About the diary writer

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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.

Second Floor Wins Room Inspection for the First Time - Saturday, February 10, 1962

I get to be in LLCs. So does Marge. Some of us went to The Honeymoon Machine and Picnic tonight. Picnic wasn't very good. I went to the library this afternoon and got my French and part of my anatomy done. Vivien came this morning to help clean up the room. Second floor won room inspection this week for the first time. Viv is back at the White House tonight.

Basketball Games with Bible and MacMurray - Friday, February 9, 1962

Tonight I went to the basketball games with Terry Seelye. The B team beat Bible College and the varsity got beat by MacMurray College. They had quite a way to come if they came all the way from Jacksonville, Il. I bet it's been quite a while since anyone was paid 75 cents an hour for reading Park College Alumniads. I finished with the magazines early so gleaned some interesting Park news since nothing was going on in the library this rainy afternoon anyway.

The Park President's Family Goes to Chicago - Thursday, February 8, 1962

So far I'm still alive. If I get prepared for and pass my two tests tomorrow I'll be mighty happy by this time tomorrow night, only I hope to be in bed by this time. It's going to seem funny around here tonight. Vivien is staying with Antionette at the President's house while they are in Chicago over the weekend and Marge went up to the health center this afternoon. We finished with lab early so I worked my hour and fifteen minutes from 3:15 to 4:30. I went to the LLC supper tonight.

Serenading New Students with the LLCs Social Club - Wednesday, February 7, 1962

I can see myself dead from homework! I mustn't let my French slide. I've just got to get at that Lafayette booklet - I've got two chapters to go, plus finding out what it's saying before our test Friday. I think the 11:00 class will be better. Tonight Marge and I got our first taste of the LLCs by serenading the new students with them. They're sure a nice bunch. I wish I would have joined them in the first place. I've been on the go all day as usual. I don't waste much time any more. I'm so stiff from phys ed.

Free Exercises, Rope Jumping in Apparatus; Diffusion, Osmosis in Anatomy - Tuesday, February 6, 1962

This has been a busy day. I found out that Dr. Hampl would like for me to change to the 11:00 French class - I jumped at the chance. No more first hour classes every day. In apparatus we did free exercises, rope jumping, checking for balance and so forth. We did diffusion and osmosis experiments in anatomy lab (I had to hurry there from phys ed). It was just like good old high school chemistry lab. Marge and I both made recollections. I've been doing homework in every spare minute. Kathy, Becky and I were having quite a time after supper with some of the foreign students from Persia, Lebanon and Japan.  

Second Floor Girls Have Maintained a 2.0 Average - Monday, February 5, 1962

We were given 10:00 extended hours tonight by Dean White. Eight freshman girls made the Dean's List and six of them are from second floor. We have a good 2.0 floor average. [Park graded on a scale where 3.0 was the top (A) grade.] I'm getting tired of French. We're going pretty fast and I can't let it slide. This week they're having the Rush Week club suppers for the new students. I've handed in my request to change social clubs. I want to join the LLCs with my free change. It was colder today.

Falling Springs Will Be a Fond Memory of Park - Sunday, February 4, 1962

Falling Springs will always be one of my fond memories of Park College. On this beautiful Sunday afternoon ten of us girls walked up to Alfalfa Point and on over to the springs. The water was really rushing over the falls today. Bob Lastick with his bow and arrows and John McQuade with his guitar came over after we got there. They had seen us on our way over. Terry Wang and Ken Ruth came down, too. It was almost too gorgeous a day to study. We had blankets on Hawley's front lawn for a while and did a little studying out there.