[00:00:05] Saundra Magnusson Martin: This is an interview for the Oral history program at the National Nordic Museum in Ballard, Seattle, Washington. Today we're interviewing Ruth Desrosier, and my name is Sandra Magnusson Martin. With me today is

[00:00:21] Gordon Strand: Gordon Strand.

[00:00:23] Saundra Magnusson Martin: Today is March 21st, 2026. Ruth,

[00:00:29] Gordon Strand: Okay, go ahead. Go ahead.

[00:00:31] Saundra Magnusson Martin: Ruth, could you start out by telling us your full name and your birth date and where you were born?

[00:00:38] Ruth Desrosier: Yes. My full name is Ruth Desrosier and uh, I was born at the Ballard Old Ballard Hospital of Market Street, and my birthday is December 13th, 1936.

[00:00:57] Saundra Magnusson Martin: You were just telling me a little story about, about your early arrival.

[00:01:05] Ruth Desrosier: Yes. My mother happened to have fallen and she was only seven months pregnant with me, so I ended up in the hospital and I weighed, my uncle used to say it was a little that I could fit the cigar box, and I weighed two and a half pounds.

[00:01:27] Gordon Strand: Oh my.

[00:01:28] Ruth Desrosier: And I spent my first days at the hospital. I think I was there for a few and I had two older brothers, but they of course didn't drive. And my father, of course, being the commercial halibut fisherman, he was, he was always in Alaska. So that's how I started with,

[00:01:51] Gordon Strand: tell us your parents' names.

[00:01:53] Ruth Desrosier: Oh, my mom's name was Nellie, and of course Anderson.

[00:01:58] But she was a from Stead and her maiden name was Vang, V-A-N-G. And my father's name was John Svera Anderson. And he was from Andenes, born and raised there, Norway.

[00:02:19] Gordon Strand: And when did he immigrate to the U.S. and what was, do you know why he came and all that?

[00:02:26] Ruth Desrosier: Oh, yes. Uh, all his family were ness. They lived in the family home.

[00:02:32] My dad was the, the youngest had to take the grandparents and stay with them in their home. And my mother, all her family came to the United States in Poulsbo. My mom's parents, her sisters. Her, uh, brothers and they settled in the Norwegian community of Poulsbo. And of course they had to furnish my folks a place to live.

[00:03:04] They had to give my dad a job, you know, before they could get clearance to come here. And so, uh, my mother said to my father, my family is all in the United States and I'm going to go there. In other words, see you later. So they all, my brother was a year and a half, and my sister was three years old. And they went from, uh, Norway to London, got on the big ship and came to Nova Scotia.

[00:03:45] And then from there they got on a train and went cross country Canada all the way to Vancouver. River and then down to Poulsbo. And of course my uncle, and they were all fishermen, so they gave my dad a job on one of the fishing boats.

[00:04:02] Gordon Strand: Oh yeah.

[00:04:03] Ruth Desrosier: And that he fished on the north coast in Norway, he was a teenager. And then he owned a business in Norway that was like Pacific fishermen, that they sold all the supplies for the vessels that were going out fishing.

[00:04:18] So he sold his share to his young, his other brother, and the his brother went to take care of the parents. And my dad left all his family in Norway. So mom, I guess he thought, well, if I'm gonna stay married, I better get on that ship too. So that was their adventure.

[00:04:43] Saundra Magnusson Martin: Did any of your father's family ever come over later?

[00:04:47] Ruth Desrosier: There was one sister that was married in Norway. And she married a very nice Mormon gentleman and they all settled in Utah and she had 12 children.

[00:05:01] Gordon Strand: Wow.

[00:05:02] Ruth Desrosier: And that was, uh, we met them and they, we'd come here to Seattle, very nice people. So that was the only relative, of course, we would visit with the family that came over just for a vacation.

[00:05:18] So of course my dad, he and my mom would speak Norwegian and I could pick up words to see what they were saying, but I couldn't put words together in a sentence. And so in those days, they were so proud to be here. And being that, you know, they could speak good English, they were determined that, you know, they were gonna speak English and learn the language, and that was how it was.

[00:05:56] So I regret the days that I wish, now that I had, uh, paid attention, learned. But that's happened. And then when we went to Norway, uh, my brother was born there of course. And so when he was going to the University of Washington, he tried to have my parents help teach Norwegian, you know, well, it was a different dialect.

[00:06:25] Oh. So, of course my parents, you know, just thinking, I mean, they, they spoke, you know, fluent Norwegian. But when we went to Norway for my dad's 85th birthday, and of course my brother and his daughter, and myself and my father, my, my mom passed away. So we went to his little town in Angenes and uh, he was speaking Norwegian to all his relatives and then he'd have to speak English to us. And then it was quite a challenge and they said, gee, your father talked a lot better the last time he came with my mother, you know? And, uh, I said, well, he's getting, you know, talking to both of us, you know, English and Norwegian. Pretty soon we were listening to Norwegian, looking at him like, dad?

[00:07:23] Saundra Magnusson Martin: Was that the first time you had been to Norway?

[00:07:25] Ruth Desrosier: That was my first time we called it the Sentimental Journey. Oh, it was awesome.

[00:07:31] Gordon Strand: What year was that, do you think?

[00:07:34] Saundra Magnusson Martin: Do you know what year that was?

[00:07:35] Ruth Desrosier: Oh, yes. That was, uh, let's see. Dad was born in 1895, and it was his 85th, so that'd be 80. 1980.

[00:07:47] Saundra Magnusson Martin: 1980, yeah.

[00:07:48] Gordon Strand: What year did he come into the United States?

[00:07:50] Ruth Desrosier: 1923.

[00:07:54] Gordon Strand: Oh

[00:07:55] Ruth Desrosier: yeah.

[00:07:55] Gordon Strand: That was my dad. Was that 1921?

[00:07:58] Ruth Desrosier: Yeah. See they, what an adventure if you think about it. And they had two little toddlers. Can't even imagine. But yeah, and then my brother that came was, was born in Poulsbo, so that was very close. So that's,

[00:08:20] Gordon Strand: so they stayed in Poulsbo for..

[00:08:22] Ruth Desrosier: Oh yeah. They lived in Poulsbo. Then when, uh, dad was fishing, he bought the fishing vessel, Arnie.

[00:08:32] And so he mowed down at Fish or Ballard Oil so he could walk home, you know, 'cause mom didn't ever drive. So mom could. Be home and he could walk what, three blocks from Bell Royal up to 57.

[00:08:50] Saundra Magnusson Martin: So when did they move from Poulsbo to Seattle?

