Categories > Cartoons > Daria > 1960's Daria
1960s—Chapter 05
By Dr T
The Spring of ‘67
-60s-
Classes would resume early, on Monday, January 9th, although the dorms would open (supposedly for any who wanted to make schedule changes on Friday the 6th) after noon on the 5th. Therefore, that was when Jane and Daria came back. To their surprise, they had their floor to themselves, although their RA would be back the next morning and others starting the next afternoon. Still, they couldn’t exactly go wild, as there were still some possibilities of workers doing some last-minute cleaning or maintenance, and some of the other RAs were around.
Since the music building would not be open until noon Sunday, Daria spent Friday morning practicing in one of the study rooms, while Jane set up her smallest, most portable easel to do a sketch of her in acrylics. While Daria would not technically pose for Jane, she did not mind Jane using her as a model if she was doing something else. Naturally, the easiest time to capture was when Daria was absorbed reading a novel or monograph, but Jane enjoyed the challenge of capturing her movement as she practiced the violin. This one would end up resembling some of the earliest cubist works, capturing and superimposing various positions. This would be turned into an award-winning painting in the end of the year student art exhibit.
The bookstore opened that Friday at 1:00. The roommates were among the first in line and therefore not only able to buy their books but to score a few more used copies than the previous semester. By the time the two came back from dinner, there were a dozen other students back on their floor, with half the remaining coming back Saturday and the rest Sunday.
Daria’s late Christmas package from Amy arrived that Monday. Curious, she opened it as soon as she could. “H’mm,” was her response.
“Interesting,” was Jane’s.
In the box was a pair of boots – light, low-heeled, ankle boots.
“They look comfortable,” Jane remarked. “And your sister and mother will probably hate them.”
With a bit of a struggle, Daria got them on. “If I take to wearing these, I’ll need a long shoehorn,” she remarked as she stood. “A bit like walking on slight heels,” she remarked. “If the sidewalks clear off by tomorrow afternoon, we can go down and get a shoehorn.” She thought. “Maybe a few more pairs of thick socks.”
“They’ll work with your jeans as well as most of your slacks; not so sure about your skirts,” Jane pointed out. Weather permitting, Daria would always prefer to wear a skirt.
Daria shrugged. “I guess we’ll see.”
-60s-
January 16
Dear Aunt Amy:
Well, here I am again, a week into a new semester. It feels a lot more natural than it did for the first few weeks last September! As we had no seniors on this floor, we didn’t lose anyone to student teaching, and unlike some of the other floors, no one has dropped out or moved, so the floor is the same as last term.
Violin instruction and orchestra remain the same. The quartet met, and we played some arrangements of Beatles songs that actually worked well as a string quartet. I also met with the Journal Board last Monday evening; it seems like a nice group. It is, however, the first group where the girls really outnumber the boys, almost 2-1 in fact. It will be interesting to see if the dynamics are different.
My professors for English and American Lit II are different. Dr. Richardson (English Lit) is something of a walking stereotype – late middle age, mid-Atlantic accent, tweed jacket, and an unlit pipe in his mouth when he’s not actually lecturing (it’s lit the moment he goes outside the classroom). The American Lit prof is about the same age and very much on the stiff side. Still, both seemed okay on initial impressions.
The biology professor seems resentful to be teaching the class; word is he is a first-year professor from Johns Hopkins who thinks he’s above teaching the intro-level. I think he’s going to be tough. He’s already sneered several times while claiming that we couldn’t understand something as we couldn’t be bothered signing up for a class with no lab.
I’m not sure if we lucked out with our speech professor or not. Half the sections are taught by a theater instructor who also teaches in the English Department, ours by an education instructor who teaches a theater class. I dislike public speaking, but I think I can handle it. Only one history class this semester, and historiography seems like at best a non-interesting subject. The professor is as tweedy as the English Lit prof, but a little older and without the unlit pipe in his hand or mouth during class although I saw him smoking one along with some of the other history professors in various offices last semester.
I have worn the boots around the dorm, breaking them in. If we get a few nice days, I’ll try them outside. It has been alternating between drizzly and freezing.
