About the diary writer
- Barbara McDowell Whitt
- Kansas City, Missouri, Alexandria, Virginia, United States
- ~ About: A 1961-65 Park College Diary ~ As a high school girl and then a college coed in the first half of the 1960s, I wrote nightly entries on the pages of one-year diaries. In January 2010 I began transcribing the entries into a blog and gave each one a title. I grew up on three farms within 30 miles of Iowa City and the University of Iowa with its Iowa Writers' Workshop. As the oldest of four daughters, in my diaries I sometimes referred to my sisters as "the kids" or "the girls." We helped our parents, but we also had good, wholesome fun - a characteristic I took with me to Park. Park is 300 miles southwest of West Chester, Iowa, in Parkville, Missouri, on the Missouri River 10 miles northwest of Kansas City, Missouri, and across the river from Kansas City, Kansas. In 2000 Park College became Park University. Today Park's flagship campus is in Parkville and there are an additional 41 campus centers across the nation. Park was one of the first educational institutions in the United States to offer online learning. My last post was on May 22, 2018. I may be followed on Twitter @BarbaraMcDWhitt.
Party For Honor Roll Girls - Saturday, May 14, 1960
This afternoon Phyllis and I drove to Mrs.Foster's house in Wellman for a party honoring the Mid-Prairie honor roll girls. We took Irene Hole along. It was really a lot of fun. I'm meeting so many friendly girls ahead of time, including Shirley Slaubaugh who I guess I'm to be co-editor of the school paper with next year. In town this morning Mom got a permanent. I bought some red material for shorts.
"Two Toads in the Pond" - Friday, May 13, 1960
Friday the 13th! I finished typing my autobiography and theme, "A Toad in the Hand is Worth Two in the Pond." I keep feeling I did something wrong. I just now started making up my English and now find out, "Don't put your humor in quotation marks." I mowed some grass, played softball, rode the horse. Phyl and I didn't go to the FFA party tonight.
FHA Weiner Roast - Thursday, May 12, 1960
We had a nice FHA picnic at Kleinschmidts. We left school at 3:05 and spent a lot of time hunting for weiner roast sticks, playing Flying Dutchman, having our meeting, and the weiner roast, yet were done around 5:00. Gerry, Sheryl and I gave our state convention reports. I'll crack up yet! School work!
"What Literature Means to Me" - Wednesday, May 11,1960
I'm not going to get my column written! FHA - FHA - school paper! I took my impromptu theme test during the last period. I had to write on "What Literature Means to Me." I made it through in the hour that I had without any cross outs or insertions. Then at the last minute I wrote "to" next to the red line in the outside of the margin on my notebook paper. Drat.
FHA Candidates' Carnival - Tuesday, May 10, 1960
Tonight we had the FHA candidates' carnival at Wellman and also the election and installation. I gave my speech for parliamentarian, but my "foe" won. She is Phyllis Batterson from Kalona. Mary Lou is secretary, Nancy Statler, treasurer, and Gerry, historian. I'm exhausted!
Up Late Doing Homework - Monday, May 9, 1960
I'm up late again trying to get all my homework done. I've a feeling I'm going to be a "rugged sounding" parliamentarian candidate tomorrow night! I sure haven't done much preparing! I wrote my autobiography. I'll have to do my English in the morning. Dear little Ink Blot, Bernie's puppy, got run over.
Mushroom Hunting - Sunday, May 8, 1960
Something gets me down. I finally got my character sketches and Moby Dick analysis done for English tomorrow. I feel like they're sort of sloppy. We went out to Grandma's this afternoon. Phyllis, Jim, Larry and I hunted mushrooms in Bady timber but with no luck. I feel like I didn't help Mom for Mother's Day. I gave her a box of Peggy Ann chocolates that the sophomores were selling.
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