[00:08:53] Ruth Desrosier: Um, let's see. I think they moved. Okay. I think they moved just probably, uh, in the, in the forties because I was born '36 and I was born in Ballard.

[00:09:11] So I think that it was in that time period, you know, so we ended up living close by.

[00:09:20] Saundra Magnusson Martin: So your mom,

[00:09:20] Ruth Desrosier: Very convenient.

[00:09:21] Saundra Magnusson Martin: Excuse me, your mom spent quite a bit of time being a sort of a single parent while your dad was fishing. Did she have a support group among the Norwegian community here, or how did she cope with being on her own?

[00:09:38] Lots of friends, relatives, and they belong to the Nordlandslaget. It was a Norwegian club and it was a very active Norwegian club and I know as we got older we'd pick up and take them to the meetings and dance around the Christmas tree at Christmas and sing in Norwegian best we could. So we had a lot of influence from the Norwegian clubs and stuff. Yeah.

[00:10:11] Gordon Strand: So what sort of traditions did you experience at home, like at Christmas time and,

[00:10:16] Ruth Desrosier: oh, we all came to our house in Ballard. Christmas was always at our house and uh, of course mom would start up with all the Norwegian wonderful goodies, so that was wonderful. Lefse, krumkake, Fatima and all that wonderful stuff.

[00:10:39] So we grew up eating a lot of nice things.

[00:10:42] Gordon Strand: How about lefse?

[00:10:44] Ruth Desrosier: Lefse, Hardanger lefse?

[00:10:46] Gordon Strand: Yes. Yes.

[00:10:46] Ruth Desrosier: Yeah. No potatoes.

[00:10:49] Gordon Strand: No. No.

[00:10:50] Saundra Magnusson Martin: Did she teach you how to make those, uh, Norwegian dishes?

[00:10:54] Ruth Desrosier: I was her helper.

[00:10:55] Saundra Magnusson Martin: Good.

[00:10:56] Ruth Desrosier: I got to cut the slit in the Fatima and twist, and, uh, I would help her with the lefse, you know, and oh, we had all kinds of good stuff. She'd even make meat, uh, like sandwich meat too, you know, she'd roll lamb and, and make it, and then she'd press it under the old Singer sewing machine.

[00:11:23] Gordon Strand: Oh.

[00:11:24] Ruth Desrosier: And it was like buying, you know, meat at the grocery store. But she made all that too. But I, I was just her helper. I wished I would've, uh, I, I, I make, I make some of, but I got her tools and so I make some of that.

[00:11:42] Saundra Magnusson Martin: What would a traditional Christmas dinner have been in your family?

[00:11:47] Ruth Desrosier: Uh, well, uh, being that they love to have Lutefisk and they always had that cream pudding, um, what would it was...

[00:12:02] Gordon Strand: Yeah, I know what you,

[00:12:04] Ruth Desrosier: That was one of the highlights too.

[00:12:07] Gordon Strand: Oh,

[00:12:11] Ruth Desrosier: Yeah. So that's what they would have the traditional pudding and, uh, I did not eat Lutefisk and I didn't eat the pudding, but my whole family and then aunts and uncles,

[00:12:28] Gordon Strand: Rømmegrøt.

[00:12:28] Ruth Desrosier: -would come also.

[00:12:29] Gordon Strand: Rømmegrøt

[00:12:30] Ruth Desrosier: Rømmegrøt. Yeah. Yes. That was a treat. Yeah.

[00:12:37] Saundra Magnusson Martin: So you, your family had a lot of aunts and uncles and cousins come for the holidays?

[00:12:42] Ruth Desrosier: And they were fishermen. My uncles were fishermen. And, and so, uh, you know, we all lived close and yes, we would all traditionally come together at Christmas time. Yeah.

[00:12:59] Gordon Strand: So you never, your dad never regretted leaving Norway, did he? Or...

[00:13:03] Ruth Desrosier: I don't believe so.

[00:13:05] Gordon Strand: Oh,

[00:13:06] Ruth Desrosier: I think he missed his family. That was a hardship because he never, his poor parents would never have come to the United States, you know, 'cause they were elderly. But, uh, I think he missed all his, well, he had a lot of brothers and, uh, so, but he, they, my mom and dad went back the two of them in 1964. And that was the first trip back to Norway since they came in 1923.

[00:13:40] Gordon Strand: Wow.

[00:13:41] Ruth Desrosier: And of course then they saw all their family and it was a wonderful vacation. In fact, I was looking through my Norwegian stuff and she bought Norwegian sweaters for all of us, and I found my Norwegian sweaters and they looked just like they're brand new. So sweet. And oh yeah, it was very special. Of course, she was always crochet too, and had lots of goodies in there. But yeah, she was a stay-at-home mom.

[00:14:17] Gordon Strand: So tell us about, you went to Ballard High School, or?

[00:14:20] Ruth Desrosier: Oh yes. I started out at Adams grade school.

[00:14:24] Gordon Strand: Okay.

[00:14:24] Ruth Desrosier: And I could walk, and then I went to James Monroe Junior High School. I had to walk further. And then I ended up in Ballard High School, of course, and graduated in 1955. And before I graduated, I went to visit the employment office and I said, I want a job in Ballard and do you have any jobs available in the area? And he said, well, I have a friend that is in charge down at Fentron Industries. I'll make you an appointment. So I thought, oh, okay. So I came down for the interview at Fentron and I got the job two weeks before I graduated. Oh. And I was there for 10 years.

[00:15:13] Gordon Strand: Well, describe it for us. What was Fentron like when in those days?

[00:15:16] Ruth Desrosier: Oh, Fentron Industries. The two brothers owned, you know, the company together and they always said they came with $500 in their pockets. They didn't, you know, from Germany, the Schiessl brothers. And uh, of course the building's still there, but, uh, they. The one brother Herbert started up with the, uh, residential aluminum windows frames, and that was kind of new at that time, of course. And then, um, Bill Schiessl, the other brother, he started up making, um, industrial gas stations all kinds of, all over the place. And then they, even some of the buildings downtown Seattle were their product from this building here. And they, uh, built three, I think it's three or four fishing boats actually. And my husband was working there at that time. So that was, they were more on the industrial side, where the other was residential.

[00:16:33] Gordon Strand: Hmm. But in the same area, same building?

[00:16:35] Ruth Desrosier: Oh yeah.

[00:16:36] Gordon Strand: Okay.

[00:16:36] Ruth Desrosier: Yeah. Fentron Industries was there. Then they built the Fen Pro Fentron highway products. They made all the bridge railings that you see on the freeways.