Since you asked if anything was different this semester, remember I picked up that radio. As far as AM, besides 3 clear stations (which you can imagine), we can get 4 other stations consistently – the campus station and three country music stations. We can also get three FM stations – two ‘easy listening’ stations and Dad’s FM version of his clear air station. As for the campus station, it plays a wide mix – about a quarter each top 40, basic pop, modern jazz, and classical. The first two are very hit-and-miss. I don’t mind some of the modern jazz and like the classical, but Jane really dislikes the former and only tolerates the latter.
Fortunately, the radio came with headphones. Jane tolerates the BBC world news and some of the various other shortwave broadcasts in French, but not much else. Still, we are still getting along very well. I hope everything is going well for you, and congratulations on your promotion!
Love
Daria
-60s-
A few days later, as Daria was reading a rather boring chapter for historiography, Jane approached her in a very tentative manner, which was certainly uncharacteristic.
Daria’s eyes looked up, partially over her frames, but did not otherwise move her head. “What’s wrong?” she simply asked.
“I know I teased you a bit about Trent, but what did you honestly think of his band?”
“You mean, ‘you know us, we’re still thinking of a good name’?”
Jane grimaced. Her brother and his group had gone through any number of names, but none had stuck. “Yeah, them.”
“Well, their covers weren’t bad. I didn’t go to many school dances with live music,” (most school dances had featured 45s that students brought) “but their covers were better than most. Their original music…the tunes were okay, the lyrics were mostly bad, but people still danced to them.”
“I’m trying to get them booked for a dance in April. The committee is interested, but Trent said they need to do something more before the folks here to commit to them, but no one could say what.”
“Have one of the committee people in one of the party frats book them cheap with the promise it’s an audition for at least another gig that would pay well,” Daria suggested.
“H’mm, that might work. Thanks!” Jane turned, but then spun back to face Daria. “You do realize that if they play a frat, we’ll have to go?”
Daria sighed. “Try not to book them at Delta or one of the stuffy frats. Also, they really need a name they can stick with.”
“Good points.”
-60s-
Saturday, February 11
And so it was that Daria found herself being dragged to one of the larger social frat houses on the second Saturday of February. They and their sister sorority were throwing a ‘pre-Valentine’ party and dance, featuring ‘The Spiral’ – while still playing mostly Beatles and Stones covers and similar tunes, the band had also picked up a bit of the new, mostly San Franscico sound, which was becoming known as ‘psychedelic.’ The crowd really liked their usual covers, and a small but significant portion enjoyed the new sound as well. Their cover of the Beatles’ ‘Rain’ helped sell the sound with some. Jane especially enjoyed the new sound, while Daria was unsure – really enjoying some tunes, disliking others.
The Spiral managed to immediately earn three gigs out of this one, playing two frat/sorority formals in April and the annual College spring formal on April 22. The first two would earn them their normal rate, but the latter would score them double pay.
The combination of Valentine’s Day being the following day and discussions among a number of students got Al thinking during orchestra rehearsal on the following Monday. After the quartet practice on Valentine’s Day itself, he worked up his courage and asked Daria if she would accompany him to the music and band fraternities/sororities formal on April 14th (Al was a member of the music honor fraternity, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia) as well as the College formal on the 22nd. Daria didn’t have a huge interest in attending either, but knew this would score points with both her mother and grandmother. She also liked Al well enough, so once she got him to understand they’d be going as friends, she agreed.
Jane had been bantering with a Sophomore who was in her Western Civilization class as well as the Basic Biology class she and Daria were in. It turned out that he was a percussionist and a member of the band service fraternity (KKPsi). Overhearing Daria and Jane talk right before class that Thursday morning, he asked Jane to the same dances, to which she was more than happy to accept.
-60s-
February 21
Daria as surprised to find her mother waiting for her when Historiography class ended that Tuesday morning. “What’s happened?” she asked before any greeting could be exchanged.
Helen sighed. “To be blunt, your grandmother Ruth died yesterday. You’ll have to miss the rest of this week.” This was Daria’s paternal grandmother.
Daria merely nodded, in part from the surprise – her grandmother had seemed healthy at Christmas. Helen accompanied her as they arranged for Daria to miss classes that week and to leave a note for Jane.
The funeral was Thursday afternoon. Daria would have tried to return to college that Friday if she could have figured out how a ride might have been available, but it turned out she was delayed for an additional reason.
Instead, she returned Saturday morning. She and Jane went to lunch, and were only able to talk afterwards.
