A year ahead of me by now, Mildred went off first to Mary Washington College in Fredericksburg, VA. It just seemed natural for me to go there also. So the next year, I did. Mildred and I, each eager to be independent and on our own, wanted to go our own way with our own friends. What we had as sisterly closeness within the family ended and we pretty much went our own way. It was a disappointment in a lot of ways. I have advised friends, in later years, not to necessarily go to the same college as family. I was very homesick. When you have always lived in a small town and knew everybody, the crowd of people was hard to face. I just plain didn’t like to study, ended up with the hardest professors but just figured college was part of what I had to do.

Well, as it turned out, Mary Washington didn’t teach Elementary Education, which I wanted, so I transferred to Richmond Professional Institute. A friend had gone there from Mary Washington so she and encouraged me to room with one of her friends - Jeanie Pierce (daughter Jeanie was named for her). The head of the educational department, Mrs. Pearl Burford, was wonderful and led me to know I wanted to teach. I enjoyed all my classes. Mrs. Burford called me in her office my senior year to say that I needed one more Physical Education class. Mrs. Burford asked, “Do you want to take golf OR horseback riding?!” “No way!” At MWC I had dropped out of swimming - saying I was allergic to chlorine so she excused me from taking another Phys. Ed.

It’s a good thing I was excused from Phys. Ed. Because my last semester student teaching all day, I had to take a class almost every night in order to graduate. A friend and I would take a bus each morning, transfer to another bus and go to South Richmond’s “down and out” section to an experimental school to teach. The teachers used the latest methods and kept the school attractive. I, actually, had a six grade girls class in crocheting.

Although I didn’t absolutely adore the school environment, there was fun involved. Especially at Mary Washington, we had a good BSU - Baptist Student Union. We met each evening for devotionals. Each year we went somewhere in the state for a long week-end to a state convention. Mary Washington had a beautiful campus. The President believed learning and beauty should go together - I surely agree with him. The cafeteria packed us a bag supper on Sunday and we enjoyed finding a pretty spot to eat it. Another thing, at MW, if a dad or boy friend happened to come on our hall in the dormitory, someone shouted, “Man on the hall!” A warning to stay in your room if you are not decent. At RPI we would go to a movie, or out to eat most any time. After school I would often stop by the library in Richmond to check out albums for school and walk all the way back to school - at least a mile.

Toward the end of the year at RPI, principals of schools in the area came looking for teachers. Miss Lipscomb, a principal transferring to Highland Springs Elementary School gave me a job in second grade. I had a nice bunch of children, organized a rhythm band and we even performed at PTA. There were a nice group of teachers in Highland Springs. In fact, two girls and I rented a house near the school - Sally Cook, Carrie Moore and Marge (the owner’s daughter). The owners had an apartment upstairs. As an aside, Sally Cook never got married and Carrie Moore married a Methodist preacher - Reginald Potts, III. We teased her about her married name. We have sent each other Christmas cards over the years.

Another friendly teacher was Justine Rooney. She was from WV and had lived next door to Rachel Myers, Bill’s aunt. She had told Justine to look up the Myers in Studley, VA. When she did visit them, she told Bill she would bring him a date sometime. He requested an unsociety type. Thus, I went with her to an outing near the Myers home. It was all so funny to me. The gathering was called an “Opossum Hunt”! Their dogs would “tree” an opossum and we all went to see. For the life of me, I can’t remember the reason!? Anyway, I ended up with a muddy sock which Bill washed for me. For some reason, he drove me to the Rooney’s where he ate a whole pie! Then drove me back to Highland Springs. When I reached home, I sat and laughed at all we did plus the funny, to me, name Studley.

Bill and I began to see each other on week-ends; often visiting his friend where the men played cards in the kitchen while the women watched TV in the living room. Sometimes all the couples played the game “Hearts” together. I don’t remember but we may have gone to “Drive-in” movies. This was a big screen outdoors which people sat in their cars to watch. There was a speaker to attach to each car.

Maybe not the first time, but once when he took me to visit “the farm”, his mother gave me the job of painting the lawn chairs! To her, that was being part of the family.

Bill’s family were very serious, even stern, and you felt like they weren’t easily swayed by emotion. They were good, moral people - sort of like something you could depend on - not to let you down. Although, I felt a lot of conflict in types of personalities and warmth of feeling, I felt a steadiness I must have needed. Columbia Church background was almost too emotional. As I analyze it, I think my mother, as dear as she was, could be very emotional. Yet, one of my special friends is Bill’s sister, Jane. This difference in personality led to a lot of conflict in many adjustments over the years.

Anyway, Bill and I became engaged The first time Bill went with me to visit my parents, Daddy commented as Bill left, “Huh, you are going to have to make that thing bigger!” - I was making an afghan. We spent a lot of time on the farm. In fact, mama had to call me there to have my wedding dress fitted and to meet her at Thalhimers in Richmond. Now, as I think back, mama and daddy were the ones who took care of wedding plans while I nonchalantly visited. Brother, Tommy Jr. painted the Columbia before the wedding! Bless him.

Since I didn’t drive, Bill’s sister, Frances, visiting from California, took me on rides to teach me how. In those days we didn’t have Driver’s Ed. Also, I planned to teach second grade at Washington Henry Elementary School that fall and needed to drive. I got along well with his sister, Frances.

In childhood days, learning to drive as a teenager, I backed up the drive in Columbia and hit a small Mimosa tree. Daddy was reprimanding me when mama came out of the house saying, “She didn’t mean to do it!” No more driving for me, then.