Graduation Dress Arrives - Friday, May 12, 1961

This is the beginning of the last weekend of my public school days--all of those wonderful weekends. My graduation dress came today. I'm so glad, because I had just gotten a card that said there'd be a slight delay. I mowed grass some and did some chemistry and French. I'm going to read awhile in Of Human Bondage. We "messed" around with carbon again in chemistry. Yesterday I blew the stopper out of a test tube--somehow--it wasn't being heated at the time. Patty Holecek took a notion to write just when I bet my letter got to her.

Mushrooms for Supper - Thursday, May 11, 1961

We started the day off by going out to Bady's timber to hunt mushrooms. Mom found three, Phyl two, and I one, and then Ann brought twenty home from Lampe's, so we had them for supper. I can't think of a satisfactory theme (one page limit) to write and apply transition appraisal to. I wrote one but don't like it very much. Everyone is giving away name cards. I never saw it done so much before. I still like mine (plain $1.35 ones) about the best of any I've seen.  

Vice President Nixon's Autograph - Wednesday, May 10, 1961

Mom, Phyllis and I went to town after school. I got a darling lavender dress at Duncan's for class night. Gretchyn Grady was in there. I went to the library to hunt up what issue of Coronet the Hobos' Code was in. Now to find the August '60 Coronet. Guess whose autograph I held this morning! Former Vice President Nixon's! That was thrilling just to look at it. Mrs. Blumenstein heard him speak in Des Moines at a $25.00 a plate dinner and got his autograph.

Student Council Campaign Speeches - Tuesday, May 9, 1961

We had a Thespians meeting tonight. We elected officers for next year and the seniors took part in installing them. Junean is the new president. They had student council campaign speeches seventh period. Dale Stout, Lois Slemmons and Ronnie Bombei are running. Ronnie has some cute pictures with funny sayings up, but so many kids seem to prefer Dale. After school I went down to Cuddebacks to call Robertsons for an appointment next Friday, our skip day.

Alan Shepard's Reception Was in Washington, DC - Monday, May 8, 1961

It just got cold again. We'd be having dress rehearsal tonight if we were still having the play. Peterses were here for a little while. We watched Alan Shepard and his reception in Washington, DC and his news conference tonight. I did some more of my chemistry. I'm on the decoration committee for the senior hobo party. I'm going to hunt up the Hobos' Code in an old issue of Coronet magazine and see if we could use that.

Corncrib Kills Our Best Cow - Sunday, May 7, 1961

I decided I had better do four pages in this unit of my chemistry workbook. Don't tell anybody, but there are 26 pages in the last unit I didn't do. But he said we didn't have to do those on sodium; then he said we should have them done. This afternoon I addressed 13 of my 20 announcements. Friday night the barnlot corncrib blew down and killed our best cow and hurt two others. I finished a letter to Patty Holecek that I started a week ago Friday.

Alan Shepard Has Made History - Saturday, May 6, 1961

Yesterday the United States made history by sending Alan Shephard into space for fifteen minutes. It was an "absolutely perfect" trip. My Decade of Man in Space original oratory speech has come true. This afternoon Phyllis and I took Jerolyn and the two Lindas to a very nice party for girls on the honor roll at Mrs. Foster's. We stopped downtown and got our miniature cedar chests that Powell furniture store is giving away to the girl graduates.  Junean got her dad's Advance office open and we were able to pick up our graduation announcements. We got a new stove (Maytag) Wednesday.