Joan Isle Benson remembers:

Oh my! I think I was in Gertrude's class when that happened. It was a shocking scene, wasn't it! She was "always" so in control ... until ...

Speaking of Gertrude Ruttan....

What a memory you have, Rich. I don't recall where I sat, but I do remember how intimidating she was. Right after I moved to Lawrence (our sophomore year), I was enrolled in her Latin class. I was called to the nurse's office to have a new kid vision and hearing screening ... in the middle of a quiz. When I returned, the quiz was over and we were to pass them back to the person behind us. She actually made me take that grade with about 20 missing items. Obviously I failed the quiz, but worse than that was how unfair it felt and how intimidated I was. By the time I was a junior and she ended up as my English teacher, I had toughened up a bit. Plus, I was better as an English student than a Latin student. Ha! :-) Years later, as an adult living in Lawrence, I would run into her around town. She always acted sweet and seemed pleased to see me. What a beginning of our relationship so many years before! When she'd click her fingers in my face, "encouraging" an answer to a Latin translation or whatever, I'd shrink like a violet. Ha! SO long ago ... so fresh in my memory.

I remember arriving in the summer of 1958, knowing no one and playing the piano a lot ... because I knew no one!

I remember meeting kids at the August review session for Latin students, and Sandy Hodges befriended me. My first friend!

I remember feeling lost at LHS because you all were "new" to the h.s. as I was new to everything ... nobody noticed.

I remember my mom sending my brother (who was at K.U.) to a post football game mixer to dance with me. HA! We were both suffering over that one!

I remember making friends my sophomore year with Julie Pearson and Kenny Hopkins at the MYF socials.

I remember slumber parties, giggles, and silly girl things ... like one night going onto Iowa St. in our pj's doing cartwheels after midnight!

I remember wearing a bright red sweater to A Cappella Choir and Susan Ulmer telling me I looked like "Christmas." :-)

I remember many date nights, movies and pizza at Campus Hideaway (like NO OTHER) laughing and being in love.

I remember best girlfriends, Becky McArthur, Mary Kay Dunlap, Judy Nelson, Judy Dennis (before she moved - :)), etc., .etc.

I remember ... so much more ...

More from Joan Isle Benson:

That was really nice "50's material," Larry, and I loved reading your descriptive reflections of the culture "back then." :-) Quite a difference from then to now, eh? I think someone else remarked how safe we felt then. I grew up in a small college town in Illinois (mid-state), and we trick-or-treated for about a week, having a ball ... nobody ever worried about us, and we certainly were unafraid of any bad pranks people might play. It was all about dressing up and collecting candy, which my parents hardly ever bought for us! :-)