Shirley's Personal History

I left for college in September of 1963. Before leaving, I remember making a few dresses (we had to wear dresses on campus then) so I would have some new things to wear at college. I also remember packing everything up and loading it into David Dahl's car and heading off to school, all by myself. David was the oldest son of a family friend. We had a nice time driving the 12 hours to Provo, Utah but, when we arrived, he just dropped me off at my dorm and left me to fend for myself alone.  I checked into my apartment in the Lucy Mack Smith Hall which was a part of the Heritage Halls living quarters. The dorm room had 3 bedrooms and a kitchen eating area. Outside was a common study and visiting area. My apartment was on the lower level of a three story building. I had 5 roommates, with two in each bedroom. Two roommates were sisters and two were best friends. They were from Salt Lake and Pocatella, Idaho and went home almost every weekend. Gratefully, my exact roommate, Bella, staye...

 Before I knew it, I was in high school. Sonnie had gone off to college and I was now the oldest in the family. It was an exciting and growing time for me. My first memory of high school was the anticipation of the big welcome Freshman dance held in the school's cafeteria. I was so excited. I had even made a new dress for the occasion. The afternoon of the dance, I had a doctor's appointment for my school physical. We went to Dr. Owens, who happened to be an old neighbor when we lived on Bedford Way. During his examination he found my blood pressure to be slightly elevated and preceded to tell me that  I was 'too damn cockeyed FAT." I was devastated. Now all I saw when I put my dress on to go the dance was a fat girl. Somehow I managed to have a good time but the doctor's comments stayed with me for a long time.  Determined to lose weight, I would go without lunch everyday at school. Mom would give me lunch money to buy lunch but I would save the money and not ea...