[00:16:52] Gordon Strand: Oh,

[00:16:52] Ruth Desrosier: They, they, all those big beautiful signs that you see are made by Fentron Highway products. And it just happened my husband worked under, so he was on the Fentron Highway side, and he drove the 18 wheeler, delivered all over the place to forklift, and they had branches in Canada and Sunnyvale, California. And,

[00:17:21] Gordon Strand: But what, why did, did they go out of business eventually, or?

[00:17:24] Ruth Desrosier: Well, Fentron Industries, that was the residential half was they, Herbert sold it and when he sold it, the company that bought the business used it as a write off pretty much. So it closed down. But Bill, he continued with the Fentron Highway products and then they called it Fen Pro when Ed Robinson, you know, became in charge. And Bill retired

[00:18:00] Gordon Strand: Because Ed Robinson married one of the daughters.

[00:18:02] Ruth Desrosier: Yeah, he married one of the daughters. Yes.

[00:18:04] Gordon Strand: Okay. Yeah.

[00:18:05] Ruth Desrosier: Katie, I believe. Yes. And uh, so Bill, you know, pretty much retired, of course. He was always their great guy. And I ended up in the division where I worked, I was in charge of the computers and we started with, uh, National Cash Register machines. We did payroll, we did cost payable and cost receivable. We punched cards, rent reports. So we had these and then all of a sudden they had these big machines, you know, that you would sort and run through to get whatever report you needed. And then they decided that, well, with that many shop workers and you get a, a card with the guy's name, what job he worked on, how many hours he worked on it. And you know, that's how they were able to determine when they made bids on jobs that they could bid pretty close. So it was interesting because, um, we decided to go for IBM. So they got rid of the old machines and they got all new IBM machines. But the problem was, yeah. Offices upstairs, they had to take the windows out to get the equipment into the offices.

[00:19:43] So we started out, I, I, that's the only year I made more money than my husband because I had to work and transfer all the information over, you know, from NCR to IBM and I went to school downtown and learned all about the machines. And so that was my responsibility. So I worked a lot of overtime.

[00:20:09] Saundra Magnusson Martin: You were on the cusp of technology. You learned, you,

[00:20:12] Ruth Desrosier: I don't know how I did it,

[00:20:13] Saundra Magnusson Martin: A lot of changes in the time that you were there..

[00:20:15] Ruth Desrosier: Oh yes. And you had a machine over here punching cards and you'd have another machine over here that did the payroll and you know, so you had a lot of things going on. But I had two or three girls that worked underneath. I trained, you know. The daughters of the Schiessl brothers that went, they came and worked under me, loved my job. Really did.

[00:20:41] Gordon Strand: But you were there 10 years and then..

[00:20:43] Ruth Desrosier: I was there 10 years, and we had been married for 10 years. We didn't have any children. And all of a sudden I got pregnant with my first, I worked three weeks before my son was born, and I had to decide if I stay home or am I going to work. So if I was going to stay home, I had to train somebody to take my job. And so that was a hard decision, but I felt like I waited long enough to become a mom, so I was gonna stay home. And did I realize at that point that I was gonna have four children in six years? And so I guess somebody was working with me and picked out what needed to be done. So, so

[00:21:39] Gordon Strand: Were you, were you living at, on, uh, 57th then when you were married?

[00:21:44] Ruth Desrosier: Till we got married in '56.

[00:21:46] Gordon Strand: Oh, okay.

[00:21:47] Ruth Desrosier: Yeah. Said, I have to tell you, April 7th coming up, my husband and I will be married 70 years.

[00:21:56] Gordon Strand: Oh.

[00:21:57] Saundra Magnusson Martin: Congratulations.

[00:22:00] Ruth Desrosier: And we have 10, well, we had four children, a son, first and three daughters, and then we had 10 grandchildren, and now they're all married and we have 21 great-grandchildren.

[00:22:18] Gordon Strand: Oh my gosh. It's gonna be a big party.

[00:22:21] Ruth Desrosier: So I said,

[00:22:22] Saundra Magnusson Martin: tell us how you met your husband.

[00:22:24] Ruth Desrosier: Oh, I met him at the Ballard Ice Arena when I was 12 years old. And he came skating by and asked questions if I knew somebody. I said, yeah, I know they're from school. And a couple weeks later he knocked on my door up here. And of course I, you know, I talked to him outside. I, well, I would've been in big trouble if I, you know, we do, you know, my folks were pretty strict. So, yeah, so that's how I met my husband. And he was from Minnesota and I think he came out here with his parents. And, uh, he went to school at, uh, Catholic school. And then, um, he found my address somewhere or somebody told him or something. But that's how we met. And I. When I was 16, I got my engagement ring I'm still wearing.

[00:23:29] Saundra Magnusson Martin: Oh,

[00:23:31] Gordon Strand: Wow.

[00:23:32] Saundra Magnusson Martin: Well, tell us about, um, uh, the Ballard Ice Arena.

[00:23:36] Ruth Desrosier: Oh, that was my favorite place. I loved to skate and I don't know, it just seemed like all I wanted was a beautiful white pair of figure skates, but my parents were very frugal. So of course I got skates, but they were hockey skates and I didn't care. I was going to skate anyway. And I spent a lot of time, you know, down at the ice arena. And, uh, so I guess I thought, oh, I'm just going to skate and become, you know, partners and, you know, go into skating. But after I met that tall Frenchman. It's dark hair. It wasn't Norwegian, the whole, then we just, you know, that's,

[00:24:30] Gordon Strand: did you know the Hislop family that ran the,

[00:24:34] Ruth Desrosier: Hmm?

[00:24:34] Gordon Strand: Did you know the Hislop family that ran the ice arena?

[00:24:38] Ruth Desrosier: I don't remember that name.

[00:24:39] Gordon Strand: Okay. Bradley Hislop,

[00:24:42] Ruth Desrosier: I should remember, but, oh, there were like students that went to Ballard High School, you know?

[00:24:48] Gordon Strand: Mm-hmm.

[00:24:49] Ruth Desrosier: But, uh, no, I don't remember that name.

[00:24:52] Saundra Magnusson Martin: Did-

[00:24:53] Ruth Desrosier: but anyway.

[00:24:53] Saundra Magnusson Martin: Did they teach lessons at the ice arena? How did you learn to skate? Just on your own?

[00:24:59] Ruth Desrosier: Oh, just on my, yeah. We had a lot of time because, you know, dad was gone and mom didn't drive, so we didn't go on vacations until my brother went into the Navy as a Chief Petty Officer and my other brother did to the Army and was a infantryman and he was stationed out of the, uh, used to guard the Italian prisoners out in Tacoma, and so they were gone. So it was just my mom and I and so I had a lot of time and between the school and everything,

[00:25:42] Gordon Strand: Was it popular with a lot of students, uh, their ice arena?

