MARLA:  Yeah, I would imagine you would have seen a lot of changes in the -- maybe the diseases that would come through Huslia growing up. 

Was there something particular that you remember that was -- that affected your area, as a health aide?
 
ROSE:  As a health aide? 

MARLA:  Yeah, like all throughout your health aide years. 

ROSE:  Well, by that time, you know, things changed.  Some of the virus was around.  The virus was around and the diarrheas were around about that time now.  But in our very early days, we didn't see -- we didn't -- we didn't see diarrheas and virus cold and all that stuff.
 
MARLA:  What did you do to treat it when you saw it as a health aide?  What did you have in your medical kit? 

ROSE:  All we had was cough syrup, Actifed tablets for adults, and Triaminic syrup for the -- for the babies, but that was -- that was good.  That was good for their ears.  Modern medicine. 

That's -- see, if -- if I was -- let's say, if went to meetings or stuff like that in the big cities or wherever, I would encourage this young generation to go to clinic and use the modern medicine.  This is to take care of their -- their ears or their eyes, and I would encourage them to go to clinic. 

The health aide would tell them what to do, and maybe Actifed tablets or else Triaminic syrup for the babies, and do what the health aides do.  Just use the modern medicine. 

Otherwise, I know that they are going to lose their hearing fast and their eyes will fade fast if they don't use modern medicine, and these work.  That's today.  Because I saw it happen.  So I would say, you know, go to clinic. 

Lots of people, lots of people, they -- they avoid clinic.  If they could avoid clinic, they do it.  But I would say, come on, just go to clinic and go to the young health aides.  I would -- I would encourage them. 

MARLA:  And -- and in Huslia, how long has this clinic been here? 

ROSE:  Huslia got started earlier than 1968.  Already they had somebody right here working out of our house. 

MARLA:  Who was that? 

ROSE:  Marie Aska. 

MARLA:  Okay. 

ROSE:  And Annie Vent.  And you just might as well say that Annie Vent was like a doctor.  And also Marie. 

And it's pretty interesting, she's about my age, you know, and she know, some of the people, had we been -- had we been born at the right time to get all these education, they would have been doctor. 

Let's say just -- just from talking with the people, just -- I'm talking -- I'm listening to them like Hugh Bifelt, Annie Vent, they are brother and sister.  They could -- they could have been doctor.  They could have been doctor.  Talk about smart, old people.  They know.  Yeah. 

But this -- that's the way the world is.  I would really say to the young people out in the Bush, use the clinic so that health aide will tell them what to do. 
Lots of times we'll have young -- young person at the clinic and while people would say, oh, that's just her, they -- they kind of think, oh, that's just her, I don't have to go to clinic and this kind of attitude, but see, I want to tell them, you know, go to clinic. 

MARLA:  So did you always work in the clinic or did you have to work out of your home? 

ROSE:  For a few years, I was working out of my home. 

MARLA:  How was that?  You had children at the time or --

ROSE:  There -- I was old.  They were already out in school.
 
MARLA:  Okay.

ROSE:  Yeah.  Out in Copper Valley School and all those places.  And I -- I was by myself.  Except for my old man.  But my old man, he don't care to pay attention to anything.  He's outdoors chopping wood and all that. 

MARLA:  Who -- did you get a lot of support from the community or from your husband or where did you get most of your support for doing the job?
 
ROSE:  You know, this is one word I hate to -- I hate to say, but this is an upright town.  That's how I made it.  This is an upright town.  They know.  They know that somebody's trying to help. 

But lots of things I did, emergency stuff, I have to say, the whole town back me up.  Every emergency I had, the whole town helped me out.  So I can't just -- I cannot just take the credit.  Of course, I'm doing what the doctor is telling me through the radio.  I tell him what happened and he -- every step the radio is open, every step he tell me what to do.  So I'm -- I'm following what the doctors say. 

But the other people is there, they are helping me, handing me everything.  So what helped me out is this is a good village.  This is an upright village.  The people got good head.  They got good sense.  That that's what -- that's my backup right there.  That's my backup.  That's how I went -- I did it. 

I could run away way early if it wasn't like that.  I would have collapsed, you know, and just cut it short and just get away.  But everybody is helping each others, too, to support. 

See, I thought this place was -- I got too used of everything as being looked after by the people, by the village and city council.  Everything is being looked after. 

Like one time I was at meeting and we have about two -- two step or three step at the clinic, and they brought that up because when we're carrying the stretcher out of the clinic, the stretcher kind of get crooked because we have to step down.  That's too tough, we thought, they thought for the -- that sick person.
 
But I went to another village and I got to work way upstairs.  And if we got stretcher, we got to go down like this and then there's another turn around right there. 

MARLA:  Wow. 

ROSE:  So there's lots of all crooked places to pass. 

And I went to work in another village and I go, I don't know how many steps up to the -- to the building.  And well, I don't know.  And when I came back to Huslia, I was happy.  I thought, gee whiz, I'm in heaven.  What am I complaining about?  So see, it's the people.  It's the people themselves that back me up all the way through.  Otherwise, I wouldn't have -- I wouldn't have hung in there for that long.