On a visit to Skien, Norway, my grandmother pointed out this home. "See that house? When I was twelve years old I got my first job working as a maid in that house." Grandma was twelve in 1912. I am aware that it was very common for a child of that era to be finished with school and out working in an adult capacity at a young age. Her parents sent her to work at twelve? I think I was still playing with Barbie dolls at that age. Grandma told me she had developed early and appeared older than her age. "I was a sturdy girl" she bragged. Twelve, and my grandmothers childhood was over.
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