“So, what happened that seems to have you confused.” Jane was concerned, but wasn’t certain how concerned she should be. Daria had claimed not to be close to either grandmother, but perhaps her death had hit her harder than she would have expected.
Daria’s mouth set. “Both of my grandmothers have always wanted both Quinn and myself to become society ladies, if different sorts. On the other hand, my father did not get along well at all with his father. Grandmother doted on Dad, however, and seemed torn between how she felt towards him and how she felt she should respond to him like her husband had wanted. And, of course, there is really no one she wanted to inherit anything other than some mementos than us.”
Jane merely nodded.
“So, Dad inherits the house and furnishings – Mom will likely organize an auction for most of that stuff. Quinn inherits her jewelry.”
“Anything her style?” Jane thought that unlikely.
“Not really,” Daria agreed. “Grandfather was a reader, however, so I inherit his library. It also turns out he had wanted to go to college, but was drafted into World War I and ended up not going. Dad’s going to Penn was one of the few things he did Grandfather totally approved of before he was drafted in turn. So, because I am going to a regular college and Quinn has often announced she either would never go past high school or would attend MM Junior College if she had to, I inherit half of Grandma’s cash and a third of her investments.”
“I take it that’s a lot.”
Daria merely nodded. “Not sure exactly how much – I’ll probably get over ten thousand cash and at least a quarter million in stocks and such.”
Jane blinked.
“I don’t get to mess with the investments until I’m twenty-five, but I do get any dividends. My guess is over seven thousand a year, more likely nine or ten.” That was a decent amount – the mean US income for 1967 would be around $8,200.
“So, you’re almost but not quite well off, but at least around average without having to work.”
Daria nodded, “And more importantly, even if Mother can add to my security, I’m not dependent on her anymore.”
-60s-
March 15
Dear Aunt Amy:
As you may see from the attached, my midterm grades arrive today. Obviously, I am a little disappointed to have anything other than A’s. I believe I may raise the Historiography grade, but am unsure about the Speech. Biology is confusing, in part because the instructor seems unable to communicate concepts without referring to visual evidence, which he only knows how to present in labs. A few of us have mentioned this to the Department Chair. He told one of the other students he might monitor the class after reviewing the mid-term grades.
Other than that, things are going well for me. Orchestra, the quartet, and the editorial board are interesting but don’t take up a huge amount of time. I will be having three more poems published in the spring issue, and Jane will have two drawings and three illustrations. She has also had six cartoons published in or accepted by the newspaper.
In partial answer to your question, compared to what the news has reported about a few other campuses and some other places, things are relatively quiet here on campus. I hear the odd rumbles of protest, a few of the boys are growing beards or at least mustaches, and a few more are letting their hair grow somewhat longer (or perhaps they don’t want to spend money on a haircut). I don’t care for the first, am neutral on the second, but I think most of the boys growing their hair longer look better than they did.
As for us coeds, I have noticed less hairspray is being used in the bathroom in the morning – I have stopped praying for a better ventilator system there and now merely hope for one. About a fifth of us – including Jane but not myself – are wearing shorter skirts, some of which may be called ‘mini-skirts.’ More us, including myself as well as Jane, are wearing blue jeans, at least on weekends. More of the boys are as well. That reminds me, last September, about 90% of the boys wore either suits/sportscoats or sweaters to classes, all with ties. Now, maybe 20% do. To my surprise, my guitar playing is in demand around the dorm on Sundays, even if it’s mostly modern folk; however, I don’t sing.
To answer two more of your questions (are you doing research for one of the magazines?), cigarette smoking remains about the same for the upper classes, although a number of Freshmen have now taken up that habit (neither Jane nor myself have). While faculty smoking remains about the same, I see about the same number of boys smoking pipes around campus as in the fall, but not as many cigar smokers – maybe when it warms up some more? As for drugs, I don’t know. I haven’t smelled any odd smoke or seen anyone obviously under the influence of anything other than alcohol. I would hate to see how much more drinking there would be here if the drinking age here were 18 like some places!
Yes, I have heard a few murmurs about San Francisco being the place to be this summer. I have no intention of going – do you want to try and convince Mother that Jane and I should be sent as undercover observers? Convince her of that and cover expenses, and I’ll consider enlisting Jane.
