want his family enlarged, I guess.  
 
Bonita Corliss  07:11 
Do you have any idea why he may have felt like that? 
 
Anna Cox  07:14 
No, I don't, because I could respond to it. But my mother told me that. But I didn't know 
anything about birth control, and I didn't know anything about my period before they started, it 
was a big surprise to me.  
 
Bonita Corliss  07:28 
When you did finally start having periods, was there anyone that you could go and talk to and 
find out-- 
 
Anna Cox  07:41 
[Inaudible] except my girlfriends, we talked [inaudible]. 
 
Bonita Corliss  07:43 
Did anyone have any more information than you did?  
 
Anna Cox  07:50 
I don't think they did. I don't think the mothers told their girls very much then. So we just sort of 
took life as it came. Maybe my mother was reticent, I don't know, but she [?never?] did.  
 
Bonita Corliss  08:05 
Well, could you tell me a little bit about your marriage, when it was and?  
 
Anna Cox  08:09 
Well, we were [?married?] [inaudible], 1924. 
 
Bonita Corliss  08:09 
Did you have a church wedding? 
Page 7 of 29 
 
 
Anna Cox  08:10 
No, we just went down to the courthouse and we had our honeymoon later on, because we had to 
go to work that night. So it was just a, a [inaudible]. 
 
Bonita Corliss  08:18 
Where did you go on your honeymoon when you finally got a chance? 
 
Anna Cox  08:25 
Oh, we went up to Vancouver. 
 
Bonita Corliss  08:29 
To the city of Vancouver, in Canada? 
 
Anna Cox  08:33 
Yes, uh-huh, in Canada, that was quite a trip in those days. 
 
Bonita Corliss  08:38 
How did you get there?  
 
Anna Cox  08:39 
A boat, it was the, oh I don't remember [inaudible]-- it was Victoria we went, not Vancouver. We 
went on the midnight boat from Seattle, went to Port Angeles at nine o'clock. 
 
Bonita Corliss  08:52 
Well, I would be interested in knowing what you did after your marriage. Did you begin 
working, or were you-- 
 
Anna Cox  09:01 
No I, my husband wouldn't let me work, he was 10 years older than I, and he had old fashioned 
ideas. I was to stay home and take care of my family. But I could go to work after Gertrude was 
grown-- 
 
Bonita Corliss  09:09 
That was your job? 
 
Anna Cox  09:15 
--and not before. And I used to sit at the dining room table, cry. I'd see women going to work, I 
wanted to go. After he'd go to work, he never saw me cry, but I did. I felt, I felt like I was being 
repressed, but he wouldn't let me work.  
 
Bonita Corliss  09:28 
Did you have any sort of ideas of ways that you could work or things that you wanted to do?  
 
Anna Cox  09:35 
Page 8 of 29 
 
No, I just wanted to get on the bus, go downtown, go to work, anything, just to be working. I did 
get real brave one day, and I got on the, well the streetcar, not the bus. I was going out to Sears, 
I'd gone out there and [?found somebody?] and got myself a job. And this was my second day, I 
was sitting there in the streetcar, and here drives up my husband. And he sees me, I happened to 
be on the wrong side of the streetcar. He motions for me to get off, so I got off, he said, "You're 
going shopping rather early, aren't you?" I said, "I'm not going shopping?" I said, "I might as 
well tell you, I've got a job." [Inaudible] was not going to work there anymore. So that finished 
my little bit of [?rebellion right then?].  
 
Bonita Corliss  10:21 
How did you feel about that?  
 
Anna Cox  10:23 
Oh, I was utterly devastated. 
 
Bonita Corliss  10:25 
Did you like your job?  
 
Anna Cox  10:27 
Yes, I enjoyed it, one day anyway.  
 
Bonita Corliss  10:28 
What did you do?  
 
Anna Cox  10:30 
I was packing men's clothes. 
 
Bonita Corliss  10:33 
Were there other women working?  
 
Anna Cox  10:35 
Yeah, mostly men, [?but there had to be other women working?].  
 
Bonita Corliss  10:42 
Do you remember what your wages were? 
 
Anna Cox  11:12 
$13.20 a week.  
 
Bonita Corliss  11:13 
How did you find out about the job?  
 
Anna Cox  11:16 
I just went down there, [?put in my name?] and they called me.  
 
Bonita Corliss  11:17 
Page 9 of 29 
 
What did you-- What year was that, do you remember?  
 
Anna Cox  11:18 
About '26 or ['2]7. 
 
Bonita Corliss  11:19 
So you went back to being a housewife after that? 
 
Anna Cox  11:20 
[?After that, I never?] [inaudible] [?until after my daughter was with her husband?]. 
 
