This is the first part of a two-part column.

“I was born and raised in northern Minnesota,” explained my 92-year-old neighbor and long-time Kirkland resident, Elaine Roloff, as she looked out the window of her original 1950’s home. As her neighbor, I see Elaine every now and then—getting the mail, gardening or driving up the alley. It occurred to me a few weeks ago that although we may exchange “hellos” and “how are yous” in the driveway, I didn’t know much about her. Going into the interview, I had little background information. I knew her house sat on a grassy lot and had a cement path leading from her front porch to a mellow street in West of Market, and that’s just about it.

Elaine gladly welcomed me into her home, and we sat on a pair of identical upholstered rocking chairs. Elaine began by telling me about her life in Minnesota, her brief job there after she finished high school and about World War II breaking out in 1941. At the war’s inception, Elaine quit her job in Minnesota, and by 1943 she had moved out to Washington to be a part of the war effort.

In Washington, Elaine became one of the many women at the time to work as a riveter for Boeing. She described this job as, “putting a plane together.” Elaine has detailed memories of working for Boeing, include her assigned number, “1313.” It was at Boeing that Elaine met her first husband, Lester Hudlow. Lester did many things at Boeing, including working as an occasional riveter where he got to spend time with Elaine.

After working in Washington for a couple of years, Elaine decided to quit and travel to Denver in order to spend time with her brother. After about six weeks, Elaine came back to Washington excited to be home with Lester, whom she would marry a year or two later. Elaine was quickly rehired at Boeing. She continued living in a small house in Ballard with a married couple and two other women her age. They split the cost of rent and food, and Elaine told me proudly that on average, she spent about $33 per month, “depending on how well we ate.”

Elaine remembers a day in 1945 that has become monumental in history: The day WWII ended. As Elaine described to me how she was at work on a normal day when, “they announced over the loud speaker that we were being laid off, and we all lost our jobs.” Elaine looked at me, shaking her head and recalling her reaction to this event. “I was shocked and surprised that they could lay everyone off so quickly like that.”

With the war over, the men were sent back to work and the women were sent home.

Lester was rehired, but Elaine decided to do something else. She began working at Pier 91 in Seattle’s navy yards. She worked in a large cafeteria where the ships came in. Elaine told me that her orders were, “full of hamburgers, fries and many, many milkshakes.”

In February of 1946, Elaine and Lester got married and Elaine quit her job. They moved into an extremely small apartment in Seattle on Mercer Street. Elaine tells me with disbelief that she could barely turn around in their tiny kitchen. Unhappy with their small living conditions, they soon moved to the housing projects in Everett. However, this was far from Lester’s work and they ended up moving back to Seattle in 1947 to live in another small house. There, Elaine and Lester had their first child, a little girl named Karmen.

When Karmen was three years old, Elaine and Lester began looking for a bigger house.

They heard from a friend, whom they had met through Boeing, that a house was being built in Kirkland and they should have a look. Sure enough, in August of 1950, the Hudlow family moved into the small Kirkland home where Elaine still lives today.

Between moving from her home in Minnesota, supporting the war effort from the home front and starting her own family, Elaine’s young adulthood was filled with fun tales and memories, as well as some difficulties and hardships. As Elaine begins a new chapter of her life, she experiences a lot of change. Next week I will tell you all about what comes next in Elaine’s inspiring story.

Allison Hoff is a 12 year old Kirkland resident.