Washington DC

Because jobs were so scarce in Hibbing, Hedvig and her friends took the civil service course so they would qualify for a job with the U.S. Government. They wanted to leave Hibbing … to travel.

Hedy (right) at her desk in Washington DC

The first call from Washington DC was for a job with the War Department. Hedy wasn’t ready to leave. The next call was from the Internal Revenue Service and off to Washington DC she went! It was July of 1941.

In the beginning there were three roommates, then four. How exciting Washington DC was for them.

The girls had very little money. Hedy would do the same thing her mother had done during the depression years … save her pennies in a jar for “emergencies.”

After payday they would host a big dinner for all of their friends and then eat like mice the rest of the week. They usually had dates at least three nights a week, and during dinner they would stash rolls in their handbags. They would also ask their dates for a dollar to pay the ladies room attendant, then stand out of sight for a little while and keep the dollar.

In December the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, and the US went to war. One week later, Hedy applied to work at a newly organized government agency … the Office of Strategic Services, the OSS.

Why? “The Internal Revenue was a bore.”