I remember Edith Key. I can’t remember dates or years specifically but she was involved in Signal Hill activities, going on outings with the senior group, and functions in the park.
She was honored in 1996 as the Outstanding Older American for the City of Signal Hill by vote of the residents of the City, and then joined honorees from cities throughout the county of Los Angeles in the celebration at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.
Sometimes we could get her to tell us stories of her cruise ship travels, some of them of several months duration. She claimed that she enjoyed traveling solo; she met and made so many friends and had fun visiting many new places and experiences.
Edith was invited to be the speaker at one of my Susan B. Anthony Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution meetings to share some of her experiences as a nurse in the European Theater during WWII. She was an outstanding speaker as she relayed tales of the horrors they dealt with daily, around the clock, interspersed with tales so hilarious we were bursting with laughter.
About four years ago I was on a day trip, probably with the Signal Hill Seniors, to the flower fields in Carlsbad, California. Our bus was just unloading its passengers, and there was Edith, standing with a group getting ready to board their small bus back to Freedom Village, where she was then living. We had never been so-called buddies when she was in Signal Hill, but it was just so good to see her. We had a brief visit and exchanged addresses. With that, she was added to my annual Christmas letter list.
I too was born in 1919, did my patriotic duty on the home front, as a Rosie the Riveter, with no comparison whatsoever to what those magnificent brave nurses did on the battlefields. I am proud to have had the opportunity to, however briefly, make the acquaintance of this interesting lady.
R.I.P., Edith.
Marjorie (Posner) Grommé
Bixby Knolls