Bonita Corliss  11:21 
Well, I know from talking to you before that you worked at the Boeing Company in the winter 
and spring of 1922, '23. Was this before or after your marriage?  
 
Anna Cox  11:22 
Before.  
 
Bonita Corliss  11:22 
Where did you work at the Boeing Company? 
 
Anna Cox  11:35 
Well, I sewed some wings for the planes and there was a group of women who would do that. 
 
Bonita Corliss  11:42 
How did you get this job? 
 
Anna Cox  11:44 
Well, a friend of my mother's worked [?supervising?] for them [?and he talked to them for me?]. 
 
Bonita Corliss  11:49 
What were your wages when that happened?  
 
Anna Cox  11:58 
I think they were 14-something when that was taken.  
 
Bonita Corliss  12:06 
Did you work with other women?  
 
Anna Cox  12:10 
Oh, yes, I worked with about eight to 10 women. They were all older than [?I was, though?]. 
 
Bonita Corliss  12:14 
How old were you?  
 
Anna Cox  12:15 
Page 10 of 29 
 
I was 17. 
 
Bonita Corliss  12:16 
Were you, was it after high school?  
 
Anna Cox  12:17 
Mm-hmm.  
 
Bonita Corliss  12:17 
Where did you work at the [?Boeing?]?  
 
Anna Cox  12:20 
[Inaudible]. 
 
Bonita Corliss  12:22 
Where?  
 
Anna Cox  12:23 
Upstairs.  
 
Bonita Corliss  12:28 
Where was the plant?  
 
Anna Cox  12:24 
Oh. Well, I don't know what you would call it now, but it, it's one of the old places and on the 
west waterway, I believe that's what you'd call that.  
 
Bonita Corliss  12:30 
Is it down by the Duwamish River in South Seattle? 
 
Anna Cox  12:37 
Yes, uh-huh. 
 
Bonita Corliss  12:42 
What were your specific tasks? 
 
Anna Cox  12:45 
Just sewing.  
 
Bonita Corliss  12:45 
Just sewing?  
 
Anna Cox  12:46 
Just sewing. 
 
Bonita Corliss  12:47 
Page 11 of 29 
 
What were these wings' walls? What were they made of? 
 
Anna Cox  12:49 
Well, they were made of a very sturdy, light green canvas, I'd call it canvas [inaudible]. 
 
Bonita Corliss  12:56 
How big were the needles that you used? 
 
Anna Cox  13:06 
About, I should judge around three inches.  
 
Bonita Corliss  13:10 
Were they very heavy needles?  
 
Anna Cox  13:11 
No, they were a lightweight and low [inaudible]. 
 
Bonita Corliss  13:12 
Was it difficult to do?  
 
Anna Cox  13:20 
No, no. I could do it. So, I guess it wasn't too difficult for me, and I'm not a seamstress [?by any 
means at all?].  
 
Bonita Corliss  13:29 
Would that be your job the entire day, just sewing?  
 
Anna Cox  13:30 
Oh yes, your fingers would just practically fall off, and you'd just do it. 
 
Bonita Corliss  13:35 
So it did hurt?  
 
Anna Cox  13:36 
Oh yes, it did hurt, but pretty soon you got accustomed to it.  
 
Bonita Corliss  13:41 
What were the working conditions, then?  
 
Anna Cox  13:42 
Well, I guess they were good for working conditions. There was just a big loft, and it was cold, 
you'd wear a sweater [inaudible] to keep you warm. We were given enough breaks so that we 
could walk around.  
 
Bonita Corliss  14:05 
Stretch your legs. 
Page 12 of 29 
 
 
Anna Cox  14:07 
Stretch our legs, stretch our fingers a little bit. 
 
Bonita Corliss  14:06 
Was the loft airy? 
 
Anna Cox  14:07 
Yes, very airy. Yeah, it was just a big, just a big loft. 
 
Bonita Corliss  14:15 
What did you-- the women talk about while they were working? Did they talk to each other?  
 
Anna Cox  14:20 
Not very much, we'd have just spurts of conversation. Of course, I was sort of out of it because I 
was so much younger than they were. 
 
Bonita Corliss  14:38 
How did you get around [?feeling?]? 
 
Anna Cox  14:33 
Who knows? It didn't bother me that much. I would talk when I understood what they were 
talking about, but they were always giving me advice. I got more advice down there than I ever 
did from [inaudible].  
 
Bonita Corliss  14:39 
What kinds of advice? 
 
Anna Cox  15:28 
Oh, that I shouldn't be giddy, and that I should-- oh, and how to do this, and how to do that, just 
how to be nice person. 
 
Bonita Corliss  15:44 
Were there any times when you were at Boeing that were particularly memorable? 
 
