Interview with Katherine Goade

1. How old were you when you started school at Sheldon Jackson?
"I started when I was twelve years old, just a little girl."

2. How long were you at Sheldon Jackson?
"I went there for all five years. It started at seventh grade and went all the way through to twelfth grade."

3. What made you decide to go there?
"Many of my friends were going to Sheldon Jackson, and I knew I didn't want to go to a public school. I decided to go with my friends and be with them. It wasn't unusual for us to go to boarding schools, we didn't have regular high schools. We had a choice to go, so we chose to go. I would do it all over again."

4. Did you have any friends go with you?
"Most of my friends went with me, but I made friends too when I arrived. Most of the friends I have today I met at Sheldon Jackson."

5. What things did you like and dislike about Sheldon Jackson?
"I liked it because it was like a big family. There were about 150 girls, and soon we all knew each other. It had good teaching and the teachers were very nice. It was very strict though. It was a Christian school,(laughs) so we were watched very closely!

6. Were women offered a different education than men?
"We had home economics where we learned how to cook, sew and make menus. Stuff like that. We had a practice house and we would paint it and furnish it. We only went to school for part of the day, we worked part time and then we would have two hours of study hall every evening."

7. What were your favorite subjects?
"Science, I liked my science classes, and the teachers were very good."

8. Was it hard to be away from your family?
"No, not really!(laughs) I missed them a little at first, but I got over it. It wasn't that bad because I had relatives close by, I would visit them on the weekends. I kept very busy, and I was having fun"

9. Were there students who went to school with you, and later went on to be known leaders for the native people?
"The only one I can think of is John Borbridge, he was the first president of Sealaska I think. He was a good leader. There weren't too many people that went to school the same time I did, not like founders of corporations, no, not that was more before me."

10. Was speaking Tlingit prohibited, or was it allowed?
"Well, it wasn't encouraged, I don't think we really knew how to speak Tlingit, at least I didn't. The school was heavily religion."