This oral history interview with Velma A. Lake was conducted by Amy Kesselman on May 20, 1980. In this interview, Lake discusses her experience as a scaler and a welder at Commercial Iron Works in Portland, Oregon, during World War II. She describes her job duties, discusses her union membership as a scaler, and talks about her child care arrangements. She talks about people she worked with and discusses the diversity of the shipyard workforce. She describes the protective clothing she wore, talks about how women were treated by male coworkers, and speaks about her life after the end of the war.