Anna Cox  15:49 
No, no. [Inaudible] I remember the most from the first I'd come in. They use something that I 
call banana oil, it was just [inaudible] spray the [?wings with that spray?], just to stay in place. 
You could hardly breathe until you'd get upstairs. That's what I remember most from then. 
 
Bonita Corliss  15:59 
Did it smell like bananas? 
 
Anna Cox  16:00 
Not like bananas, just [inaudible], bananas and shellac, [inaudible]. 
 
Page 13 of 29 
 
Bonita Corliss  16:02 
Did you have any sort of feelings of being lightheaded smelling banana oil? 
 
Anna Cox  16:05 
[?I didn't notice?], I'd be lightheaded all the time anyway, at that age. 
 
Bonita Corliss  16:07 
Did you have any sort of resentments about people telling you not to be giddy? 
 
Anna Cox  16:10 
No, I just accepted that. My mother [inaudible]. 
 
Bonita Corliss  16:12 
Well, you only worked there for a little while-- 
 
Anna Cox  16:14 
Just a short time. 
 
Bonita Corliss  16:15 
--did you want to lose that job? Or what, I should rather say, what caused you to stop working at 
Boeing?  
 
Anna Cox  16:19 
You really want the truth? [She laughs]. 
 
Bonita Corliss  16:21 
Hopefully, yeah, that would be nice.  
 
Anna Cox  16:22 
Well, the Army and Navy, they were beginning to get [inaudible] coming in, you know? And we 
were sitting down at this one time, so, and I happened to have scissors in my hand, and this one 
sailor that had been paying attention to me, he'd been told to not bother me though. And he said 
something to me, and I turned my head to look at what he was saying just as I was [inaudible], 
and I snipped into the wing and ruined the whole thing. So they had to start all over again and I 
was laid off. 
 
Bonita Corliss  18:19 
From making that one tear? 
 
Anna Cox  18:24 
Yep, [inaudible] had a feeling. 
 
Bonita Corliss  18:30 
Did you think about, after, telling someone why this had happened to see if you could keep your 
job? 
 
Page 14 of 29 
 
Anna Cox  18:31 
No. No, uh-uh, that's not the way things are. 
 
Bonita Corliss  18:31 
Did other people know what had happened.  
 
Anna Cox  18:31 
I expect [inaudible], should have known [inaudible]. That was that. 
 
Bonita Corliss  18:31 
Well, what happened immediately after this happened? Did your supervisor come over to you?  
 
Anna Cox  18:31 
Yeah, he wouldn't let me [inaudible], he was mad [inaudible]. 
 
Bonita Corliss  18:31 
Did you feel like saying, "This person is bothering me, that's why this happened?" 
 
Anna Cox  18:31 
Well, [inaudible] about it, you weren't paying attention to [inaudible]. [?I really liked that?] 
[inaudible]. 
 
Bonita Corliss  18:31 
What did you do after you were laid off?  
 
Anna Cox  18:31 
[Inaudible]. 
 
Bonita Corliss  18:31 
When did you get it? 
 
Anna Cox  18:31 
[Inaudible]. 
 
Bonita Corliss  18:31 
Of 19[00]? 
 
Anna Cox  18:31 
'23. 
 
Bonita Corliss  18:31 
'23.  
 
Anna Cox  18:31 
[Inaudible] hope chest [inaudible] and my baby [inaudible], all of those little things that girls 
[inaudible]. 
Page 15 of 29 
 
 
Bonita Corliss  18:31 
How does one go about getting a hope chest? 
 
Anna Cox  18:31 
Well, in those days, you crocheted things, sewed things, got your sheets [inaudible], pillow slips, 
[inaudible]. 
 
Bonita Corliss  18:31 
Was it all done by you or did other women help you? 
 
Anna Cox  18:31 
Well, they had [inaudible]. 
 
Bonita Corliss  18:31 
We talked a little bit about your work experience, I would like to talk about your married life. 
Did you have any kind of expectations about what marriage would be like? 
 
Anna Cox  18:31 
Oh, I had the usual ones I guess, that it was all honey and wine all the time. But then [inaudible] 
way of life. 
 
Bonita Corliss  18:31 
Was your married life generally happy? 
 
Anna Cox  18:31 
Mostly happy, we had a couple [inaudible] trips home to mother. 
 
Bonita Corliss  18:31 
Were there many trips down to mother? 
 
Anna Cox  18:31 
Oh, just about three of them, they didn't amount to anything. 
 
Bonita Corliss  18:31 
What would your mother's response be when you came home? 
 
Anna Cox  18:31 
"Oh, well your bed's upstairs." 
 
Bonita Corliss  18:31 
That was it? 
 
Anna Cox  18:31 
That was it. She should have made me go back. 
 
Page 16 of 29 
 
Bonita Corliss  18:31 
Can you tell me a little bit about your experience with your daughter? 
 
