Maureen J.: Class Of 1970
    by Mrs. Ekaterina Cooper of Morehead, Kentucky, USA.
added on 20/02/2011

Maureen Jenkins was in her bedroom at home that one weekend in the autumn of 1969. She was watching a rerun of the TV series "Lawman". Although, a half-hour western, this was Maureen's favorite episode entitled, "The Escape Of Joe Killmer". Noticing the somewhat thick looking bun worn by actress Lenore Roberts playing the role of Killmer's wife Donna, Maureen said aloud to herself, "What I wouldn't give for a hairstyle like that! Ofcourse, I'd have to let it grow quite a bit longer before trying to wear my hair like that". At this point in her life, Maureen's dark brown looking chestnut hair was bra-strap-length, not counting her bangs. At least, Maureen wasn't exactly auburn-haired like, Susan Blanchard from that shocking 1981 made-for-tv movie entitled, "She's In The Army Now". Even with the cat's eye, or owl's eye type glasses she wore, Maureen was still quite a pretty young looking teenager. Earlier in that late spring of 1969, some of her dearest friends in the senior class at Holmes High School in Covington, Kentucky were now relocating to Minnesota. The ones that sought out a college education were attending the University of Minnesota at Duluth while a handful chose the marriage route settling in the town of Grand Rapids, Minnesota to be near their old friends, or rather former English teachers Veronica and Joann. For the few that chose the military, certain ones never returned home alive from Vietnam. And of the few that chose to remain in Covington, and employed as trainees at Maxine's Beauty Salon, well, they were considered as more likely to practice on numbers runners of the more feminine gender, especially now that Maxine had taken on a partner whose name was unknown, at least at this point in time. Anyway, Maureen was still one of several average teenagers attending Holmes High. Her first cousin, Larraine was already in the 8TH Grade, and causing troubles, even with her shoulder-length, coal dust locks. Larraine often tried pestering fellow eighth graders such as Muriel Myers, the turner twins (cousins Ernestine and Johanna), and also B.B. (Barbara Brenda) "Babs" Horton into giving up their own long lengths, but Maureen stood up to her younger cousin, and halted the harrassments. Eventually, Johanna would grow up, and become the well-known romance authoress Johanna Lindsey, or so they thought? Maureen even had a friendship with the younger Maureen attending Holmes High School in the 7TH Grade class, namely Maureen Noel who was named after Maureen Jenkins. Although, Maureen Noel's hair was a lot longer than that of Maureen Jenkins', well, they both often as now began having different weekend sleepovers with one another. Maureen Noel loved a fellow seventh grader named Igor Mills. His parents had just enough eccentricity to name him that since they saw a special re-release of the 1939 Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Basil Rathbone movie entitled, "Son Of Frankenstein", and named their son for Lugosi's character of the broken-necked hunchback named Igor. Maureen Jenkins herself, on the other hand, was featured on page 76 of the 1969 Lest We Forget yearbook in a group shot type photo, and was third from the right in it. At least, the two handfuls of Maureen's hair in front of her shoulders indicate that she was wearing it to bra-strap-length at the time. Ofcourse, unbeknownst to her family and friends, Maureen was secretly saving money to order mail order hair growth and restoration formulas to obtain a longer length in a faster amount of time. If Maureen was supplying the cash, who was supplying her with money orders bought at the post office?

One was an English teacher, namely Virginia Marie Belben, and the other and/or others were supposedly Ursula Schroeder of Holmes High's mathematics department, and maybe Marilyn Elizabeth Zalla of the Holmes High Biology Department. Although, both Miss Belben and Miss Schroeder both wore what appeared to be Beehive hairdos, well, all Miss Zalla had at the time was a chin-length bob, which is seen in her photo on page 99 of the 1969 Lest We Forget yearbook. Yet, one supplier of the money orders was like actress Irene Vernon (the original Louise Tate from "Bewitched"), and the other beehived beauty looked like an
A Go-Go version of Julie Andrews' portrayal of Mary Poppins, this left Miss Zalla looking like kind of a thirty something version of Capucine, yet Miss Zalla was no less than 25yrs old at the time. Fate was once again preparing the next few lucky ladies to become brides of the Addams family, or no telling who? With the 1969-1970 school year in Covington now in progress, it was only a matter of time before Maureen was ready to enroll at U.M.D. (University of Minnesota at Duluth) right there along side of her friends that went on ahead. Some of the friends Maureen had that were of her exact age included:

Dorraine Reed, Sharon Mays, Bertha Moore, Sharon Morris, Armaretta Soward, Laura West, and Kathryn Zumstein. Now most these young, teenage girls had long, flowing hair of unspeakable lengths. Ofcourse, Sharon Mays and Armaretta Soward preferred to wear their long red hair down, which led to Dorraine Reed, Bertha Moore, and Sharon Morris wearing theirs up in the famous V-High, or Beehive hairdo. Laura West kept hers teased a great deal to make it look thicker than normal, except for her bangs. Kathryn would take her dark brown long hair, and make a ponytail for starters. Then she would fold the ponytail multiple times before tying the ribbon around to secure it in an offbeat, thick bun style as seen in Kathryn's student portrait from class picture week in the third row across, second from the left on page 129 of the 1969 Lest We Forget yearbook. Everything kind of had to start somewhere, and so during class picture week of the 1968-1969 school year is the most logical starting point. Maureen had driven to campus that Monday morning in her new 1968 FORD F-250 Ranger pickup truck, and was just going to her school locker when she noticed that one of her friends was crying. It was Dorraine Wagner. Her student portrait from class picture week is featured second from the left in the third row across of the second column down on page 128 of the 1969 Lest We Forget yearbook. Maureen asked, "Dori. What's the matter?" Dorraine weeped, "Oh, Maureen! It was a disaster!
Yesterday afternoon at 3:00, my mother hacked off all of my hair!" Now even Maureen herself wasn't exactly an eyewitness to the event described to her, she replied, "Some mothers are just plain mean to their daughters, and the way their daughters feel about how long they want their hair to be at all costs! Don't worry, your hair will grow long again regardless of the circumstances! Besides, you still have me and the others for friends, you know."

