- T4088:0008
- Item
- 1 Jun. 1983
Part of Behind the Kitchen Door project oral history collection
The item consists of an audio interview with Charlotte Crawford recorded in Victoria, B.C. on June 1, 1983.
Tape summary:
Track 1: Charlotte Crawford was born in Victoria in 1915. Her father died when she was very young, leaving her mother with 5 children to support on a widow's pension. Talks about home and appliances. Daily diet. Took home economics in grade 7 and 8 (around 1926). Teacher was Miss Blackenbaum. Talks about female roles -- girls were expected to be gentle, feminine things, who could sew and cook and do very few sports. Very obvious to her that boys and girls had very different roles.
Track 2: Worked at Spencer's Store during the Depression. In 1937 she went to the Motor Vehicle Branch to work and stayed there until 1977. Became the first female administrator of the Motor Vehicle Branch in 1974. In 1955 had her own home built. Could have had financial assistance from the national housing scheme if a male co-signed. Purchased the home on her own.