Anna Cox  18:31 
Oh, it was [?great?], I was [inaudible]. 
 
Bonita Corliss  18:31 
Were you prepared by anyone to be pregnant and have a child and what that involved?  
 
Anna Cox  18:31 
No, not personally. In fact, I didn't think I was pregnant. 
 
Bonita Corliss  18:31 
How did you find out? 
 
Anna Cox  18:31 
Oh, the doctor. 
 
Bonita Corliss  18:31 
What caused you to go to the doctor? 
 
Anna Cox  16:22 
Well, I was eating breakfast one morning and my brother, my older brother just woke up. And I 
looked [inaudible] "eugh, the edges are turning up," and he looks at me and he says, "You know, 
you're kind of [inaudible] anyway." [Inaudible]. I had periods for two or three months 
[inaudible], but I was pregnant. But I've never been pregnant since. 
 
Bonita Corliss  16:22 
Did you want to have more than one child? 
 
Anna Cox  16:22 
Oh, yes, I wanted a big family. 
 
Bonita Corliss  16:22 
Why did you not have a big family? 
 
Anna Cox  16:22 
[Inaudible], I never had a miscarriage, [inaudible]. 
 
Bonita Corliss  16:22 
Did you go into the hospital to have your daughter? 
 
Anna Cox  16:22 
No, I [inaudible] in the same bed that my mother had me. 
 
Bonita Corliss  16:22 
Page 17 of 29 
 
Could you tell me what that was like? Did you have a nurse or a-- 
 
Anna Cox  18:52 
Well, it was kind of my mother [inaudible], but I should've gone to the hospital [inaudible]. 
 
Bonita Corliss  21:13 
Was it nice to be in your own home? 
 
Anna Cox  21:36 
Yes it was, [inaudible]. I stayed in bed for Thanksgiving, [inaudible], I stayed in bed. 
Thanksgiving, I got up and had my first meal. 
 
Bonita Corliss  21:36 
How big was your daughter when she was born? 
 
Anna Cox  21:43 
She was six pounds and eight ounces, [?very small?]. 
 
Bonita Corliss  21:51 
How did you decide on her name? 
 
Anna Cox  21:57 
My husband named her. If it was a boy, I was to name him. He named her Gertrude after 
[inaudible]. She never liked the name and I never liked it. So we call her Trudy now. 
 
Bonita Corliss  22:29 
How were the duties of childrearing-- Did you take full responsibility for your daughter? 
 
Anna Cox  22:41 
I think I did. [Inaudible]. All I really had [inaudible]. 
 
Bonita Corliss  22:50 
Was that okay with you? 
 
Anna Cox  22:55 
Fine. I accepted it, I thought that was the way it was to be. 
 
Bonita Corliss  23:07 
Did you ever question it? 
 
Anna Cox  23:11 
No, never did. You know, we didn't have [inaudible]. [Inaudible] at all. You were a housewife 
and so you fulfilled your wifely duties. 
 
Bonita Corliss  23:29 
Did you have friends around? 
Page 18 of 29 
 
 
Anna Cox  23:32 
Oh, [?well the girls, yeah?]. We all got married around the same time and all had our [?first 
kids?] around the same time. So we'd get together for our little birthday parties, our little tea 
parties. It was a very happy time. 
 
Bonita Corliss  23:45 
Did you exchange children with each other so that one mom had an afternoon free? 
 
Anna Cox  23:49 
No, we took our children with us. We didn't think of babysitters. [?Put them right there?], let 
them sleep where they were, [inaudible]. 
 
Bonita Corliss  23:53 
[Tape stops and starts.] This is the continuation of the interview with Mrs. Anna Cox. Mrs. Cox, 
could you tell me a little bit more about your married life after your daughter was born, and after 
she was in school. What kinds of things did you do to occupy your time? 
 
Anna Cox  24:18 
Well, mostly housework I think. I wasn't much on [inaudible], gathering here and there. So I 
really spent most of my time in my home, I did a lot of reading, a lot of writing of letters. But 
that's about all that I can say that I did do, I didn't work outside or anything. 
 
Bonita Corliss  24:40 
Did you have any hobbies or other kinds of things that you did? I know that you mentioned 
briefly, when we were talking before, that you did some creative writing. 
 
Anna Cox  25:03 
Well that was after I retired, that was to be my object analysis by the family history. I've got the 
pages in my bedroom. But no, it seemed like my house took up all of my time. And because I 
didn't [inaudible], I had all the time in the world. And, oh I'd go down to town, go to a show, go 
have lunch with a girlfriend, nothing spectacular. 
 
Bonita Corliss  25:34 
When did your husband die? 
 