[00:25:46] Ruth Desrosier: Oh, yes, yes. My brothers, especially my oldest brother, he got scholarships to, um, you know, school was over Pullman and uh, so he was one of those that went there and he, the war came along. So when I was seven years old, we got on a Greyhound bus. Dad was home, and we went to California to see my brothers before they went overseas. And that was my first trip anywhere. And it was interesting. And we got to see them. 'Cause my oldest brother was 16 years older than me, and then my other brother was 13 years older than me. So they were growing up and you know,

[00:26:42] Saundra Magnusson Martin: Did they serve together?

[00:26:44] Ruth Desrosier: No.

[00:26:45] Saundra Magnusson Martin: No. Okay.

[00:26:45] Ruth Desrosier: One was Navy, one was Army. Oh yeah. Okay. So that was how we spent those days.

[00:26:54] Saundra Magnusson Martin: What other kinds of things did you do growing up in Ballard? What activities did you, were, were you um, involved at the church or?

[00:27:04] Ruth Desrosier: We did. I was involved in church. I belonged to the Sunset Hill drill team and we marched in like Daffodil Parade. And we wore white cowboy boots and we wore gold blouses with our little vest. That was, and that started from Sunset Hill. Bunch of us, you know, they hit the bomb and the daughter trained us and we'd march at a parade and stuff. So that was fun.

[00:27:40] And, uh, sports, I didn't go skiing where a lot of Norwegian children, their parents, you know, they skied, but mom didn't like skiing and he was scared I was gonna get hurt. So of course I didn't get to go. But, uh, so we stayed pretty close to home. But I was involved with, there were friends at school and we had to walk of course, because we didn't have a car that, I had a car in the garage, but couldn't use it. And the day I turned 16, I was down getting my driver's license and I passed. And my mom was more excited than I was because now we had wheels that we could go shopping and we could go places, you know? So that was cool.

[00:28:34] Saundra Magnusson Martin: Did they have the 17th of May parade back then? Oh, okay.

[00:28:38] Ruth Desrosier: I never missed, we never missed a 17th of May. I've got a picture where my daughters would borrow bunas, you know, and my dad would carry the flags and they would march with my dad in the parade every 17th.

[00:28:54] Gordon Strand: Oh,

[00:28:54] Ruth Desrosier: We'd never miss the 17th of May, even when my dad was in a wheelchair, you know?

[00:28:59] Saundra Magnusson Martin: Mm-hmm.

[00:29:00] Ruth Desrosier: And of course, my mom and my dad would be part of their clubs, you know, they would do things together and that was always an important event. So that was very special.

[00:29:15] Saundra Magnusson Martin: And what did your parents think about this French man that you were dating?

[00:29:19] Ruth Desrosier: They could never pronounce his name right! Oh, yeah. Well, it ended up that, uh, my parents became friends with his parents and they lived up on Holman Road, and so they'd play cards together. And so it was really great, but I think my mom always wished I was gonna marry some nice Norwegian boy from Ballard. That didn't happen.

[00:29:52] Gordon Strand: So when you, you went to work eventually again with Pac Fish or who, who or with, who was?

[00:29:58] Ruth Desrosier: Oh, okay. I was a stay at home mom and by the time, oh, I guess it was after they were all in school then my dad was a local during the off season and we had a room at the Deep Sea Fishermen's Union building where all the retired fishermen, you know, would come and play pinochle every day. Well, my dad was a regular, so I got a call one day and he says, Ruth, you gotta come and help us. I says, well, what's wrong? He says, well, our secretary is in the hospital and we need someone to be in the office, you know, to answer phones and all this and that. I says, well, I'm bringing kids to school at nine o'clock in the morning, and then I don't have to pick 'em up till three, but I can give you six hours a day. So I started working at the Deep Sea Fisherman's Union.

[00:31:02] Gordon Strand: Where is that located?

[00:31:03] Ruth Desrosier: 5250 Ballard Avenue. Okay. They own that building. It was between Common and Campbell Pink. And the off- our offices were on the second floor. And, uh, it was an old building. It was built, I believe in 1904. And it was on the historical, I mean, you couldn't paint anything without getting permission from the, you know, they were very fussy about that. And then we, on the main level was the, uh, taverns, now it's called the tractor tavern. And then, uh, upstairs we rented office space to people that wanted to, like a lawyer, wanted an office space. So we rented some offices out and then the basement Common and Campbell needed more room for all their stuff. So they leased out the basement, uh, space. So our job was taking care of the building. And of course, all my. You know, the president advised all the fishermen would go fishing and I was there to take care of the building. So that was kind of, uh, I was interesting. Well, it ended up Martha never was able to come back because of her health. So I stayed.

[00:32:32] Saundra Magnusson Martin: How long did you stay, how long did you work there?

[00:32:34] Ruth Desrosier: I worked there for 21 years.

[00:32:37] Saundra Magnusson Martin: Wonderful.

[00:32:39] Ruth Desrosier: So when they were fishing actively, well if they were having a North Pacific Fishery Management Council meeting up in Anchorage or the Halibut Commission meeting or something important, then I would go to represent the union. And uh, at that time there were, you know, things going on that would change the look of the halibut fishery. But, so I'd go up there and, uh, stay, you know, and uh, it was interesting 'cause I'd go down and have breakfast and they'd look at me, who do you represent? You know, a Deep Sea Fisherman's Union. Oh, are you having halibut for breakfast? And so I'm not a great traveler anyway, but I, of course I blush like there was no tomorrow, so it was kind of embarrassing to me. So, but they were all, you know, it was very interesting 'cause I was as interested in what was going on that way too. And we were going through a new way of, of sharing the fishery.

[00:33:58] And so it was important because our vessel owners were always great. Their first, second generation, you know. And so the union and the vessel owners had an agreement called the satellite agreement. So it was a union plus vessel owners being the owners. And it was pretty good because that satellite agreement was how the shares were going to be divided. And, uh, you know, we were like a hiring call. So if somebody needed a job or a owner needed a crewman and we had lists and we, you know, would try to fill jobs and get our guys working. And they it, a great relationship between the two. And they were at Fisherman's Terminal and we were on Ballard Avenue.

[00:34:56] Gordon Strand: How many members were there approximately?

[00:34:59] Ruth Desrosier: Oh, I was, well that one book that my daughter had, oh my gosh, the union. And in the Deep Sea Fisherman's Union back, I think it was probably in the will, it says in the book, but they had over 900 members.

