Willa Ashenfelter and Irene Aukongak, Part 1, Transcript Section 1

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Willa Ashenfelter and Irene Aukongak, Part 1
Transcript Section 1

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KAREN: Start with today is September 13th, 2005. And this is Karen Brewster. And I'm here in Nome with Willa Aschenfelter and Irene, if you could pronounce your last name so I don't say it incorrectly.

IRENE: Aukongak.

KAREN: Aukongak. Okay. Thank you. And this is for the Community Health Aide Project.

So maybe Willa, if you can start, just to tell us a little bit about yourself and when and where you were born, your parents, your background a little bit.

WILLA: Okay. I was born -- gee, one thinks I have a birth date.

KAREN: Yeah.

WILLA: Okay. I was born July 4th, 1940, and my parents were Abraham Lincoln and Lucy Lincoln. I grew up, I married in White Mountain, I had all my children there. I'm a grandmother. And I was a health aide since 1967, the fall of 1967.

KAREN: And when did you retire?

WILLA: March of 2002.

KAREN: So you were born in White Mountain?

WILLA: I was born in White Mountain. I got married to a guy from White Mountain. And all my children are there. I'm a grandmother.

KAREN: How many children do you have?

WILLA: I have eight. Four boys and -- oh, I should go back. I need to. I have three -- I have eight but I've got three boys and three girls. I shouldn't say eight. And I've got grandkids.

KAREN: Okay. Now, Irene, maybe you can tell us a little bit about yourself, your background.

IRENE: Yeah, I was born at Upper Kalskag, down Kuskokwim area, in January 2nd, 1937.

And I went to school there, part time school there, and we moved away when I was maybe eight years old. And I never went back there.

We had to follow my dad everywhere he goes because of his fur trapping. And we missed a lot of school, so they send me and my younger, my sister next to me, to Holy Cross.

We were there for three years and came back and settled. They were at Kukagruk (phonetic) so we stayed there until I finished my school year at Mount Edgecumbe. And I took the LPN training there, Mount Edgecumbe.

KAREN: The LPN is what?

IRENE: Licensed practical nurse.

KAREN: I didn't know they offered that at Mount Edgecumbe.

IRENE: Yeah, they did. I don't know what years they stopped.

KAREN: So what years were you there?

IRENE: I believe it was '54, '55. It's a one-year program, I think. So -- but I was happy I took it. And moved to Golovin.

I married my husband in Anchorage. And he's from Golovin. Moved there in -- oh, maybe a month, or maybe a month, not even maybe a month after I got married we had to move to Golovin to take care of my mother-in-law who was bedridden.

And Mayor Floyd, our mayor then, came up to the house and asked me if I wanted to help the doctors and nurses when they make their visits to Golovin, so I said, yes, I'll be -- you know, I told him yes. So since then, like February '56.

KAREN: Wow.

IRENE: I started helping the nurses and the doctors. Yeah.

KAREN: Do you know why he came and asked you?

IRENE: Because -- because of the training I had, licensed practical nurse training. I was working down in Anchorage to the old hospital.

KAREN: Oh, you had been a nurse there?

IRENE: Yeah. So.

KAREN: Why did you decide to become a nurse?

IRENE: One -- one of my teachers, he's passed on now, he was a real nice teacher and he talked to me about, you know, if I wanted to go into nurses training, they offered at Edgecumbe.

And I thought I was too old to go on to high school. So -- so from there, from -- after I graduated eighth grade, I took -- went down to Edgecumbe and took that training.

KAREN: So how old were you?

IRENE: I was maybe 18. Was I -- no, 19. Maybe I was. No, 18. I was 18, yeah. So. Because it was a nice experience for me. So I enjoyed it.

KAREN: And Willa, how did you --