Tape 1, Side 1. This oral history interview with Ree F. Adkins was conducted by Lynn Taylor at Adkins’ home in Vancouver, Washington, on June 2, 1981. In this interview, Adkins discusses her family background and early life in Hardman, Oregon. She talks about her career as a teacher, about her experience during the Depression, and about her marriage to Conser L. Adkins. She describes how she came to work as an electrician at the Kaiser shipyards in Vancouver, Washington, during World War II, and shares her experiences as a woman worker in the shipyards. She talks about her job duties, about the people she worked with, and about the protective clothing she wore. She discusses her living conditions during the war, her commute to the shipyards, and briefly working in the cafeteria at the Kaiser hospital. She describes a typical day during the time she worked in the shipyards, talks about her life after the end of the war, and shares her thoughts about women in the workforce.
Adkins, Ree F. (Retha Faye), 1904-1991