[00:35:13] Gordon Strand: Oh wow.

[00:35:13] Ruth Desrosier: And uh, you know, they, they tried to work together and we at the union were very anxious to make sure they all went out. And safety was always our big concern. So before the season started, we would get the Red Cross to come down and we'd take the hall downstairs and have meetings and do the first aid so all the crew would know how to take care of an emergency. That was important to us. And then every year before they went for the season, we'd have the Flat Fish Ball and it was a vessel owners and their wives family and the union and their friends and family and we would, uh, have a wonderful live music, food and we'd go different places. You know, we wouldn't always have it at the union building, but we, one year we did it at the Space Needle on the hundredth level. One year we had the, uh, uh, boat, a big, beautiful boat, the Christmas ship. Oh yeah.

[00:36:27] But we had them come to Fisherman's Terminal and tie up right by the vessel owner's office, and we'd have live music and we'd have, uh, I'd go around and get free gifts, you know, to raffle off and, oh, we, it was to get together with all together. It was so that, you know, it was like a big family. Very nice parties. We had a really nice time.

[00:36:56] Saundra Magnusson Martin: Did people really dress up for this occasion?

[00:36:57] Ruth Desrosier: Oh, yes, yes, yes, yes. It was fun. Yeah. So it was great.

[00:37:04] Saundra Magnusson Martin: So what, what years did you work, um, at the union?

[00:37:09] Ruth Desrosier: Uh, let's see. I worked there from 1980 till I quit 2002 because we sold our house in North Seattle and we had acreage up in Granite Falls and my two daughters lived up there. My son lived up there on the property. So my husband retired after all those years. And I said, no, I like my job. I'm going to keep on working. So I parked behind the building and I'd come in from Granite Falls and then I would drive home and then we'd have union meetings or something special and I'd have to stay. And it was dark when I went home. So after a year of that, I decided, I think it was time for me to give it up.

[00:38:04] Gordon Strand: Yeah. That was a long ride.

[00:38:06] Ruth Desrosier: Yeah. So I, I quit in 2002 and they had, the Flat Fish Ball was a kind of a combination, you know, party. And it was also my retirement party, so it was hard to leave, but I couldn't do the driving.

[00:38:25] Gordon Strand: Who were the heads of the union? What were the names that you remember that were?

[00:38:29] Ruth Desrosier: Oh, we had so many men names, but you know, you could sure see the Scandinavian names. Just, you know, cousins. I mean like the Fisherman's Memorial though. I mean, I've got people that are my relatives, you know, uncles and cousins and you know, and a lot of Scandinavian people.

[00:38:55] My brother was a school teacher after all, and he would go with my dad on the army and fish with a summer vacation. So wherever the boat was, he'd go and join my dad. But he was, he would cook on board and so he would join my dad fish with him.

[00:39:20] Gordon Strand: So you became involved with the Fisherman Memorial?

[00:39:23] Ruth Desrosier: Oh yes.

[00:39:24] Gordon Strand: Could you tell us about that, how that happened?

[00:39:26] Ruth Desrosier: Well, they decided we needed something special at Fisherman's Terminal.

[00:39:32] Gordon Strand: Who decided?

[00:39:33] Ruth Desrosier: Uh, I would say that between the vessel owners and the union, we wanted to have a special place. And so we got together. And so there was a representative from like vessel owners. I was the union representative. Uh, all the fishing groups had somebody on the Fishing Vessel Memorial Committee too, and I think the Halibut Wives Association, they had someone representing them. So it just became a group. And I think we started out with, I can't, I have to go down to the Fisherman's Terminal, look at the names again. But uh, the pastor of the Lutheran church here in Ballard, he was on their..

[00:40:25] Gordon Strand: Onset.

[00:40:26] Ruth Desrosier: Yeah. And so he was part of it. He was kind of the top person. And then we decided that, well, we're going to put the name out and tell the artists that they could bring what they felt would be a good thing to have there. They came with their ideas and then we'd walk around, look at them, and then we'd do elimination.

[00:40:55] And finally we got down to the last three, and that was pretty close. And he was gonna win, you know, big prize besides his statue would be there forever. And uh, so I remember when it got down to the close part, well his representation was my favorite, but we all voted, you know, secret ballot. And, uh, this artist had a beautiful display over Wallingford and his name was Ron Petty. And very nice gentleman. And so he got chosen as our artist to make this beautiful statue and design it and all. And, uh, at when he won, I said, Ron, I liked yours from the beginning. And I was very happy because it had a halibut on the top of the statue. And of course, that's what we fished for, was a halibut and, well, we called it, uh, sablefish, but it's black cod and scrap fish were all the other fish that they managed to get. So we had, uh, you know, good representation from all the different groups and all. So proud him. He was just a nice gentleman. So

[00:42:28] Gordon Strand: How did you fund it?

[00:42:31] Ruth Desrosier: Huh?

[00:42:31] Gordon Strand: How did you fund it? Pay for the statute?

[00:42:34] Ruth Desrosier: Oh, we, uh, I think we, all the groups donated, like vessel owners donated. The union donated all the groups that were involved. Uh, we'd have different occasions where we'd have money, raised money, uh, we would do the fisherman's parties at the well, Fall festival, but uh, then also down at, uh, for the meetings down at the downtown Seattle, we always had a booth and we always passed out information. And so a lot of that were donations coming in from all of us.

[00:43:15] Gordon Strand: Yeah.

[00:43:15] Ruth Desrosier: You know, people that lived in the community and stuff.

[00:43:18] Gordon Strand: You know, we talked to Ron Petty.

[00:43:21] Ruth Desrosier: Oh.

[00:43:21] Gordon Strand: And he gives you all credit for,

[00:43:23] Ruth Desrosier: Is he still? Yeah.

[00:43:24] Gordon Strand: He gives you all the credit for, uh, him winning that competition.

[00:43:28] Ruth Desrosier: Oh, I was, I was very happy.

[00:43:33] Gordon Strand: Yeah.

[00:43:34] Ruth Desrosier: 'Cause he was my favorite, but he was also a very nice person and he did a beautiful job. And then we'd always have a booth there. And what we would do, um, we would get the scientists at the UW, and when they're out on their missions getting all these different kinds of fish and they would freeze samples. And so the union would always have a booth and we'd give 'em all t-shirts to wear and they would come down and spend the whole day with us at, uh, Fisherman's Terminal. And it was so cute because the kids were so fascinated with all these fish. And of course they were frozen, but you know, they, you could feel and touch and the scientists would explain about the fish. And uh, so it was really a fun thing. We did it every year. We always had a booth, and then we'd have those salmon dinners too, and Oh wow. Those were popular. People would buy a whole. You know, seven dinner and that's probably where all the extra funds would come from.

