Grandma
Alta's College Years
Grandma Alta was an excellent student
and she got a scholarship to go to Utah State University (in Logan
Utah). She went to school for 4 years—and they just happened to be
the same four years as World War II! Have you ever met anyone who
was everyone's friend? Popular and fun and interested in lots of
different things? That's how Grandma was. She was busy while she
was at school—she always had a job to support herself, she belonged
to a special club called the Spurs that did fun things as well as
service, she went to dances with friends, went on dates, went skiing,
and always did all the sports at the school that women were allowed
to do. She was very involved with different committees at school,
and she was even voted in to be the secretary for student government!
Grandma's best friend Mary said that Grandma was always friendly to
everyone and had a great way of “sharing” herself—she was kind
to all. Even though she was popular, Grandma still had times of
feeling homesick. She loved her family and wrote wonderful letters
to them, always thanking them and expressing love for “the most
wonderful family in all the world!” She really wanted her sister
Lorna to come to school with her so she could help her and show her
all the things that she had had to figure out on her own.
She really encouraged others to stick
with school, and she wanted to graduate before she left school, which
she did—she got a Bachelor of Science degree in Secretarial
Science.
Being at school during the war was
kind of interesting. At one point, Grandma said it was practically
an all-girls school, because almost all the men were away fighting in
the war. There were some men training for the army (cadets) that
were on campus as well. That would make school dances interesting,
wouldn't it? Grandma did meet Grandpa while he was at school for a
short time before he left too, and they wrote many letters to each
other. Once he sent her a Christmas package at the beginning of
December—do you think she could wait until Christmas? She put it
in the closet for 7 minutes, and then she couldn't wait any longer!
He sent her a purse and 3 pairs of silk stockings and she was very
happy and thankful! She wrote to thank him and said, “I can live
like a queen, only better! Even a queen couldn't get silk hose
here.” This was because things like bobby pins, silk stockings,
and tin cans were used to make weapons, and people didn't have them.
Each person got a Ration Book with stamps to buy food like sugar,
butter, meat, and gasoline with because those things were also in
short supply. Grandma said that there were many sacrifices everyone
in the country had to make, but they didn't mind because they had
great pride in their country and military forces and knew they could
win the War. Another way she saved money was by making all her
clothes! She was very good at sewing, and she always looked for good
deals when she did spend money.
For
Discussion:
Grandma was a friend to everyone—do
you think she knew that everyone liked her? Sometimes we aren't
aware of all the people we can influence with our examples.
Grandma was homesick and far from home,
but she kept herself busy doing all sorts of things which helped her
not to fret about the war or miss home too much. She looked for ways
to be involved with school and in develop her own talents, instead of
sitting around feeling sorry for herself.
Grandma knew other girls who quit
school to get high-paying jobs working for the military, or who quit
and went into the service. It was important for her to finish school
first before she did anything else. Why is it important to gain a
good education?
Grandma said that the sacrifices people
in America made during the war years gave them a great feeling of
togetherness and working for a common cause. How can sacrificing
help us grow closer to others?
Thanks, Rach!
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