Life is an Adventure: An interview with Rita Kline

 Rita Kline was born the second of four children on June 8, 1918 in Green Bay, Wisconsin to Albert and Ann Gunn.  Perhaps the seeds of her lifelong adventures began as she watched her maternal grandfather “knit” his commercial fishing nets; mesmerized for hours as he placed the nets on a revolving reel and carefully applied tar as he finished a section to preserve the net.  They never had an actual conversation because he only spoke Kashubian, a language from his homeland near the Baltic Sea between Poland and Germany

Rita remembers her mother being quite popular with local children, so neighbors would frequent the house they grew up in.  She was never afraid of anything and loved being outdoors; particularly outdoor games at night, and the freedom they were allowed that came with a feeling of safety and internalized guidelines of right and wrong. 

Rita always wanted to be a hairdresser, and attended beauty school in Milwaukee after high school.  At her mother’s request, she returned home for a short time after completing the program, but before long a hairdressing client made an offer she couldn’t refuse.  The young woman worked for Standard Oil and was driving to California the next day.  Rita commented that she'd love to go, and the woman had room in her car.  The next thing she knew, Rita and her younger sister, who had just graduated from high school, were off to California! 

The car trip itself, which took about a week, was quite an adventure.  At the time, automobiles were only permitted to travel 35 miles per hour to save fuel due to gas rationing.  Rita typically drove the ‘night shift’ and made up a bit of time as she traveled 60 MPH while the others were sleeping.  While driving through Iowa, the women met 4 young police officers who took them on quite a joy ride, hitting speeds of 100 MPH in the police car.  They had so much fun that they stayed over an extra night, and in retrospect Rita is surprised they didn't stay forever!

Rita’s Aunt and Uncle lived in the Wilshire district of L.A., and the two sisters were invited to live with them.  She quickly found a hairdressing job on Wilshire Blvd. through a family friend and her adventurous spirit also led her to meet her husband-to-be, Ken Kline, the very first Sunday she was there.  They met while strolling down Wilshire Blvd. as Rita and her sister were returning home from church.  Ken, from Ohio, and his Navy buddy called out, "Hello girls” and since they were also new to the area asked what there was to do.  Rita invited them to the house, and her Aunt promptly invited them for dinner. Her Uncle was impressed with the young men and let the four use his car after dinner to explore the area.  There was an immediate attraction between Rita and Ken, and they ended up seeing each other almost daily for three weeks before Ken left for the South Pacific.  Upon his return two years later, they were married in California on December 17, 1945. The couple then embarked on a three month honeymoon adventure to “meet the families” before returning to California where her Aunt and Uncle had built a second floor apartment for Rita and Ken to live.   

At age 94, Rita has enjoyed every stage of her life.  She loved her youth, marriage, and raising two sons.  Her husband passed on 10 years ago, and she fell in love a second time to a man who has also since passed.  As with Ken, the attraction was immediate, and they had a lovely time together.  Yes, at age 94 Rita still has a lot of adventure left in her, so be careful not to judge this (or any) book by its cover!

Reflecting on changes over time, Rita feels that people were more trusting when she was growing up.  You expected people to be ok and do the right thing-and they were/did.  She does believe people are more trustworthy than they’re given credit for, although some seem to lack the internalized guidelines or moral compass that helped her make good decisions.  Regarding openness, she doubts families are even equipped to invite extra people to dinner like her Aunt did; much less inviting a stranger into the home. 

Rita’s parting comments on an adventurous life well lived:  Seize the moment and follow

your dreams.  She’s continuing to love life and wouldn’t change a thing if she were to live life over. Yes, she made mistakes (no one’s perfect), but mistakes provide valuable lessons.  If you’re confident that everything will be alright and trust yourself, life will work out well.

May the adventure continue!