[00:44:53] Gordon Strand: Yeah.

[00:44:54] Saundra Magnusson Martin: Do, do you remember about how many people were on this committee that chose the art?

[00:45:01] Ruth Desrosier: Oh,

[00:45:01] Saundra Magnusson Martin: Artist.

[00:45:02] Ruth Desrosier: You know, I would say, I'm going to just throw it out there because I can't remember. I would say at least 10 or 15. And like I say, they were all parts of the fisheries industry, but,

[00:45:15] Saundra Magnusson Martin: And how did they advertise for people to submit their ideas?

[00:45:21] Ruth Desrosier: Kind of what we were doing with the different things that were going on with, the groups would get together and we'd have a fundraiser. We'd always have brochures, you know, and somebody there to explain what we were doing. But yeah, it was very nice job. I loved that job. It was nice meeting all those nice people too that I didn't have contact with. Because we were halibut fishermen and a lot of the other fisheries, you know, the, all the different fleets outta Seattle. I mean, you know.

[00:45:59] Gordon Strand: Wow.

[00:46:00] Ruth Desrosier: So it was, it was a really nice thing 'cause we'd get together for meetings and, uh, we all would talk and vote and, oh, I if you, you've been over there too. Yeah. And now see they've taken contributions too, if you had a special person that passed away or.. hopefully no deaths at sea but we had those two and, uh, people could buy a plaque and they would charge so much for the plaque and it would have the name of the person. And what vessel may

[00:46:39] Gordon Strand: I have several relatives down there.

[00:46:41] Ruth Desrosier: Yeah. And, uh, that's another fundraiser that they would have to help pay for the maintenance and stuff.

[00:46:48] Gordon Strand: How about the, uh, annual blessing of the fleet?

[00:46:51] Ruth Desrosier: Oh yeah.

[00:46:52] Gordon Strand: Did that

[00:46:52] Ruth Desrosier: have,

[00:46:52] Gordon Strand: have something to do with

[00:46:53] Ruth Desrosier: Blessing of the fleet was put on by all of our groups.

[00:46:57] Gordon Strand: Okay.

[00:46:58] Ruth Desrosier: And it always happened before the season, and we'd go down to Fisherman's Terminal and they'd choose one of the boats that would represent the blessing of the fleet. So, um, family, friends, and they'd have, it was, you know, really special and they would always serve something, you know, there like something for the people to have. And that, that happened every year for sure.

[00:47:30] Gordon Strand: Usually. Is it April? I think,

[00:47:32] Ruth Desrosier: Yeah. Just before that season would start, before the boats all vacated to Alaska.

[00:47:38] Gordon Strand: Yeah.

[00:47:39] Saundra Magnusson Martin: So is the Port of Seattle responsible for maintaining the memorial? How, who, who makes sure that..

[00:47:46] Ruth Desrosier: I I'm sure they are. Yeah. I, I don't, but we would fund and have fundraisers and, you know, if we wanted to do something there and we'd pay for having group, uh, get togethers and stuff. But, uh, you know, it, it's, it was just a really special event and a lot of people, I mean, it's really sad when I think back, you know, when we'd have a tragedy and how important that the fishing vessel, you know, we'd all get together, you know, this, this is representing those poor people that lost their lives.

[00:48:33] Gordon Strand: Well, it's, you always see flowers on display and pictures. People that, 'cause that's, that don't have a gravesite, right?

[00:48:40] Ruth Desrosier: Yeah. We would, we would, uh, you know, just people come from out of town, you know, if they had loved ones that had, and you know, it's, it's all listed by the year that they passed away. And you get, if you go look, you'd be shocked at how many Scandinavian, I mean, you could tell this was definitely home port for all the Scandinavian fish.

[00:49:07] Yeah. And my dad, after he finished halibut and sablefish, he had a crew of five, then they would take off and go tuna fishing all the way, almost down to Mexico, you know, so it, uh, they took the whole coastline all the way up to the bearing sea and, you know, they fished the whole Pacific.

[00:49:33] Saundra Magnusson Martin: So what happened to your father's, uh, boat?

[00:49:37] Ruth Desrosier: Well,

[00:49:38] Saundra Magnusson Martin: When he retired?

[00:49:38] Ruth Desrosier: He decided he was gonna retire. Right? So the Artie of Seattle, um, they hired a skipper to run it up in le- Alaska, and I don't know who he sold the boat to, but uh, I guess one day it was tied up and the gentleman who was supposed to be in charge and skipper the boat, uh, went off to enjoy his evening at the local tavern and the lines came loose and the Artie ended up on the beach. The waves just beat the, beat her up. So that's where she ended up, at Kodiak on the beach.

[00:50:29] Gordon Strand: Oh gosh.

[00:50:30] Ruth Desrosier: So that was sad. But it was in the Kodiak paper, you. That, uh, I, I have it somewhere where the picture of it laying on it.

[00:50:40] Gordon Strand: What was the name of the boat?

[00:50:41] Ruth Desrosier: Artie.

[00:50:42] Gordon Strand: And why was, where did that come from?

[00:50:44] Ruth Desrosier: That was whoever owned it to start with.

[00:50:46] Gordon Strand: Oh.

[00:50:47] Ruth Desrosier: If they passed it on, you know, if you bought it, you were the Artie of Seattle. And we'd go down to government locks and watch her come home. And if the water was coming in on the deck, you know, oh, dad's got a good load. So, and then when they left, we'd all be there with tears coming down to s- see you later. You know? But it is interesting life.

[00:51:15] Saundra Magnusson Martin: So none of your brothers went into the fishing industry?

[00:51:19] Ruth Desrosier: Just my brother. That was the school teacher.

[00:51:22] Saundra Magnusson Martin: Yeah.

[00:51:22] Ruth Desrosier: He would go summers,

[00:51:23] Gordon Strand: Summertime.

[00:51:24] Ruth Desrosier: Yeah. At one time it was a story. Uh, my dad had gone off to sleep and my, he told my brother, you know, you're in charge. They were coming out of Alaska, heading for Seattle.

[00:51:38] And uh, my dad told him, he says, you follow the boat ahead of you. You know, that's when you know Joey. They, my brother's name in high school, Ballard was Joey. And he was real name Jomar.

[00:51:56] Gordon Strand: Jomar,

[00:51:56] Ruth Desrosier: but they all called him Joey.

[00:51:57] Gordon Strand: Yeah.

