KAREN: It sounds like you weren't the only one. A lot of villages didn't have a clinic building.

TRUDY: I don't know about anybody else having clinics in their own home, did they?

KAREN: I know in other parts of the state, yeah. Or they didn't have a clinic building, they would just go see patients in people's home.

TRUDY: We just never ever had a clinic. They never thought that much of our program I guess.

But I used to fight about it all the time when I was a health aide. They used to just hate me to come around, people like the doctors and people in the offices: “Oh no, here she comes.” But Barbara and I never shut up. We just kept going.

KAREN: They have a clinic in Hoonah now though, right?

TRUDY: Uh-hum (affirmative). Yep.

KAREN: Do you remember when they built the clinic?

TRUDY: Do I remember what?

KAREN: When they finally got a clinic. When you didn't have to have it at home?

TRUDY: No, I don't remember, but it was not too long ago. Not before -- almost just before I quit. I had to quit because I was seeing double.

KAREN: That's not good.

TRUDY: It was no good. Then I couldn't care for patients anymore.

KAREN: Yeah.

TRUDY: I quit one time before and they put me back on a pay roll and they said: “You're gonna be the health aide consultant, so just hung on to this --” what they assigned me to do.

And I still would get paid, but nobody else would. So I told them: “I just can't do it, if nobody else is getting paid. I can't be getting paid for this and have the others not get paid.”

So I quit. My husband said: “You're just being selfish. Cut that out.”

And I said: “Well, I don't want to see me be getting lots of money and the other girls not getting anything.” They never thought I ever thought about them I guess.

But I did. A lot. I was the health aide president -- that's the first time they ever had an association. Me and Barbara worked on having an association.

KAREN: So that was a statewide health aide --?

TRUDY: No. It was a Southeast association. But then we found out that up north they had associations, too. So we got together with them. Not very often, but whenever I went up and they were having a meeting.

KAREN: So you and Barbara, did you form this Health Aide Association?

TRUDY: I did.

KAREN: You did?

TRUDY: Hm mm. And she helped me. I figured we needed to have something so we can have somebody to be a spokesman. Never think that I'd ever be spokesman. Ouch! (exclamation of pain)

KAREN: Oh, your ribs are hurting. You don't remember when you formed that Association?

TRUDY: No. I told you I didn't keep track of anything. Mt. Edgecumbe would have it --

KAREN: Yeah.

TRUDY: -- that when we started that.

KAREN: So who did you represent?

TRUDY: The Health Aide Association. Hoonah.

KAREN: And then each community in Southeast --

TRUDY: Each community that was there was involved and then we eventually got the others -- health aides to join the association.

KAREN: Uh-hum.

TRUDY: So it was like an ordinary organization.

KAREN: Uh-hum.

TRUDY: But. We had different things to fight about.

KAREN: Like what?

TRUDY: Getting paid and whatever like that. Getting involved and -- anybody coming to our community, you know, health-wise. Those are the kinds of things we fought for. Mainly, for the pay. And I didn't care one bit about the pay. Isn't that funny? There was some that really wanted the pay 'cause they wanted the money.

But here I was, I didn't want the money and I didn't care if they had an association or not.

KAREN: But then you formed it and you were the president.

TRUDY: Until I got out of being a health aide. It was a long time to be a president.

KAREN: You must have been good at it.

TRUDY: Well, I guess I was. Because I was president for other things in the state. I was School Board Association state president for a year. I was Grand President for the Alaska Native Sisterhood for four years. I spent nine years in Grand Camp.

Four years as Sergeant at Arms, four years as Grand President, one year as the Vice President. What else? I was representative to the Tlingit Haida in Hoonah. I'm missing some. The four years I was Grand President though. I liked it. That's President for the whole state.

KAREN: For the Alaska Native Sisterhood?

TRUDY: Hm, mm. Now, I'm a lifetime member.

KAREN: I would think so, after that long as President.

TRUDY: You're automatically a executive once you become a President of the organization. You automatically become an executive. So I am for life 'cause I served for four years.