Will Work on Articulation and Projection - Saturday, October 14, 1961

This morning I had speech class and was able to hear my criticisms. They were pretty favorable. I need to work on articulation and projection. I'll concentrate on that when I give my next one, a narrative, which should take less thought on subject matter. I got a B- on my speech. Margie and I explored the woods over by Woodward after taking a notebook over there. We found a little unoccupied house after choosing a "two roads diverged in a yellow wood" path. Patty sent me a care package - fudge and peanut brittle. I got to reconsidering going down there at Thanksgiving. It really would be pretty easy. I could go from 4:15 to 7:45 in the evening by bus and there's no biology test that week.

A Reception at the White House - Friday, October 13, 1961

Tonight we met the president and the faculty and their wives at the White House [the president's home]. President Morrill said some other McDowells had gone through Park College. The seniors also had a reception and dance for the freshmen in Hawley lounge. I had just come up when I had a call to go back down - John Blair wanted to dance with me but other than that it was sort of a waste of time. I hope I can leave well enough alone with him. I think I missed two on the bio test. I washed this afternoon, did French, and got ready for tonight.

Horse Falls on Virginia and Phyllis - Thursday, October 12, 1961

I got a letter from home with school pictures of Mom, Ann and Virginia. I got one from Phyllis a while back. Virginia wrote that she and Phyllis were riding over to sell magazines on Duke and he fell on the road between the two Stouts, pitched them off, and landed on them. They were pretty banged up. I got my pictures back. Three didn't turn out but the ones of Naaman did. I showed them to him at supper and he took the five of them to  see about getting reprints made. Vivien and I spent a quiet, rainy evening at the library. Margie and I visited Nancy Kelley at the infirmary. I gave my speech - haven't heard the criticisms.

World Lit Professor Leads a Folk Sing - Wednesday, October 11, 1961

I have been talking too long when I should have been doing some reading. I guess if I wait till 11:00 to go to bed it will be okay. I'm afraid I will really be swamped in a few weeks. Really I don't see how kids can work through college like so many here do and Mom and Dad did. I guess I worked through high school [helping with chores], so maybe it's fair that I have a break this year in college. I didn't do so well on my world lit test. We had a folk sing in the lounge tonight. Dr. Hilty [my world lit professor] led it. I had my picture taken in Mackay lounge for the yearbook. The photographer really got me into some strange poses.

One of Ten to Get an A on Biology Test - Tuesday, October 10, 1961

I finally got the required Ovid stories re-read. Now if I can just remember a lot of the material. I don't believe I did so well on my art test. There was a -2 point penalty for wrong answers so consequently I left a lot of them blank. I'm proud of myself for the day in biology. I was one of ten that got an A on the last test and I got an S+ on my amoeba lab report. If I'm not tired physically I'm tired of studying! It was sure quiet on the floor all this evening. It rained today so we padded around in umbrellas and raincoats.

Spent the Afternoon at Library - Monday, October 9, 1961

Today I practiced my academic endeavors by spending the entire afternoon at the library reading a biology reserve book, listening to French records, and reading Ovid. I figure I could still spend eight hours on Ovid before the test Wednesday morning. Barbara Page and I are going to buy a set of French records jointly. I have really got to apply myself to my studies, but it should be easier now since everyone else is getting the same idea. Tonight we had the last of the movies on semantics. I spent another hour at the dorm discussion but left early to wash my hair and start studying.

Hearing Religious Views and Reading Ovid - Sunday, October 8, 1961

Today I've been hearing religious views and reading Ovid. Tonight we had a Religion in Life Week discussion in the lounge. Some of us left when they excused those who had to study; then we ended up with our own discussion of reincarnation, etc., out in the hall on the floor. Some of us went to Copley for another fellowship meeting this afternoon. I wrote to Mrs. Cowan and sent her a birthday card, handkerchief and two Park post cards. We had a Copley [a boys' dorm] raid last night and were wakened from sound sleep at 2:00 a.m. for a lounge party. And now Nickel [another boys' dorm] is on the revenge since some of the girls stole Nickel's moose head!