[00:51:59] Ruth Desrosier: Anyway, he had quite a sports history too. But anyway, so my brother was doing what his dad told him, right? So it just happened that the vessel was a Canadian vessel and she turned in to go into Canada and my dad woke up and he said, what the, what are you doing? And he, he said, you told me to follow. And oh, my dad wasn't very happy because he could've lost a whole load of fish. Oh. They would confiscate. If you got any Canadian waters.

[00:52:36] Gordon Strand: Oh boy.

[00:52:37] Ruth Desrosier: So anyway, that, that was kind of a story. My brother got in big time trouble.

[00:52:45] Gordon Strand: Oh.

[00:52:45] Ruth Desrosier: And then, you know, he was married and had a family and we had the Ballard house. And so when he was going the university to get his teacher's degree, he lived upstairs with his family in the duplex, 'cause it was a duplex from day one it was built.

[00:53:01] Gordon Strand: Oh, the house in 20, uh oh it was okay.

[00:53:05] Ruth Desrosier: So we always had Richs that lived upstairs. But, uh, anyway, good stories.

[00:53:15] Saundra Magnusson Martin: So what was it like for you as a woman in the 1980s to be representing the union? I mean, how were you treated?

[00:53:25] Ruth Desrosier: That was not my personality, let me tell you. And I had, I had been at the meetings and I listened and understood, you know, what was going on. And all I could do was sit down and pray that I wasn't the first person that called up. But if they did, I, I was ready to get up and tell 'em who I was, where I was from. And, uh, that, that was kind of lot of my, I wasn't used to that, but I had- somebody had to be there and our crew couldn't be there. Our officers were earning their living, you know, so I just kind of was the backup person, but I would've done it, you know?

[00:54:19] Saundra Magnusson Martin: Well, it's such a male dominated industry.

[00:54:22] Ruth Desrosier: Oh, oh,

[00:54:22] Saundra Magnusson Martin: I just wondered how they reacted to you.

[00:54:26] Ruth Desrosier: Yeah, well, that's what I'm saying. I, I. After that breakfast when they asked me if I was having halibut then I thought, I can't sit down there and blush like a silly kid, you know? So I ordered my breakfast cereal to my room. Oh no I wasn't, you know, but that's how it is, you know, it's very one sided. But, and then if, like me, I mean, I'm not a normal person that would go speak at big meetings or anything. That was on my line too. But I did it because I did it for the union and my dad joined the union in 1924 when he came from Norway.

[00:55:14] Gordon Strand: Wow.

[00:55:14] Ruth Desrosier: So we had a history and uh, the union meant a lot to me too, and I would stand up for that at any cost, you know, 'cause, but yeah. Okay.

[00:55:29] Saundra Magnusson Martin: In the union Hall itself, how did the vessel owners and the, uh, fishermen treat you?

[00:55:38] Ruth Desrosier: Oh, great. Always with respect.

[00:55:42] Saundra Magnusson Martin: Oh, that's good.

[00:55:43] Ruth Desrosier: And I was the only person at the office put at meetings or whatever. They'd come into a meeting and they would be talking and carrying on their business and stuff. And, and boy, if anybody talked out of line, uh. Oh. I'm sorry, Ruth. I mean, they treated me with a lot of respect, so I appreciated that.

[00:56:11] Saundra Magnusson Martin: That's nice to know.

[00:56:12] Ruth Desrosier: Yeah.

[00:56:13] Gordon Strand: Yeah. Well,

[00:56:16] Ruth Desrosier: So that was our life with the fishing business.

[00:56:20] Saundra Magnusson Martin: Oh, it sounds like a wonderful life.

[00:56:21] Ruth Desrosier: Oh, it was.

[00:56:22] Saundra Magnusson Martin: Your husband are still, uh, uh, together and enjoying life.

[00:56:27] Ruth Desrosier: Oh yeah.

[00:56:28] Saundra Magnusson Martin: Up there in Granite Falls.

[00:56:29] Ruth Desrosier: Oh yes, yes. And of course, like I say, oh, the other thing we did with the Halibut Commission, a hundred years, well, years ago with the Army, we had a halibut boat parade. And so we, uh, let all families get on their boats, decorate their boats, put lights and flags or whatever, and we would leave from down at Fishman's Terminal and we would head for the Port of Seattle. And the boats, the, the fireboats would meet us and they would go ahead of us all the way around to the, I think the first year, I know my dad took the Artie and all our family, my brother and his family. And Fred threw all on the Artie. And then when the Halibut Commission celebrated a hundred years, I thought, oh, wouldn't it be fun to do a halibut boat parade again? So we laid it up and we did what we did before, and, uh, fireboats showed up and we had, oh, it was awesome coming around. We did a port, uh, I think it was Pier 70. We had the Navy band playing. We had, my friends and I got together, made Norwegian open face, sandwiches, and we had food served, and it was great. We had a great response.

[00:58:11] Gordon Strand: Oh, wonderful.

[00:58:11] Ruth Desrosier: That was our second halibut boat parade. So that was really fun. Yeah.

[00:58:18] Saundra Magnusson Martin: So what kind of things do you do up there in Granite Falls? You don't miss all this activity with the union?

[00:58:24] Ruth Desrosier: I got, oh, no, I, I, I couldn't take the drive, but I did love my job. But still, Granite Falls, my brother-in-law lived next door,

[00:58:36] Saundra Magnusson Martin: Uh-huh,

[00:58:36] Ruth Desrosier: and he had 10 acres, so he had children. We didn't, but we had horses. So we would, you know, ride horses and go up on the trails up in, uh, Mountain Loop Highway and we'd ride across the river and we, at Larry and I with our horses and we had two colts that we raised, and he had a beautiful white Tennessee walker. And we'd go riding and every weekend we head up to Granite and lived in North Seattle.

[00:59:18] And, uh. Uh, my brother-in-law with his family next door, they, they loved to go up and camp and all that, so that's what we did too. And it was odd. I'm so happy that we had the property and uh, my son lived on the property first and then my middle daughter that you've met, Marcy, she raised her family there and the kids have lived there for 30 some years.

[00:59:50] Gordon Strand: Wow.

[00:59:51] Ruth Desrosier: So, I mean, that's been their home. We subdivided and each lot and each lot was two and a half acres and they ride motorcycles and they just love it. The kids now are in that same where my kids were when we first had our family, and so it's been a wonderful life. We had family next door and they worked together and yeah. So we'd go horseback riding. I was from Ballard. I wasn't ever on horses. I never got to go to a farm or ride horses. So it was, uh, new learning for me, but I got over it really, you know, have loved, and my husband clicks well, he has a, he had a hot rod okay, in the fifties. And so he'd come around cruising Ballard High School and, uh, it's a little 36 3 window Ford, coupe ELs, beautiful little car. So we called her the jewel.