Even as Maureen did her best to comfort a heartbroken friend, another one walked by them like a zombie, or someone in a hypnotic trance. That was Tess Frisch. Even her brown locks fell prey over the weekend to her mother's scissors, but since Maureen nor the others were eyewitnesses, well, Tess looked like a fugitive from a Beatles look-a-like contest with her brown coming down no farther than her chin for now. Ofcourse, they weren't the only ones among teenage girls just to have somehow gone through such a traumatic ordeal over the weekend either. Francine Malcene who was in the seventh grade was caught by her stepmother looking at Percy Niceley in church on Sunday, and upon returning home, Francine's long auburn tresses fell to the floor of her own bedroom, but alas there were no official eyewitnesses to say the least.
Anyway, most of the school flew by quite easy, for 1969-1970. During one huge weekend sleepover, as Maureen Jenkins was brushing the long dark brown chestnut hair of Maureen Noel, they exchanged a most interesting conversation.

Maureen Jenkins said, "Well, this has been a most unusual school year. I graduate, and you wait until 1974 before get to do so, right?" Maureen Noel replied, "True, but I'd like very much to move in with my big brother Daryl, and his wife Jacqueline. They got such a nice house in Minnesota, and at least with winters' up there, well, I'd better keep on wearing my hair long, you know?" Maureen Jenkins added, "Yes, that's also right, I mean about the lengthy winters' they up there. Besides, it wouldn't do me any good at all to live in Minnesota with short hair. Better for girls like us to keep it long at all costs". Maureen Noel's friend Gretel Mersch replied, "Well, I'll agree with you both, if only half of what was happening in Minnesota in your letters was true". Maureen Noel flashed out a wallet-sized photo of her brother Daryl, his wife Jacqueline, and their new son. Gretel sighed, "At least he's happy. Now I know he married Jacqueline Sargent, right?" Maureen Noel replied, "Yes, he did. Yet, it was just after the accident he had that they assigned him as a recruiter in Grand Rapids, and Jacqueline gave birth to little Xerxes". Maureen Jenkins added, "At least it's a Bible name". Soon Maureen Jenkins graduated from Holmes High School. She'd made the Debuteens in her junior and senior years both. Now she was headed off for college, and an amazing experience of life like no other. Upon graduating, her hair came down to her waist, all except for the bangs, ofcourse. Armaretta Soward followed behind Maureen's pickup driving her own 1965 Jaguar XKE roadster. Sharon Mays was next in her 1965 Pontiac GTO hardtop. So with Laura West in her own 1968 Ford Mustang Fastback (replicated from the one used in the movie "Bullitt"), this left Sharon Morris, Dorraine Reed, Bertha Moore, and Kathryn Zumstein to join Maureen Jenkins in the cab of her Ford pickup truck. Dorraine Wagner and Tess Frisch rode up on the train from Chicago to Duluth.

Sharon Morris with her dark chestnut hair finally let down when they got to the dorm, and spent hours brushing it after getting set up, and registered, let alone settling in. The same thing happened with Dorraine Reed, Bertha Moore, and even Kathryn Zumstein. At least their roommate assignments were good. Maureen Jenkins was assigned to board with Patricia Jean Wilke, she graduated from Holmes the year before. Sharon Mays got to have for her roommate, Diana Faye Skinner. Bertha Moore found herself with her first cousin Benita Alice Shipe for a roommate. Armaretta Soward was assigned the new roommate to former Holmes alumnus Laura Jean Woodward. It was turning into Old home Week practically as Dorraine Reed found herself assigned as the new roommate to Sonya Gail Cathers. Kathryn Zumstein was still puzzled to find that her roommate would be Lou Ann Hornbeck. Sharon Morris got assigned to Emelina Hernandez who also graduated from Holmes the year before. Laura West wound up having Delores Jean Paolucci for her roommate. Thus, Dorraine Wagner became the new roommate for Mary Elizabeth Meyer, and Tess Frisch was assigned to roommate with Glenda Faye Morgeson. Yet, somehow by a miracle, their good friend Roberta Clendenen got to have Sharon Lynn Patton for her roommate that first year they attended college. In between study periods as well as dates with boys, the girls spent most of their time in the dorm brushing and combing one anothers long hair, at least for now. The years passed by, and eventually the girls found happiness with the men they chose whether they were Addamses, or not. Soon it was 1974, and Maureen Noel was now attending the University of Minnesota at Duluth, and spending most weekends with her brother, sister-in-law, and nephew. One week before getting her Bachelors' Degree for Elementary Education, Maureen Noel became Mrs. Igor Mills on Saturday, May 5TH, 1979. One year later she had her Masters' Degree, and one month after graduating college, Maureen Noel Mills gave birth to a son. Maureen Jenkins was now married to her high school sweetheart, namely Baxter McClure, and they already had four sons born between 1977 and 1980.

THE END
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