Lost….and Found!

This image was found among our family photographs, boxes and albums of photos that go back nearly one hundred years. It was shown to several relatives, but none were able to identify the woman. Having resigned myself to the idea that it would remain a mystery, I posted it on this website in the “Unidentified Photos” gallery, just in case it might be seen by someone who can identify it. While I didn’t hear from anyone regarding the image, I’m happy to say that the mystery has been solved nonetheless. It turns out that this young woman, who my sister and I joked was too attractive to be a relative, was my mother’s college roommate.
The identification came unexpectedly as I was looking, for the first time, at mom’s freshman yearbook, the 1939 Battlefield. No sooner than I found my mother’s photograph than the one immediately above it caught my eye, the same photograph that had been in the possession of our family for so many years. It was Marjorie Burgess. Marjorie and my mother, Ellen Virginia Caldwell, attended Mary Washington College and were the best of friends. In mom’s album, alongside her picture, Marjorie wrote, “Here’s to 221 Willard  - Marjorie”. I soon learned that “Willard” referred to the freshman dormitory, Frances Willard Hall.
It was great to identify the photo, but what if I could contact Marjorie? It took some sleuthing, but I was able to do just that, and called her this morning. Marjorie answered and I identified myself, “This may sound odd, but I’m Mark Stevens. I believe you knew my mother”. It had been almost seventy years since mom’s college days, and was relieved to hear, “You’re Ellen’s son?” All I could do was laugh, overjoyed at having reached her. Marjorie was charming, and we talked for nearly thirty minutes as I updated her on our family. In return she told me of events that occurred before any of “us kids” were born, and I was particularly interested in learning that Marjorie’s husband John, her boyfriend in their college days, had introduced my mom and dad. John and my father, Doug Stevens, worked together at the Naval Shipyards, and ultimately John and Marjorie arranged a double-date with Doug and Ellen. The rest is family history.