Well, Kaiser owner friends, today I finally interviewed Charity, Henry Kaiser's driver/chauffeur circa 1942-1943. As you may know, I met her through my father-in-law since they are neighbors. I asked her many questions and she remembered a lot (after all, she is 90 years young!). Here goes:
She said she was hired to work at the Kaiser Shipyard Infirmary medical facility as a Medical Secretary which was housed at the shipyard office in Vancouver, Washington. They had a First Aid office at the shipyard where her office was housed. She was a young woman of about 20 and her husband was in the Air Force and was out with the fleet. Her husband's ship left Pearl Harbor the day before the attack. She tells the story that she was given the job of picking-up of Henry J Kaiser at the Portland, Oregon airport when he came to town from Oakland, California to work at the shipyard. She would pick her car up at the Multnomah Hotel, drive to the airport to pick him up, and then drive him back to the hotel. She said she had a nice car (doesn't remember what kind) and that's why she was given the job. She mentioned she was 'scared to death' because she wasn't very old and Henry J was an important man, "well built" (not fat" who smoked cigars. Often he brought his male secretary, who had red curly hair, with him to complete work. One trip Charity was tasked with taking dictation from this secretary (whom she calls a 'snob'). Apparently, Henry Kaiser was working on a book (plans?) about Kaiser Permanente and had dictated the text to his secretary who then dictated it to Charity who then had to take it and work all night typing up the manuscript. She says this male secretary could "read upside-down" and would correct her medical terminology shorthand even though he was reading it backwards! What a memory she does have! She remembers meeting Edgar Kaiser on an occasion but doesn't remember the circumstances. She worked there about one year and then her father made her quit because there was some 'undesireables' in that area and it worried her father.
That's about it. I hope you find it as interesting as I did. Dave F. #10113 1952 Manhattan
