Memoir Monday, September 9, 1966

 

September 9 1966

What a difference a mere week could make. Even today it almost makes me dizzy. Space travel? Time Travel? Reincarnation? Magic? None of the above yet all of them. Bear with me for I need to take it day by day leading up to September 9, 1966. That ending entry will be the grande finale or climax of this long and often very hard summer. Even of my 23 year long life in some ways.

Sept 3, 1966 

At times I could cheerfully say “Aw, hell with the whole damn mess. Go cram it up your ears.” I’m tired of this buck passing deal, ready to say to hell with the whole thing. Who is supposed to be doing what?? But one doesn’t. I have to give it a good rodeo try. The fight isn’t over, is it?  

Then I wrote nothing for the 4^th and 5^th, which was the Labor Day weekend. I assume I had labor aplenty and probably quite a few discouraging words at my ‘home on the range.’

Sept 6, 1966

Things have really been spinning today. I got a $100 check from Glenn Wright (Dollars for Scholars), four times as much as I had expected. I could’ve cheered. And I have a letter for Dr McDonald from Dr Joe Pecharich. That should help. I am almost hopeful. The past two days have really been hectic. We caught the whole herd in Tavasci’s on Sunday, then took Cinder to Nichols’ and brought home Baltazar (a mule we had already given that name) and a red horse. This was some kind of trade as I recall. One that took a lot of running…

Then it was up at 4:30 a.m. on Monday to help the herd “disappear” and after that we mended fences, branded Balt etc. So wonder why I am tired?  Today I cleaned all the pens and did some repairs. Then I packed my stuff. I have no way of being sure I can stay but I’d say it is better than 50-50. I will be living in North Hall by the way.

So now to bathe and drag my weary bones off to bed. I’m going to wear my ‘butterfly’ kabuki sleeve skimmer. Doubt if there will be a more special occasion for awhile, so why not? It will be early up. We hauled hay today too. Boy, I am bushed. But maybe… I think I can, I think I can.

Dr McDonald was Louis McDonald who was then the president of NAU. Years before he had been the superintendent of Jerome Schools, so of course Dr Pecharich knew him. Dad actually did too and had taken photos of the high school graduation (in the same auditorium in which I graduated  in 1962) way back about 1947 or 48, when we were still new in Jerome.  Earlier I mentioned the “butterfly” fabric used in the dress I planned to wear  I cannot quite recreate the dress to sketch it but at one time I had said I might be married in it--right after Dusty left in March with our promise fresh in my mind. The whole issue with the herd is very vague now and where we ‘hid’ them stirs no memory at all. The trade with Bill Nichols had been made a few weeks earlier and was finally completed. Why the Boss would add more animals with the  looming possibility my daily work was going to cease, I have no idea! I guess he really did not expect that to happen. I guess I didn't either. But it did… September 7, 1966 is a blank page in the red notebook I was using for my journal. I covered it the next day, so here is that:

September 8, 1966

I lie here on my bed in Morton Hall at 4:00 PM and wonder “Wha’ happened?” We came up yesterday and waited until 1:00 to see Dr. McDonald, but it was perfect because he had a scholarship meeting at 2:00.  Meanwhile I moved into the dorm and met my roommate,  a ditzy blonde named Kim Korte from Phoenix. She reminded me a bit of Judy Crawford. The Boss went to town and returned about 5:00. He gave me all the cash he had,, about $15, and I signed the $100 check over to him. I ate in the dining hall the first time, went to the “President’s Reception” (for new students) and finally in bed to sleep.

This morning I woke at 6:30 and got up. Went to breakfast and reported to Dr. McDonald early. He was very jovial and sent me to see Dr. Schroeder, financial aid officer.  I waited a long while but it was worth it. I got a scholarship and grant totaling $600 per semester. I won’t have to work, just study like hell, make good grades, and enjoy myself.  I’m not sure what has happened but it has to have been miraculous! Then I went to see Dr. Downum who is my academic advisor. He is an absolute doll, really. He encouraged me to skip PE: “We hope they won’t catch up with it.” Now isn’t that nifty? So now all I have to do is register tomorrow morning and pick up my scholarship check and pay my fees.  I am so surprised and overwhelmed I hardly know what to say! I’ve been shopping most of the afternoon and now with Eve’s curse, I am exhausted but I think the walking helped. I’m going to relax ‘til dinner time. There is a tea and a movie this evening. I may go to one or both. I say “Why me?” but with a happy incredulity this time!

September 9, 1966

Standing in line all day is a killing deal. I was there from 7:00 until 11:00 Sheesh. But I got registered all right and got all my classes and will be done by 3:00 on Friday afternoons. That is about as good as I could ask, really. I went shopping again this afternoon. You can sure run through money in a hurry. But I get a $300 check Monday. With that I‘ll pay tuition, one period of room and board and buy books. That will about kill it but there is another $300 on the way. I whiled way the evening writing letters and reading and didn’t go to bed until 12:00. Shame, huh? But this fine leisure ends soon, like on Monday. I have four lousy classes on Monday.

Now for some explanations and clarifying and maybe asides. going back to the first few days. My brief high after the dinner with Mr McL faded fast as things were not very pleasant over that long weekend. I am not sure why I got discouraged but I did. There may have been some more papers to fill out and I had trouble getting cooperation on that.  But then September 7 happened. It passed in a blur. We stopped by the pasture on the way to Flagstaff; I am sure.  I guess Mom and Charlie Mike could have gone  but the boys were in school now. I can’t remember if I wore chore clothes and changed--I must have but that is a blank. We got to Flagstaff late morning and arranged the meeting with Dr McDonald. I almost held my breath but Dad pulled out "the charming" (whew)  and it went well. Still, all the rest of the day I was waiting. When was the sudden blow up, the shocking brutal emotional blackmail fit going to happen? I almost knew it would, so I was ready to say, “Just forget it. Take me home.” Somehow that never came. I still wonder at times. It may not have been cricket for me to give that $100 check to my family but no one ever said a word about it. That was not the only time I did such. 

I know today the idea of $600 for a semester’s expenses in collage is really shocking, almost unimaginable. It was not then. Remember, that seemed like riches to me--one who had bought postage by turning in pop bottles and celebrated when my grandma sent  $1.00 with her frequent letters. As the semester went on, she upped that to $5,00 a month and Uncle Dan sent me $100 a time or two. In all, I got by just fine. 

Don’t misunderstand "a doll";  Dr Downum was totally not a ‘hunk’ or a hot guy! He was about 60 and looked a perfect professor, slightly dowdy and very bookish. But he was very kind and always treated me like a daughter or granddaughter, gentle suggestions,  supportive,  encouraging and truly one of my rocks as I made this abrupt and almost impossible adjustment to morph from a cowboy girl into a coed! Today I could still drop to my knees and offer a hymn of thanks to those Powers that did this for me. No, it was not all sunshine and roses because real life is not, but it was mostly a huge blessing and I was never ungrateful and certainly had few regrets. My link to the prior life continued, weekends and holidays. It was not really severed  for a bit over a year  (fall 1967) and that roman ride held its share of rough points, but I always had the place in my new life to return to which I could count on. 

Photos.  Morton Hall, part of the North Quad women's dorm which ended up being my home for two years with a brief break down to Wilson Hall the summer between them. I carried my suitcase and a couple of boxes up those stairs that afternoon September 7, 1966. Then the red covered steno notebook that I bought in July 1966 which came to hold the record of this incredible saga! And the 'butterfly' fabric mentioned earlier that came from my California adventure.  I had debated what to make with it and  the special dress finally emerged. Wish I had a picture of it. I really loved it.