Anna Cox  25:36 
Well, he went into a nursing home in 1955, he had a massive stroke and it [?left his mind bad. 
He's a big man?], but I couldn't take care of him, he wouldn't [inaudible] me, so he had to go into 
a nursing home. And he died, I should judge, about four or five years later. But part of the time, 
most of the time, he didn't know us. So he spent all of his, the rest of his life in a nursing home. 
 
Bonita Corliss  25:53 
Did you go and visit him? 
 
Anna Cox  25:54 
Page 19 of 29 
 
Oh yes, I did. But it got so he didn't know who I was. And when my daughter was little, 
[inaudible], he would think that she was me, with [inaudible] [?that's the point from when we 
were young?]. 
 
Bonita Corliss  26:25 
What kinds of things did you do after your husband died? 
 
Anna Cox  24:44 
Well, that's when I went to work. I thought that-- I didn't have any trades at all, so I thought that 
cooking would be the best thing to do, because it would be just like being in your own kitchen, 
and I enjoyed cooking. So, I got a job cooking.  
 
Bonita Corliss  26:48 
Did you have any previous training?  
 
Anna Cox  26:52 
No, no training at all, just what I've learned at home. But they were also [inaudible] down there.  
 
Bonita Corliss  26:58 
Where was your first job?  
 
Anna Cox  26:59 
Tik Tok, it was a 24 hour drive in. 
 
Bonita Corliss  27:03 
Where was that located? 
 
Anna Cox  27:04 
That was located in Portland, Sandy Boulevard, and [?I worked down there?]. 
 
Bonita Corliss  27:11 
How old were you when you began working? 
 
Anna Cox  27:16 
Oh, about 42 I guess, something like that. [Inaudible], anyway, I don't know.  
 
Bonita Corliss  27:24 
What was, what was it like to work in a big kitchen or [?in a dry room?]?  
 
Anna Cox  27:29 
Oh, it was fun. Oh, I just, it was more fun than it was work. I just enjoyed every minute I had.  
 
Bonita Corliss  27:43 
What kinds of things did you do?  
 
Anna Cox  27:44 
Page 20 of 29 
 
Oh, hamburgers and french fries. That was about all that we made there, because they had the 
other cooks in the back for the [?mashed potatoes and grilled cheese?]. [?Paul?], he was our chef, 
he called me, "Anna the hamburger queen." [She laughs]. 
 
Bonita Corliss  27:59 
Did you feel like a hamburger queen? 
 
Anna Cox  28:01 
I did at sometime, because sometimes you get orders for 30 hamburgers at a time that come in 
from one person, [?if they're having a party, something?]. I remember one time especially, this 
one man came wanting 30 hamburgers at about two o'clock in the morning, and I heard 
something drop on the [?counter or bar?] in front of me, and I looked at it and it was a quarter. 
And he was standing there and went by the cash register and [inaudible] the money. He said he 
wasn't going to tip the waitress or anything, for cooking the hamburgers, he was gonna tip the 
cook, and so he threw over about three and a half dollars for me.  
 
Bonita Corliss  28:38 
That must have been nice.  
 
Anna Cox  28:40 
Oh, that was nice. Because, you know, golly, the cook is a forgotten person. [?It was fun?]. 
 
Bonita Corliss  28:48 
How long did you work there? 
 
Anna Cox  28:50 
Oh, about four years. I got mad at [?the cook once and then I left there?]. I'm always [inaudible]. 
 
Bonita Corliss  28:59 
What made you mad?  
 
Anna Cox  29:00 
Well, the breakfast cook had quit and so, I didn't, [?wasn't experienced?] myself, and they asked 
me if I'd learn it, and I said yes. So, I learned it, and I was doing just fine, so they said. And the 
breakfast cook came back again and wanted her job again, and she was a really good person, so 
they wanted me to take another shift, and I just wasn't [inaudible] to do it. I'd earned that. So I 
quit. 
 
Bonita Corliss  29:12 
How long was it before you came back?  
 
Anna Cox  29:12 
About six months, [?I got tired of?] [inaudible]. 
 
Bonita Corliss  29:12 
What kinds of other jobs did you do? 
Page 21 of 29 
 
 
Anna Cox  29:14 
Well, I worked down at Newberry's.  
 
Bonita Corliss  29:16 
In Portland? 
 
Anna Cox  29:16 
In Portland, they were all in Portland. Newberry's and, I think that was it for [?where I worked?] 
in Portland. 
 
Bonita Corliss  29:21 
And that was in the 1960s? 
 
Anna Cox  29:22 
Mm-hmm. 
 
Bonita Corliss  29:23 
And then after your husband died, did you move back to Seattle or stay in Portland? 
 
Anna Cox  29:26 
Well, I stayed in Portland, and then my daughter's husband had a heart attack, and so she wanted 
me to take care of her little boy. So, I gave up my job and took care of him-- [telephone rings]. 
 