Love
Daria
PS Jane’s GPA was a 3.5
-60s-
Saturday, March 18
“Jane, may we have a few moments to talk with my daughter before we leave?” It was the start of the school’s spring break.
Jane beat a hasty retreat while Daria gave her parents a puzzled look. She had wondered why both of her parents were picking the two of them up. It was clear she was about to learn why.
Helen asked straight out. “Daria, did you suggest to your aunt that she help you go to some…some hippie get-together in San Francisco?”
“No,” Daria stated firmly. “She asked me two different times if I had heard any rumors about it, which I had. She asked if people here were interested in going. I replied that while there was a little talk, it didn’t seem much more than that. She also asked a lot of questions about how students were dressing and such on campus these days, if there were any changes from the fall. I asked if she was using me for research, and told her the only way I would even consider going to San Francisco this summer was if she was getting me an assignment on full expenses and with your permission, neither of which I thought possible, never mind likely, plus the same for Jane.”
“Don’t you think it would be dangerous?” Helen asked.
“I don’t know,” Daria replied honestly. “From what I’ve seen in the news already, I don’t think it would be terribly dangerous in the physical sense if one was careful. No doubt those looking for, well, let’s call in a chance for misbehavior would have no trouble finding it, which would true most places.” Daria suddenly looked surprised. “You’re kidding! You’re not considering….”
“I wasn’t,” Helen stated sourly. “Your aunt and father, however….” She glared at Jake.
“This will be news,” Jake stated. “Possibly big news. So yes, we – the network and Time-Life – could send in reporters, who would be seen as the outsiders they are. You and Jane would be more acceptable, because you are the right age.”
“I still don’t think you should send two girls out to such a place!” Helen snapped.
“Our people out there say it should be perfectly safe. The girls will have contacts if there are any problems, and if the place deteriorates, they can leave at any time. Daria has the clearest mind and best insight and more integrity compared to anyone else we can find, and if we send her friend along they’ll be able to watch out for each other.”
Helen glared, it was obvious she objected, but for once it looked like her husband, aided by her sister, was going to win this one.
“Did you mention the idea to Jane?” Jake asked.
“Not really.”
“Go get her!” Helen snapped, hoping Jane would see sense, since her daughter (in her opinion) clearly wasn’t. Helen sighed worriedly. At least when Quinn had heard the idea, she had been aghast. Daria may or may not be susceptible to this hippie movement, but Quinn was, so far at least, still very much in traditional high school mode.
Jane, needless to say, was very interested. Yes, both were a bit leery, to say the least, but both were even more excited by the prospect, fed by rumors and a few songs. Over the break, the Morgendorffers, Lanes, and Amy planned the two friends’ summer adventure in San Francisco. One thing Daria did was restring her guitar and buy an extra set of strings. Another thing she did, for both herself and Jane, was buy combat boots, so they could break them in, just in case they needed to kick their way out of trouble.
*
Planning for the summer seemed to motivate Jane, giving her focus which bled over into her class work. Daria did not need that extra motivation, but she certainly was kept busy. The one thing she neglected a bit was her novel. She had completed detailing the background the semester before and wound up planning a fifteen-chapter work. She had the novel outlined, and the first eight chapters in rough draft before spring break. Between then and the end of summer, she would only get one more chapter roughed in and a bit of editing.
April was therefore tremendously busy, as classes would end on the final Friday, April 28. On April 13, the string quartet that Daria was in played four pop songs during the recital period. The students, for the most part, enjoyed their renditions, although not all of the music professors (classicists all, and the few who enjoyed other music were still fans of the big bands of their youth) felt the same.
The very next night was the formal for the music and band fraternities/sororities. This was being held in a hotel quite near Daria’s hometown. To Daria and Jane’s surprise, the band was not in any way a rock-n-roll group. Instead, it was a throwback to a more traditional dance band. Their parents would have recognized about a third of the tunes from their youth, and about a quarter were older dances still. Daria, who along with her sister had had to endure several years of dance classes, was quite comfortable with the waltzes and polkas, and was easily able to dance most of the big band numbers as well. The remaining songs were mostly from the ‘easy listening’ hits of the previous ten years. Overall, Daria rather enjoyed herself more than Jane – who was not much of an enthusiast for older styles of music or dancing.
