Elizabeth Caldwell! Paging Miss Caldwell!
Diving way, way back into ancient memory files, I occasionally recall a girl for whom I felt a degree of juvenile fondness. I've stumbled across many of my childhood friends, in recent years, thanks largely to Algore's Internet, but Miss Caldwell still manages to elude my efforts.
It was she who was the seventh-grade science fair whiz about whom I wrote here.
I was in the same class with her in 5th and 6th grades at West School in Grand Forks. I was just beginning to realize that girls were just possibly worthy of our attention. In junior High, both of us attended Valley, and I had a few "dates" with her. The dates consisted of my visiting at her home in the presence of at least one of her parents. Since I was a very naive young lad, and utterly ignorant of the ways of the world, I found this quite satisfying.
Elizabeth had dark, nearly black hair and very light skin. I though she was beautiful and, in my mind's eye, I still think so.
We had a date or two in high school and had a couple of classes together, but her path was toward the university and an academic life; mine was more technologically bent. She did science projects and played the French horn and I made mischief and worked on my car. And drove it.
Elizabeth graduated early, at the Senior mid-term, I graduated at the end of the Senior year. Two weeks after graduation, I joined the Navy, and completely lost track of her and all my other hometown friends--except those few who also joined the Navy.
On occasion, I've asked some of my friends what happened to others. I've located many of them. All I've learned about Elizabeth is that she went to University of North Dakota, and later I heard that she was a French language professor at Valparaiso. Since I don't know of her marital status, I don't know her surname.
Other than idle curiosity, I'd like to learn more about her because she was the individual, among all my friends and classmates, who seemed like she'd go the farthest.
Or, maybe she's just shrugged.
Warm regards,
Col. Hogan
Stalag California
2 comments:
Elizabeth and I grew up together on the UND University campus (Verterans Apartments near the winter sports building) from the time we were about 4 or 5...and I had a childhood crush on her too. Her father, Robert, was a professor of English at the university who's special interest was Chaucer. Elizabeth's mentor in Jr High School was Carol Unkenholz for whom she did a biology science project on water life in Grand Forks County. The last time I saw Elizabeth was at the University of Chicago where I think she later got her PHD in French. I saw her mother, Mary Ellen, in 1985, who I recall told me she married a lawyer, settled in Washington, DC and worked for a publishing company... I don't remember her married name, though.
Tom,
Thanks for weighing in. It confirms a few of the things I've been told. Thanks.
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