Elsie Flink
1894 – 1996
Elsie was born on November 8, 1894 in Worcester, Massachusetts. Her parents were Hilma Flink and Karl E. Flink and genealogy records indicate that Hilma and Karl immigrated from London to the United States, though they were originally from Sweden. Hilma died when Elsie was a small child, and she and her brother went to live with relatives. Olaf William Flink was Elsie’s brother. He served in the military as a Chief Mechanic. He died of Meningitis in a hospital in France in 1918. Elsie married in 1918, but her husband left her shortly after and she remained independent.
For much of her adult life, Elsie worked in Waterbury factories. For a time she worked at the Waterbury Watch Company where she painted the glow-in-the-dark numbers onto the clocks. A radium girl – because workers were encouraged to lick the brushes to get a finer point, Elsie participated in a long-term study on the effects of radium poisoning, though she was never open about its effects on her. Elsie also worked at Scovill
Manufacturing Company. In the 1950s she inherited a small house in Middlebury, which can be seen photographs. Later in her life, she lived at the Elton Hotel.
Elsie was a member of St. John’s church in Waterbury and was active in their choir and volunteered with the church’s elderly feeding program. She had been a member of the church since she was 13 years old. In a newspaper article celebrating her 100th birthday, Elsie told the reporter that she once driven a car at 90 miles an hour. Elsie loved cats and several photographs from the 1990s depict her holding one or two cats on her lap. Being a Radium Girl, Elsie used to say that she glowed in the dark. She was incredibly smart, feisty, independent, and well loved by everyone who met her.
For much of her adult life, Elsie worked in Waterbury factories. For a time she worked at the Waterbury Watch Company where she painted the glow-in-the-dark numbers onto the clocks. A radium girl – because workers were encouraged to lick the brushes to get a finer point, Elsie participated in a long-term study on the effects of radium poisoning, though she was never open about its effects on her. Elsie also worked at Scovill
Manufacturing Company. In the 1950s she inherited a small house in Middlebury, which can be seen photographs. Later in her life, she lived at the Elton Hotel.
Elsie was a member of St. John’s church in Waterbury and was active in their choir and volunteered with the church’s elderly feeding program. She had been a member of the church since she was 13 years old. In a newspaper article celebrating her 100th birthday, Elsie told the reporter that she once driven a car at 90 miles an hour. Elsie loved cats and several photographs from the 1990s depict her holding one or two cats on her lap. Being a Radium Girl, Elsie used to say that she glowed in the dark. She was incredibly smart, feisty, independent, and well loved by everyone who met her.