As a kid, I always looked forward to the days where I would get to stay at Grandma's house. Even now as an adult, I still look forward to stopping by for cake and our breakfast dates at coffee shops.

Everyone who is lucky to know this woman is incredibly blessed. She is an inspiration to those around her and is a living source of cookies and encouragement. In honor of her recent birthday, I decided to conduct an interview with the lady that I am lucky enough to call Grandma.

When and where were you born?

Ellsworth, Kansas in 1938. There was a dedication of a new hospital wing going on that weekend and they had to close off the maternity wing so I could be born.

You were born on that famous nurse’s birthday, right? What was her name? Francine?

Florence Nightingale. She was a nurse in the Crimean War!

I was close! I had an F name! I’ll have to look up the Crimean War. Do you have any memories of living in Ellsworth?

No. Actually, we lived in Kannapolis where my father was a band director. I don't remember that either.

You’ve lived in a lot of places. Where all have you lived?

Kannapolis, Solomon, Chanute, Lawrence, Emporia, and Arkansas City, Kansas. Two summers in Moscow, Idaho, and two in Ann Arbor Michigan. My father was a guest professor in those places.

Lots of places! Lawrence is where you spent most of your childhood, right?

Grades two through five. I believe we might have been in Chanute about that same amount of time. Grade six through college in Emporia.

What are some of your favorite childhood memories?

My grade school in Lawrence (Pinckney School) was very progressive and did a lot in cooperation with KU. I also started in Girl Scouts during those years. There was a park behind the school where we met and played during good weather.

I made a huge leaf notebook one year. I was the Child Reader for the KU Radio Network and they usually came to get me at school one afternoon a week. I also remember assemblies we had there put on by each class (I learned the song and dance to Buttons and Bows one year.) I also remember getting ALL my childhood shots after World War ll there.

I remember listening to the radio shows of the Lone Ranger, Fibber McGee, and Molly, and Let's Pretend. My friend Betty and I often played dress-up from a trunk of old clothes her mother furnished.

We also played paper dolls made from catalogs.

Was Lawrence the town where you and Betty played elevator with a sliding glass door?

No, that was at my grandmother Jessie's house in Emporia. There was a sliding door between her bedroom and the rest of the downstairs, and I played that with my brother and cousin Jimmy.

Oh, gotcha! Speaking of Emporia, that was your Alma Mater! Tell me about your years in Emporia! My favorite story is the one about the underground tunnel!

Although my grandmother lived there, it was kind of a let down after living in Lawrence. I went to the Lab School at ESU and then transferred to Emporia Junior High where I played the violin in the orchestra, won the eighth grade Spelling Bee but missed on the finals because I spelled vicinity wrong (or so they said,) and was a proctor (which meant one hour every afternoon I got to deliver notes all over the building.)

The tunnel episodes occurred when I was at EHS: running under 6th avenue every day to lunch and screaming when some boy turned out the lights.

I got my first cat in Emporia which my mother brought home from a meeting at the Girl Scout Cabin. It was named Calico. I have loved cats every since.

You said you went to Emporia for college, but that wasn’t your Plan A, right?

I wanted to go back to KU and Lawrence and study journalism, but my folks were not rich and didn't want me to go away from home either. I do not regret becoming a Hornet as I received very good training to become a teacher.

And you got three masters from there?

No, a BS in Education, a Master Teacher degree, and my Ed Specialist degree. Other hours were earned at Southwestern College and Wichita State University to renew my teaching license.

You lived a life full of traveling — how many states, how many countries? Favorite place traveled?

Mainly because of KNEA and NEA I have traveled to a lot of places. Love of traveling was initiated through my father's trips to Idaho and Michigan with the family. I have traveled in Canada with them, and also in Mexico and Alaska with Baptist Mission teams. At last count, I think I have been in around 45 states.

I also traveled to Europe with a group of other students from ESU and other colleges during the Year of the Child. The highlight of that tour was visiting classes in London and touring the historical exhibit of English education at one of the national buildings there.

I was also excited to be able to see some of the exhibits of dolls, jewels, and other historical items in the Tower of London and in Buckingham Palace. That trip also involved a visit to Salzburg, Austria to view "The Sound of Music" sites.

Any final thoughts for the people of the internet?

I have come to a lot of "crossroads" in my life and the direction I took at the time influenced the remainder of my life. I have always tried to use my gifts from God (teaching and encouraging others) for a guide. I think my great accomplishment has been raising three children who have had great careers and seven grandchildren who are on their way to doing the same!

Also, I like Jayhawk basketball and Royal baseball, and painting rocks!