Bonita Corliss  29:35 
[Tape stops and starts]. After your daughter's husband died, what did you do?  
 
Anna Cox  29:38 
Well, I stayed with her until she decided that she was able to cook food for herself. So I came 
back to Seattle and made arrangements to go back down to Portland, get a new job. And 
[inaudible] [?mother?]. And then [inaudible]. And the doctor suggested that she needed 
[inaudible], I stayed here and took care of her until she passed away. So in the meantime, I got a 
part time job in the nursing home, so after she passed away, I just stayed there. [Inaudible] job, 
and then my daughter and her little boy moved out and we've been living together ever since. 
 
Bonita Corliss  30:59 
What kinds of jobs-- what was your job in the nursing home? 
 
Anna Cox  31:14 
Well I cooked in the nursing home, in [?the prep house?]. 
 
Bonita Corliss  31:23 
Here in Seattle? 
 
Anna Cox  31:23 
Mm-hmm. 
Page 22 of 29 
 
 
Bonita Corliss  31:23 
How is that different than working at the Tik Tok? 
 
Anna Cox  31:28 
Well, it was different in the foods that [?they liked?], because they had special diets and all that, 
and you couldn't use salt. That was the worst thing to me. [Inaudible] and it was very interesting 
work. 
 
Bonita Corliss  31:43 
What were your working conditions like? 
 
Anna Cox  32:36 
Very good, I thought, because the, the pay and my wages had sent me back to Spokane to the 
dietician school. [Inaudible] and they were very [?nice to me?] [inaudible].  
 
Bonita Corliss  32:41 
What kind of things did you learn at the dietician school? 
 
Anna Cox  32:12 
Oh, about people with diabetes, diabetics, what kind of food they could have and what they 
shouldn't have, and [?portions for?] [inaudible], and [?bland?] diets, soft food diets, [inaudible] 
diets, all those sort of things that you have in a nursing home. 
 
Bonita Corliss  32:44 
Did you have tests? 
 
Anna Cox  32:44 
Yes, after I finished the [?work?]. 
 
Bonita Corliss  32:45 
Did you get a certificate-- 
 
Anna Cox  32:47 
Yeah. 
 
Bonita Corliss  32:47 
--when you concluded this training? 
 
Anna Cox  32:48 
Uh-huh. 
 
Bonita Corliss  32:48 
How old were you at that time? 
 
Anna Cox  32:49 
Page 23 of 29 
 
Let's see, I must have been about 59 I think, 58 or 59. 
 
Bonita Corliss  32:52 
Are you proud of yourself that you were 59 and learning a new skill?  
 
Anna Cox  32:56 
Yes, it was fun, because I'd always sort of thought of myself as a dum dum, you know? Stay 
home, do nothing. I had taken reading courses, talking, speaking courses, [inaudible]. And I used 
it. 
 
Bonita Corliss  33:26 
In what ways did you use those skills? 
 
Anna Cox  33:53 
Well, at the nursing home, I used [inaudible]. And in my speech class, I'd become not afraid to 
talk to people. Before, I just couldn't talk to people, I was just afraid of people. I think having 
confidence in myself, now I'm starting to think I have too much, but it's too late. 
 
Bonita Corliss  34:05 
I don't think it's too late. What kinds of things did you do after your work at the [inaudible]?  
 
Anna Cox  34:08 
Well [?that was the time?] I went over to the [inaudible]. 
 
Bonita Corliss  34:10 
Why did you switch jobs? 
 
Anna Cox  34:10 
Because it was [inaudible] for that home. 
 
Bonita Corliss  34:35 
Did you do the [inaudible]? 
 
Anna Cox  34:35 
Uh-uh, oh no it was [inaudible]. And I was getting old, in the meantime I had retired at 62 
[inaudible]. 
 
Bonita Corliss  34:35 
What kinds of activities have you gotten involved in since you've been retired from working? 
 
Anna Cox  34:41 
Well, I work [inaudible] SPICE. 
 
Bonita Corliss  34:45 
Which is? 
 
Page 24 of 29 
 
Anna Cox  34:46 
That's a kind of [inaudible] sponsored by [?city living?]. I'd walk down there [inaudible] the 
lunch room. 
 
Bonita Corliss  34:58 
What kinds of activities [?were fun?].  
 
Anna Cox  35:00 
[Inaudible], different, we did a lot of painting, a lot of ceramics, [inaudible], and I would do the, 
take the [inaudible], on the bus trips. 
 
Bonita Corliss  35:29 
What other kinds of activities did you get involved in? You mentioned earlier that you were 
involved with a group called the American Associated of Retired Persons. 
 
Anna Cox  35:41 
Yes, uh-huh, I was president there and secretary. And this year, I'll be secretary again. 
 
