(Airdate: January 9, 2024) Maryanne interviews Rita Beebe, a 7th generation Port Townsend native. As one of nine kids, Rita realized she’d have to figure out how to pay for college largely by herself. So she joined the military with an eye on the GI bill. The University of Washington came next. Both Rita and her husband ended up at the Dept. of Defense. Their first foreign posting was Korea and they arrived with three toddlers in tow and one on the way. Interestingly, child care was excellent — allowing Rita to run all of the base’s youth programs. Later their posting took them to Germany and they soon they added two more kids to their brood. Once again, Rita was in charge of a complex web of youth programs and sports teams. Childcare in Germany exceeded all childcare options back home! Rotation back to the USA came as the kids were nearing high school age. They opted to move back home to PT but money was tight. So the hometown girl got a hometown job — at the mill. She was soon one of the exceedingly rare women — a 5’3” woman working alongside the guys on the floor of the mill. No office job for Rita!
