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.

Marge Will Go Home on a Train - Thursday, June 21, 1962

It rained so we didn't do hay this afternoon. We went to Iowa City to check train schedules. Marge's mother called this morning and said she should be home for a meeting about work at the social center Monday morning so she's leaving Sunday afternoon. We went shopping. I got one of our summer French reading list books and two paperbacks.

Marge Observed Hay Making - Wednesday, June 20, 1962

Marge got a look at hay making today but it turned out to be quite lengthy. We baled from 1:30 to 7:30. This morning she saw some of the farm and West Chester. She met Betty Peters, Norma and Bob. We took a walk. I can see how farm life might seem kind of dull.

We Stopped for Marge at Her Home in Chicago - Tuesday, June 19, 1962

We left Cleveland early this morning and got to Chicago about 1:00. We found Blondin's house without much trouble at all. I should have remembered that Marge had said the last turnoff was a small street and we probably would have been all right the whole way. The kids have been enjoying Marge. They have a nice house in Chicago. We got home about 8:00 tonight.

Visited Daddy's Relatives In and Near Dalton, Ohio - Monday, June 18, 1962

Today we went down to Dalton to visit all of Daddy's relatives. It didn't seem as if it had been three years since we had been down there. Grandma Kay went along with us. I called Patty Holecek tonight. We couldn't think of a whole lot to say. I keep having moody spells. Sometimes I think I'll just have to yell at someone - but when you get this age you're expected to learn to discipline yourself. I need to self-discipline myself more and improve myself.

Went to Terminal Tower Observation Floor - Sunday, June 17, 1962

I called Marge tonight to tell her we'd get her Tuesday around noon. We went to church this morning and met all of Grandma's friends as usual. This afternoon we girls, Daddy, George, Peggy and David rode down on the transit to observe from Terminal Tower. We had a nice fairly clear view. I for one got more out of it this time than I did the last when I was busy taking over a roll of pictures.

Saw Natural History, Art and Health Museums - Saturday, June 16, 1962

Today we improved upon our culture by taking in the art museum and also the health museum and the museum of natural history. All were especially interesting because of the college courses I've had. We drove around down by the lake some, too. The natural history museum is real nice and modern. It was an eventful day - dinosaurs, Rembrandt and Renoir originals, and more. Tonight Mom and Dad are at her 25th year high school class reunion at the Cleveland-Sheraton Hotel. We drove down to Rocky River and also saw the sun making a path across Lake Erie.

We Are in Cleveland, Marge Can Go to Iowa With Us - Friday, June 15, 1962

We got to Cleveland at 7:30 (EDT) their time - 5:30 our time (CST). Marge's letter was here - she can come. The directions her father helped her write are clear, but even so, we have 45 blocks to go on the Outer Drive and 52 on the Congress Expressway. She lives in the heart of Chicago. But here we are on our vacation. Peggy, David and Karen are cute as usual. We had a nice driving day. We girls put up a "Smile! You're on Candid Camera" sign in our back window to entertain turnpike drivers.