Hardworking, responsible, and compassionate are just a few words of many to describe my grandma, Charlotte Verhoeven. While sitting down with her recently, she shared with me her experiences over the past 66 years of her life. Her face was full of concentration as she reminisced decades of memories that flooded into the interview. Her life was not easy, but she worked hard to get through tough situations in her childhood.
Charlotte started off in Wagner, South Dakota, born on June 29, 1949. Six months later her family moved to Auburn, Washington to find better employment after World War II. She vividly remembered the small community that had all the retail stores on Main Street, such as the bank, library, and grocery store. The elementary
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It’s through these times that she was able to mature and to come of age. As Charlotte herself even said, “I don’t think coming of age is a number whether you are 18 or 21, it’s when you’ve reached your peak”. Her peak happened to be her transition from Auburn to Everett. From a rough childhood that demanded her to work a harder than a typical girl, to a strong and successful woman, Charlotte Verhoeven found ways to grow as a person. All that she learned through her childhood and through her moving experience has helped her become the person she is now. Even though she didn’t get to travel often as a child, she now travels to many states across the country with her husband. They made a goal in 2001 to travel to all 50 states. They still have 20 more to visit and they plan on traveling more next fall. She is a determined woman with so many attributes to look up to. She didn’t necessarily live a wealthy life, but she has lived a life spending time with her family and loved ones and sometimes that’s more fulfilling. She learned so many things to get to where she is today and to come of age. The one piece of advice she wants to leave with her grandchildren is to, “dream big, laugh often, and have a forgiving