Bonita Corliss  35:48 
What kinds of responsibilities did you have as president? 
 
Anna Cox  35:51 
Well, you have to conduct the meetings, both the board meeting and the regular meeting. And 
you have to go to different workshops, go down to Olympia for [?legislative role?]. Just keep 
yourself informed generally and [inaudible]. 
 
Bonita Corliss  36:07 
What kinds of things did you do in Olympia for legislature?  
 
Anna Cox  36:07 
[Inaudible]. 
 
Bonita Corliss  36:07 
Did you ever get involved in any lobbying or? 
 
Anna Cox  36:07 
No. I wasn't into politics, I've never been into politics. 
 
Bonita Corliss  36:07 
How did you make, how do you make decisions about [inaudible] and who to vote for for 
president or how to vote on initiatives that come out? 
 
Anna Cox  36:07 
Well, I listen and if I think it's good for [she coughs], excuse me, for most of the people, than 
that's what I vote on. But I don't, I can't be swayed, I make up my mind [?on it?]. 
 
Page 25 of 29 
 
Bonita Corliss  36:07 
What kinds of other things have you done with the American Association of Retired Persons? 
 
Anna Cox  36:54 
[Inaudible] going to a potluck [inaudible], which I thought was awfully fun. I love doing things, 
being involved. Well, we're [inaudible], having a Christmas party right now. And we do for 
people, we know people that perhaps aren't as capable of doing as well as we do, and we give to 
the needy, and go to the [inaudible] nursing home, throw parties for the [inaudible]. 
 
Bonita Corliss  37:41 
You mentioned earlier that you have a real close friend named Eileen. 
 
Anna Cox  37:46 
Mm-hmm. 
 
Bonita Corliss  37:47 
Could you tell me a little about her, where you met her, what you've done over the years, how 
long you've known each other. 
 
Anna Cox  37:55 
Well, our parents were friends before we were born, in fact, her father bought my mother and 
father's first [?pop pan?] [inaudible]. She was born on the sixth of March and I was born on the 
22. And we would always have our parties together when we were little. She went to [inaudible], 
I went to public school. We had our children, the first one, within a few months of each other. 
And [?we were friendly ever since?]. 
 
Bonita Corliss  38:36 
How many years have you known her? 
 
Anna Cox  38:36 
Well, it'll be 76 years in March. I can't remember her, of course, when I was a baby, but that's 
when we were both born. We were, played together when we were little, but [inaudible] because 
our mothers were friends. We've known each other all of our lives. 
 
Bonita Corliss  39:02 
What kinds of things do you and Eileen do together? 
 
Anna Cox  39:55 
During the summer, we always manage to take a trip someplace [?on a weekend?]. And 
[inaudible], have dinner, [inaudible] a drink and a show. And we always celebrate our birthdays 
by having dinner downtown and, oh yes, we have one drink. 
 
Bonita Corliss  39:58 
Just one? 
 
Anna Cox  39:58 
Page 26 of 29 
 
That's it, we have one drink, yes. That's our, [?that's how Eileen and I drink?]. 
 
Bonita Corliss  40:04 
What's Eileen like? Is she a lot like you? 
 
Anna Cox  39:41 
No, I've always said that I'm the day and she's the night. To be born in the same month, it's a 
wonder that we're different. She's, talks about, has her opinion on everything, whether it's 
[?invited or not?]. I love her. We get along good, we have our little [inaudible] between us, but 
[?nothing big?]. But she's [?a wonderful?] person. 
 
Bonita Corliss  40:08 
What does Eileen do? 
 
Anna Cox  39:58 
Well, she's retired right now too. She worked in a laundry and then she worked, after she retired 
from the laundry, she worked at [?Park Ridge?]. 
 
Bonita Corliss  39:58 
What is that? 
 
Anna Cox  39:58 
That's a nursing home. 
 
Bonita Corliss  39:58 
Another nursing home. Have you ever thought about you and Eileen living together? 
 
Anna Cox  40:28 
Oh, heavens no. [She laughs]. 
 
Bonita Corliss  40:28 
Too much? 
 
Anna Cox  40:28 
[Inaudible] personalities.  
 
Bonita Corliss  40:28 
Really? 
 
Anna Cox  40:28 
Uh-huh, we couldn't get along at all. 
 
Bonita Corliss  40:30 
[Inaudible]. 
 
Anna Cox  40:30 
Page 27 of 29 
 
Oh, we never have. We just can't be together too much. We get together and talk for 45 or 50 
minutes on the telephone, and we have our [inaudible] things together, but running back and 
forth, [inaudible], we don't do it. Because we wanna keep our friendship going. 
 
