I met Linda at Tumwater High school the first year that the high school opened in 1961. We were both seniors. Her locker was near mine at the brand new school. We shared one class together, but we often met at our lockers to socialize. Once she asked me if I had any wheat cent pennies. I looked at my change in my pocket. I had several Lincoln Memorial pennies. I figured she was short of money so I offered them to her. She laughed and told me she didn't want my money, but she was collecting wheat cent pennies because they stopped making them in 1959. She figured that they would increase in value so she started hoarding them. I thought about this and decided to keep all the wheat cent pennies I found too. I kept them in a coffee can. I still have that coffee can today full of wheat cent pennies that I have collected over the last fifty-eight years. A few years ago I asked a coin dealer what the value of these pennies were. He told me most were about two or three cents each which would not have been a good retirement investment!
Linda asked me to go to the very first dance held at Tumwater High School. It was a tolo. The theme was "Dogpatch" so she dressed as Daisy Mae and I as Lil Abner. I had just gotten my driver's license so this might have been my first date driving my parent's car. My mother told me that it was appropriate to give a female date a corsage. I couldn't afford a real corsage so since the theme was "Dogpatch", I went out to the garden and picked some plants and made Linda a corsage made out of vegetables (lettuce, carrot, bean, peas, etc.). I don't remember what Linda said about it, but I do remember her mother laughing and laughing about it.
In January I took Linda to the school's first real prom. At the end of the school year after graduation ceremonies many of the seniors were invited to Linda's house where we sat around a fire pit swapping stories, singing and reminiscing. That Fall I went to the University of Washington. Linda went to Western. We corresponded occasionally until I got a letter where she talked only about some guy named Jim. I didn't hear from her again until a few years later telling me she married this guy and was living in Georgia.
I did not hear from Linda for another fifteen years or so. One day around Christmas in the mid eighties my mother brought to me a Christmas card that was sent to her by Linda. Linda had no idea where I was or that I had gone to grad school, married, taught and coached in Illinois for five years, and had returned to Olympia to teach at Olympia High School. Linda's card had an address that caught my attention. It was from Morris, Illinois. I had never heard of Morris and had to look it up on a map. I wrote back to her and got her up caught on my life since college days. I don't think I heard back from Linda again after that.
As chairman of the Washington State Latin teachers I attended twenty-four National Junior Classical League conventions taking students to compete. In the late nineties I drove to the convention that year at North Dakota State University. I drove an old Minnie Winnie to camp in along the route. After the convention I wanted to visit relatives in Minnesota and Wisconsin and visit places in Illinois where I used to live and go to Indiana University where I went to grad school. After seeing my relatives I planned my route to avoid going into Chicago by taking I-39 south. Having by passed Chicago I noticed an intersection up ahead with a stop light which I thought was odd for a freeway. The light had just turned red. While waiting for it to turn green, I noticed a large green sign pointing to the left that said "Morris". That sounded familiar to me. Just as the light turned green I remembered that is where Linda's address on the Christmas card was from so I turned left and headed to Morris. I had no idea where she lived. I didn't have her address, and I couldn't even remember her last name. As I drove into the city limits, I stopped a small grocery store and asked if they had a phone book. As I looked in the book, I remembered her last name was Man something. So I looked up in the "M"s and found "James Manlove". "That's it" I exclaimed! I wrote down the address and asked the proprietor if he knew where this address was. He told me it was just two blocks away, turn right, and the house was about two or three blocks down the street. So I drove there thinking she might be at work or doing errands, but I took a chance. I drove by the house and noticed the three story structure that looked like a railroad baron's house. One problem! There was a "For Sale" sign in the front yard. Maybe they had moved. I decided to go and ring the doorbell anyway. Upon the second ring Linda opened the door. I recognized her right away. She was obviously order and more mature looking, but then maybe so was I. I told her I was driving by and saw the for sale sign in the yard and ....She interrupted me to ask if I saw what was written underneath the for sale sign which said "By Appointment Only". Now what do I do? I asked her if she wanted to buy a set of encyclopedias. She started to shut the door in my face! Then I asked her if she would like to buy some Avon products. By now she was really getting upset and was about to slam the door in my face. I finally asked her if she would be interested in buying an Olympia Lake Fair button. She froze! Only she would know what that referred to for she was the Tumwater princess at the Olympia 1962 Lake Fair summer event. Finally I said "You don't recognize me, do you"? She stared at me and shook her head. I finally said "I am Bill Curtis, Tumwater 1962". She threw the screen door open and jumped into my arms and gave me a big hug. There were tears in her eyes as well as mine. She gave me a tour of the house and took me to lunch at a pizza deli place where we visited for over three hours. I didn't know time could pass so quickly. Before I left Linda told me that she and Jim were planning to move back to the Northwest to the Puyallup area. I didn't hear from Linda for a few more years. She finally wrote and told me they had settled in Port Orchard on a lake. We got to visit her twice at this home. In 2002 I invited Linda and Jim to our house as I was having a gathering of friends for the Tumwater High School fortieth anniversary. About twenty people attended. Linda had not seen most of these people since graduation night in 1962.
I didn't hear much from Linda after that, but around 2010 she did write to tell me that her daughter Sarah had received a two year internship at the Kelly School of Business at Indiana University. That Fall I retired and flew back to IU and did a several day nostalgic trip. While there I looked up Sarah, found her office, introduced myself, and had lunch with her twice. I was taken aback when Sarah told me many stories her mother had told her about me! I didn't ask what stories were about! Sarah told me she was getting married and invited me right there to her wedding which took place a couple of years later in Poulsbo, Washington. Linda was at the wedding. It was sad to see her in a wheel chair, but I do remember the look of pride, joy, and fondness on her face to see her daughter getting married. This was the last time I saw or heard from Linda, but I have kept in touch with Sarah.
I often wonder what would have happened if that light on the freeway in Illinois had not turned red. I probably would have driven past and not have noticed the sign pointing to Morris. I may not have renewed my friendship with Linda or met Sarah.