[01:01:08] Gordon Strand: He still has it.

[01:01:08] Ruth Desrosier: And so he took me to Northgate to show me how to shift and learned how to drive it. And uh, so I had to learn how to do stick shift and he said I left half the tires in the parking lot. But so he, I had that and then we had a family car, a 59 a, a Cameo Rose that was like a big boat. But anyway, that was a family car and that's what I drove. So we called her the pink lady, so we still have 'em, they're in the garage. And then he went into taking a little farm Ford tractor and rebuilt and painted it all up. And then we've got another tractor that's ready to put together. It's all paid and ready to go. That's what he does. That's what his all is. So

[01:02:09] Saundra Magnusson Martin: Keeps him out of trouble.

[01:02:11] Ruth Desrosier: Oh yeah. Yeah. And we go to car shows. Wilson, we belonged to the Falcons of Seattle. It was a hot rod club out of Ballard High School. We'd have car shows and we'd meet at the Triple X on 15th Northwest over there and all Park and you know, have our own little car shows and stuff. And Larry's '36 has where the, uh, trunk lid goes up and down hydraulic and the windows are hydraulic. And so we'd go cruising Golden Gardens or over the Ballard Bridge and he would hit the button and we would wave the lid of the truck, get the cart behind us.

[01:02:59] We actually got invited to California Hot Rod Magazine, celebrated their magazine. And because we'd been in the car shows and because our picture of the car had been in the, uh, car show and magazine. We got invited free of charge to go down to Pomona, California. So we hauled down there with the '36 and the whole family came and we went to a car show with the hot rod.

[01:03:33] Gordon Strand: Well, that's great. I think. Yeah, this has been wonderful. Oh, I really thank you so much for,

[01:03:38] Ruth Desrosier: I said I'm gonna let you ask me questions because I can talk forever, but

[01:03:42] Gordon Strand: Oh,

[01:03:43] Saundra Magnusson Martin: No, you haven't.

[01:03:44] Gordon Strand: I think we've covered the..

[01:03:45] Saundra Magnusson Martin: Very interesting story.

[01:03:47] Ruth Desrosier: Well...

[01:03:49] Saundra Magnusson Martin: Really appreciate you sharing that.

[01:03:50] Ruth Desrosier: Brought the magazine or the paper, newspaper that they wrote up for the Ballard, uh, story about us.

[01:03:58] Saundra Magnusson Martin: Yeah.

[01:03:58] Ruth Desrosier: We came across a really nice gentleman that liked to find special cars that had special memories and, and he asked if he could work with us. And they were the nicest couple. And he, we ended up with a big picture of our '36 that he did. He wrote the story of the paper.

[01:04:21] Gordon Strand: I think we have copies.

[01:04:22] Ruth Desrosier: Yeah. And...

[01:04:23] Saundra Magnusson Martin: it's right over there on the table too.

[01:04:25] Ruth Desrosier: Yeah.

[01:04:26] Saundra Magnusson Martin: In color.

[01:04:26] Ruth Desrosier: Yeah. Such a nice, beautiful, him and his wife, we come to our house in Granite. We'd just sit and visit and, and he wrote the nicest story up and it was really a pleasure to meet them.

[01:04:40] Saundra Magnusson Martin: Yeah. Yeah.

[01:04:40] Ruth Desrosier: So that was fun. But yeah, that, uh, that's,

[01:04:46] Gordon Strand: Well someday you, you will get a copy of the video,

[01:04:49] Ruth Desrosier: Oh,

[01:04:50] Gordon Strand: for your family.

[01:04:51] Ruth Desrosier: Well, I hope it turns out kind of like what you want. I, I told my daughter, I said, well, I like to talk, but you know, you can ask me and I'll hopefully have an answer. So that's how it worked out. But...

[01:05:04] Gordon Strand: Yeah,

[01:05:05] Ruth Desrosier: we have good memories and my husband's always been there, everything that we needed to do together too. So, yeah.

[01:05:14] Gordon Strand: Oh, that's wonderful.

[01:05:15] Ruth Desrosier: I can't believe, well, I could say, when I think about it now, I think, oh, April 7th, 70 years, where's the time going? I don't feel bad's.

[01:05:28] Saundra Magnusson Martin: Wonderful. That's wonderful.

[01:05:30] Gordon Strand: I mean, that's, that's amazing actually.

[01:05:32] Ruth Desrosier: Yeah.

[01:05:32] Saundra Magnusson Martin: Oh yeah.

[01:05:33] Ruth Desrosier: Yeah.

[01:05:34] Saundra Magnusson Martin: Wonderful.

[01:05:34] Ruth Desrosier: So anyway, yeah, we've had a good life and we have our wonderful family and they're so great because they are very helpful.

[01:05:44] Gordon Strand: Yeah.

[01:05:44] Ruth Desrosier: And now they live like our neighbors. I mean, they're right on the property with us, so.

[01:05:50] Gordon Strand: Oh, that's great.

[01:05:51] Ruth Desrosier: But I, Larry still has his driver's license. It's good till 95. He's 95 and I got mine renewed.

[01:05:59] Gordon Strand: Is that right? Good till 95, huh?

[01:06:02] Ruth Desrosier: Yeah. Well, it came in the mail. Isn't that amazing? It came in the mail and you thought, well, you just fill it out and send it in.

[01:06:11] Gordon Strand: Wow.

[01:06:11] Ruth Desrosier: And they sent him back his driver's license. Now I had to go down, so I thought, okay, I'm gonna go in if I don't get my driver's license. Well that's that. So I went, I got here fixed and got, my daughter took me down, we went down, got. So I just had a positive attitude. Nice gentleman. And oh, he says, take your picture. Oh, okay, good. So I got my license renewed too. So we both can drive till we're mid nineties. Yeah. But I don't, because I don't see that well. So I, the kids have a fit if they think that we're gonna go, well, Larry drives all over the place, but we have a motor home. So the motor home has always been our go-to vacations.

[01:07:05] We love camping. And the kids, since they were little, started out in the back of a pickup truck, moved up to a little trailer up to the motor home I got from Valentine's Day, brand new and we still have it. And that's, he was a driver too for Fentron Highway products. So he hauled all the way to Arizona, Portland, all over the place. So he's a good driver. Anyway, that's the story.

[01:07:41] Saundra Magnusson Martin: Well, we appreciate you sharing your family history with us. Yeah, I will. Thank you so much.

[01:07:46] Ruth Desrosier: I hope you, you know, it's what you were planning.

[01:07:51] ​