Archives West Finding Aid

Mrs. Kaiser's paternal great-grandfather was granted a large tract of land for logging in White Russia. Her grandfather was a student under private tutelage until he was drafted at age 18. Her father studied Jewish and secular subjects until age 17 when he moved to another city and, under an assumed name, married one year later, in 1911. Escaping the draft, he came to Ellis Island and, in 1912, arrived in Calgary where he taught Hebrew school. He briefly reunited with his father who was then living in Spokane. Her father moved with his wife and children to Seattle where he also taught. Ethel Kaiser attended school while her father left the family for one year to start a dry cleaning business in Spokane. He returned and expanded the Liberty Dye Works to Seattle. He lost this business during the Depression only to begin again later on a smaller scale. Mrs. Kaiser's brother drowned in 1935 while attempting to save a friend, William Prottas, who also died. She then left the UW Law School where she was a first year student, and married in 1937, afterward becoming very active and influential with Hadassah. She and her family moved to Israel in 1962 where she continued her fund-raising work. During an extended vacation to Seattle she injured herself, making travel difficult. At the time of her interview she did not plan to return to Israel.