Bonita Corliss  40:28 
Well, I'd like to talk a little bit now about some of your experiences that you might have had with 
the medical [?profession?] and things that you've had done, operation [inaudible], experiences 
you've had. 
 
Anna Cox  41:51 
[?I could fill a book with?] [inaudible], [?don't know any detail?], but anyway, my husband was 
on Permanente Kaiser insurance in Portland from work. But I was in virgin territory at the time, 
so they [?didn't put my body on the table?]. 
 
Bonita Corliss  43:19 
In what way? 
 
Anna Cox  43:25 
I had a hysterectomy which I don't think I needed, [inaudible]. And I got a [?gallstone?] 
operation. 
 
Bonita Corliss  43:37 
[?About your?] hysterectomy, why did they tell you you needed one? 
 
Anna Cox  40:28 
I had a, oh I can't think of it, I had read since that if you left them, [inaudible], they'd be [?drying 
up?]. 
 
Bonita Corliss  41:54 
It was a tumor? 
 
Anna Cox  41:52 
A tumor, I'm sorry, [inaudible]. But anyway, he said, "You won't be having any more babies 
anyway, so," he said, "let's take everything out." So I said, "Okay." 
 
Bonita Corliss  41:14 
Did anyone tell you what the operation would be like or what the after effects would be? 
 
Anna Cox  43:25 
No, no one told me. But it was remarkable, it was [?nothing?], I would advise any woman to 
have it. 
 
Bonita Corliss  43:45 
Really? 
 
Anna Cox  43:46 
Page 28 of 29 
 
Mm-hmm, I really would. 
 
Bonita Corliss  43:49 
Why? 
 
Anna Cox  43:50 
[?Much more freedom?] [inaudible] [?after it happened?]. I didn't have any ill effects at all. I 
didn't even have what they call change of life, I didn't have all those hot flashes, depression, 
[inaudible]. 
 
Bonita Corliss  44:12 
Did they put you on any kind of medication after your operation? 
 
Anna Cox  44:16 
[Inaudible]. 
 
Bonita Corliss  44:17 
You also had a gallbladder operation? 
 
Anna Cox  44:19 
Mm-hmm, I probably needed that though. [Inaudible]. 
 
Bonita Corliss  44:21 
What kinds of experiences did you have while you were in the hospital, were they generally 
good or? 
 
Anna Cox  44:27 
Oh, very good. My daughter thinks I'm [inaudible] when I say I just enjoy every minute of it 
when I stay at the hospital, but I do. The food's always good, and the care I get is always good, 
and the doctors are always nice, [?everything's great?]. [Inaudible] in the hospital for [inaudible]. 
Nothing was wrong with me except for [inaudible]. 
 
Bonita Corliss  44:30 
Has, have you seen a lot of changes in the way medicine is practiced from your early days to 
now? 
 
Anna Cox  44:35 
Well they have more sophisticated medicine and they [inaudible] for everything. In the old days, 
you sort of had to take care of yourself, let nature take its course. I grew up on cod liver oil. 
[Inaudible], cod liver oil, that's what I took. 
 
Bonita Corliss  44:43 
Why did you take cod liver oil? 
 
Anna Cox  44:40 
Page 29 of 29 
 
Oh, I was always one of those [?dingaling?] kids. At least my mother thought [?I would've 
fallen?] [inaudible] [?been hurt?]. So that was what the doctor did for me, cod liver oil.  
 
Bonita Corliss  44:51 
What was purpose of the cod liver oil?  
 
Anna Cox  44:53 
Oh, build up your system and make you nice and strong and fit.   
 
Bonita Corliss  44:53 
Did it make you nice and strong? 
 
Anna Cox  45:01 
I don't know, I was only six years old, I guess it did. It's a wonder that I'm not loaded down with 
high cholesterol. 
 
Bonita Corliss  45:05 
Mm-hmm. 
 
Anna Cox  45:05 
[Inaudible] with all that oil I've taken in my system. 
 
Bonita Corliss  45:12 
Do you have any kind of an exercise program that you do now? 
 
Anna Cox  45:39 
I'm sorry to say I don't. My daughter's got one of these exercise bicycles sitting in my bedroom 
and I look at it each morning and think, well tomorrow I'll get on it, but [inaudible]. 
 
Bonita Corliss  45:48 
What is your relationship like with your daughter living here together? 
 
Anna Cox  45:05 
Well, we've done a lot of [inaudible], if we start getting on each others' nerves, [inaudible], and 
we don't quarrel, we never quarrel. In fact, I don't know that we've ever had anything to quarrel 
about. I don't bother her, I don't question her on what she does or anything at all. She definitely 
has me [inaudible]. We just have a good relationship. 
 
Bonita Corliss  45:57 
What kinds of things does your daughter do? 
 
Anna Cox  46:09 
She doesn't do enough. To suit me, anyway. 
 