Friday, March 14, 2008

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Have you known someone that will never be written about in a history book, but made a profound difference in your life, or the lives of others?  A nobody that was a real somebody?  This is the place to tell their story.  Your submission will be reviewed and appear within a day or two.

Readers Corner

Tom Brokaw's THE GREATEST GENERATION

Myth and the Greatest Generation: A Social History of Americans in World War II

20 Ways to Hang a Banana and other Banana FAQ

Ellen
She became a licensed pharmacist in the late 1930s when other coeds were more apt to pursue teaching or nursing degrees.  Ellen had instead chosen the career path of her father, a small town druggist.

While attending pharmacy college, Ellen met and married George, a journalism student.  She had been on the writing staff for her college newspaper, providing a common interest, and it is likely that

George was also impressed with Ellen's maturity.  Unlike his younger sisters, the twins, always partying and cracking jokes, Ellen was serious and goal oriented.

By most accounts, Ellen and George were a strong testimony to the attraction power of opposites. 

She was a  Presbyterian, he was Catholic, she was from the Midwest, he was from the deep South.  Ellen was tall and awkward, could not swim or ride a bicycle.  George was short and muscular, an athlete.  Ellen was quiet and reserved, George jovial and outgoing. 

With his strong business sense and financial comfort, Ellen's father stood in sharp contrast with George's father, who fought a lifelong battle with alcoholism.   With their demonstrative affection and traditional Southern hospitality, George's mother and sisters were as warm and inviting as Ellen's mother was crisp, cool and restrained.

The pair lived in George's hometown for a few years after graduation, George working as a cub reporter for a daily newspaper and Ellen as a pharmacist.  When Ellen became pregnant and U.S. involvement in the war seemed certain, they moved to the Midwest so Ellen could be near her family for the birth of their first child.

George ended up in Europe in time for the Battle of the Bulge.  As a supply sergeant he was stationed well north of the fighting and saw little battle.

-- to be continued