ROSE:  I thought some of them was doggone smart ladies that -- especially Pauline Peters in Nulato.  Gee whiz sakes, I'm struggling and I'm all frustrated and Pauline -- Pauline Peters is -- she could -- she could be our teacher the way she talked.
 
But I know all the time that Bertha was ahead.  Bertha was way ahead.  She was more or less like she know pretty much about medical things, like doctor.  I think she start reading very early in her life, plus the experience.  And that's the way I knew Bertha. 

And Pauline Peters was another one.  And she talk -- she talk, too, you know.  She -- she talked lots.  So in other words, she like -- like a leader or something.  Leader or teacher.  That's the way I think about her.  But it was lots of fun. 

It was really hard, the classes were really hard because we're going to have tests coming up, you know.  And no time to lose.  I go to bed about twelve o'clock at night trying to understand what I'm reading, and I'm trying to know what it is.  And just is -- the test is about coming up, I get up four o'clock in the morning, and I go at it again. 

I got stuck when we got to study about the medicine.  I got stuck because some of the medicines is -- I think it's mixed up, and shots, you know, and the shots, medicine, it's mixed up.  And it's going to be on our test.  And other stuff, like what's emotional, what's physical, emotional problem, physical problem.  My -- our instructor got my head stuck.  But I think I got every one wrong -- right with that one on my test.
 
MARLA:  Got every one right with that one?
 
ROSE:  Yeah. 

MARLA:  And who was that instructor, do you remember? 

ROSE:  Hope.
 
MARLA:  Hope. 

ROSE:  Her last name was Hope. 

MARLA:  And so you were talking about training, I'd like you to ask you a little bit more about that.  You started being a community health aide in 1968?

ROSE:  Uh-hum (affirmative).

MARLA:  And when did you begin your first training?
 
ROSE:  We start going to Tanana, a bunch of us, the sub region -- I mean, not the sub region, you know -- well, it's a Galena sub region, and Fort Yukon sub region, from Upper Yukon and Lower Yukon, and from around here, Koyukuk River. 

We all start going to Tanana and doing some trainings, doing some trainings.  Every now and then, we are -- we're to go to Tanana, and then our instructor get there and we're in training.
 
The first one was like first aid.  First aid.  And how to treat and heal up some infections, what to do about it, with hot water, soaking towel, and putting it over the -- over the infection or something like that. 

And how to handle the hot, hot towels and all that.  Like two stick is poke through this one thing and we twist it so we wouldn't touch the hot towel.  And all that.  Some easy things like that. 

But later on, it came to something.  At first, you know, we were just learning how to do heights and weights, our temperature, and blood pressure.  That's what we started out with.  Old time stuff, you know, like just a old time temperature.  They have different kind right now.  And old time blood pressure, everything, all old stuff.  But to us, that's brand new stuff.  That's brand new stuff.  There's nothing wrong with it for us.  Yeah.