Evelyn Kuhajda Watts, a first-generation American, was resilient, hardworking and independent-minded. Hers was a life of kindness, for her family, neighbors, coworkers, friends and every dog, cat, squirrel and bird that crossed her path. She left to her family a treasure trove of photographs which are published in this book. Highlights of Volume 1 include her times at Ridgefield High School in Connecticut; trips with her mother Marion to Stara Tura, Slovakia; life as a "Government Girl" in Washington, D.C.; marriage during World War II; and the birth and early years of five children. She worked for the Chief of Engineers at the Pentagon during World War II, as a secretary to Marjorie Merriweather Post Davies, and was a long-time employee of Sears Roebuck & Company in Washington, D.C.