The College Years

My parents did not want me to go away to College so I went to the local extension of William and Mary.  It was a little more difficult getting around than they had anticipated.  I ended up having to walk from one side of campus to the other carrying a bag full of my books.  For the most part the professors were helpful, and would lend me a book to use in class.  One English professor wanted us to carry the New Oxford Dictionary with us.  I found a paperback that was lighter weight.  He refused to let me use it.  Later because I miss spelled three words he gave me a poor grade on my final exam.  All the other teachers could not have been nicer.

I always seemed to be in a hurry and more often than not I was slightly late for some of my classes.  I finally learned to schedule classes so that they were all close together, or allow a break so that I could make it to class in time.  There were steps up to  many of the classes that were held on the second floor.  The English Building had an elevator which really helped. When I think about it now, I am amazed that I did so well.  The students were very helpful as well.  There was one young man who was in a wheel chair and his fellow students could be seen carrying him chair and all up the stairs.

I was so happy to be able to study art and take some other classes that I was interested in.  I took Basic Design early in the morning with Charles Sibley as my Professor.  Sibley was one of my Dad's good friends.  I was not impressed with the exercises that we had to go through.  I persisted, but I really did not understand the value of the class until much later.  The Art Department was on the second floor of the Fine Art Building, there were open stairs to the second floor and an outside hallway.  I had my Art History and my Fine Art Classes in that building, as well as the Language Classes.

Some of my Art  History Classes were held at night.  My mother had never finished her college education so she decided to audit some of these classes.  The night classes were once a week lasting all evening, three hours at a time.  To break up the time we all donated a certain amount at the beginning of the year and took turns in being responsible for the nights dinner break. 

I dated a local boy during the first couple of years.  We had a good time together.  He treated me very well taking me to shows, out to diner, and to the movies.  I was never serious about him, however he was more serious than I was.  After I realized that he wanted to marry me, we broke up.  I was not ready for a serious relationship.

I did join a sorority on campus.  They encouraged us to be active in school.  I ran for Vice President of the senior class and was elected.  It was serving in this duty that I met Tom (Tink) Trimble.  I had to help sell tickets to the senior class dance.  I remember being reluctant to do this.  I went into the student center at the time, set up a table with my sign and sat down concentrating on a drawing I was doing for my studio art class.

That was when a young man came up and asked if he could sit down.  I said certainly.  He asked how long had I  been going to the school.  I said for four years , that I was a senior.  In turn I asked him the same question.  "This is my first year," he said.  "Are you a freshman?" I asked. "No, I am a teacher." Whoops.  All ended well he asked me to go to a student show that evening and to a fraternity party later that night.

The fraternity party was held in an old house behind my father's art gallery.  So, we parked in his parking lot and walked through the back to the frat house.  There was a puddle blocking the way I was worried about my crutches slipping.  He picked me up and carried me across the puddle.  That night he kissed me good night as he left.  My heart jumped a beat and I melted.

He had asked me out the next day to go sailing with him.  I had my GRE exams that morning.  My mind was not on the exams.  When we went sailing, he again picked me up in his arms an put me in the small sailboat.  Later when I told my mother of both instances, she had a funny look on her face.  She revealed that she had had a dream not long before that a young man had picked me up and carried me away.  In the dream she said that she was not worried but had felt good about it. She felt as though she had dreams about future events, some of her dreams had not been so pleasant.

I had applied for being an aid at the Arrowmont School in Gatlinburg Tennessee run by my Sorority, Pi Beta Phi, in conjunction with the University of Tennessee.  I was awarded a scholarship instead.  This was the first time, that I had ever lived away from home.  I took classes in pottery making and in enameling on copper.