Maggie Hoelscher
(Lurvaleria)

Maggie was born at Qissunaq (Kashunak) on September 30, 1913. "I was the only daughter and I had only one brother. We stayed with my uncle and grandma who was very old. My uncle had no wife."

"My mom used to tell me never to stay with a person whom I didn't know well, or to go with some boy even though he wanted to go with me -- never to listen to him. While my mom was working I used to watch her and I learned what she used to work. She used to make parkas, Eskimo rain coats, and when she made them I used to watch her carefully even though I did not make these things.''

"I remember we had a wood stove they used to heat water on. My dad used to drink tea alone with me. My grandma and mother never liked drinking tea or coffee; my grandma didn't like baked bread either because a long time ago they never used to eat it. But my mother and I used to eat it because we liked it and we didn't get it very much. We only had it after my dad went to see the Gussuk over at Scammon Bay. When he came back my mom used to bake a lot of bread and boil hot water for tea in two big kettles. Then the men came over to our house to drink tea. Our house used to be full of men in those days because they really liked tea, and they really liked to eat baked bread too. The first time my dad saw shoes he bought me a pair that had some fur around them. Even though they were too big for me, I used to wear them. I really thanked him for buying me those shoes because I liked the way the heels stomped on the floor. I kept walking back and forth with those shoes on just listening to them stomp. My grandma and my brother and I used to play house too. We pretended to eat with play dishes and little bits of food my grandma gave us.

interview by Edna Lake