Their dates also had pleasant times. Neither had much hope that the girls would want to stay overnight in the hotel as numerous other couples would be doing, and so they weren’t really surprised or disappointed when they had to drive their dates back to campus after the dance. If Jane rewarded her date a bit more enthusiastically before bidding them good night at the door of their dorm just before they were locked, Al was satisfied with the goodnight kisses he received from Daria.
As for the rest of the weekend, Daria had several friends, or at least acquaintances, in the music department. The second level of the three bands (Symphonic Band) was giving its concert on Sunday afternoon, while the jazz band was giving its concert the day before.
The next weekend was equally as busy for Daria. The orchestra concert was on the Saturday afternoon. Daria was a bit disappointed, although not surprised, that her parents were unable to attend. Still, a number of her friends had come to both the recital and the orchestra concert. That Sunday, the elite band (Wind Ensemble) gave its concert, and Daria went to support the few people she knew in it.
That Saturday night, however, was the campus formal. Until recently, it had actually been called ‘the Prom’ after the term ‘the Spring Ball’ had fallen out of fashion in the early 1950s. Currently it was simply called 'the formal.’ It was now held in the new gym building – this not only had a basketball court, but dividing walls could be opened which joined it to a practice court and a smaller volleyball court.
The Spiral did play a few, somewhat traditional dance numbers (they were attempting to get some gigs as a wedding band that summer and so were trying to expand their repertoire a bit). Mostly, however, well over half the songs they played were covers of current or recent hits, with about a third their own original material. On the whole, they were well-received by the student audience. While Daria had a good time, this time Jane enjoyed the dance more.
As the friends headed into their finals, only Jane knew how excited, and apprehensive, she and Daria were about the upcoming summer trip – this would be totally new experiences for both of them, and San Francisco was a long way from home and any personal support. Granted, the network and Time-Life were giving them more than financial support, it would still be impersonal and perhaps uncertain as to quality.
Still, Daria dealt with this a bit better than Jane. Both did well, although Jane knew she could have done at least a tad better.
*
Phi Mu Alpha and Kappa Kappa Psi are genuine organizations.
*
In the end, Daria managed to raise all her grades to an A, other than earning an A- in Biology. Daria’s spring gpa 3.94
Jane’s spring gpa was 3.49
By Dr T
The Spring of ‘67
-60s-
Classes would resume early, on Monday, January 9th, although the dorms would open (supposedly for any who wanted to make schedule changes on Friday the 6th) after noon on the 5th. Therefore, that was when Jane and Daria came back. To their surprise, they had their floor to themselves, although their RA would be back the next morning and others starting the next afternoon. Still, they couldn’t exactly go wild, as there were still some possibilities of workers doing some last-minute cleaning or maintenance, and some of the other RAs were around.
Since the music building would not be open until noon Sunday, Daria spent Friday morning practicing in one of the study rooms, while Jane set up her smallest, most portable easel to do a sketch of her in acrylics. While Daria would not technically pose for Jane, she did not mind Jane using her as a model if she was doing something else. Naturally, the easiest time to capture was when Daria was absorbed reading a novel or monograph, but Jane enjoyed the challenge of capturing her movement as she practiced the violin. This one would end up resembling some of the earliest cubist works, capturing and superimposing various positions. This would be turned into an award-winning painting in the end of the year student art exhibit.
The bookstore opened that Friday at 1:00. The roommates were among the first in line and therefore not only able to buy their books but to score a few more used copies than the previous semester. By the time the two came back from dinner, there were a dozen other students back on their floor, with half the remaining coming back Saturday and the rest Sunday.
Daria’s late Christmas package from Amy arrived that Monday. Curious, she opened it as soon as she could. “H’mm,” was her response.
“Interesting,” was Jane’s.
In the box was a pair of boots – light, low-heeled, ankle boots.
“They look comfortable,” Jane remarked. “And your sister and mother will probably hate them.”
With a bit of a struggle, Daria got them on. “If I take to wearing these, I’ll need a long shoehorn,” she remarked as she stood. “A bit like walking on slight heels,” she remarked. “If the sidewalks clear off by tomorrow afternoon, we can go down and get a shoehorn.” She thought. “Maybe a few more pairs of thick socks.”
“They’ll work with your jeans as well as most of your slacks; not so sure about your skirts,” Jane pointed out. Weather permitting, Daria would always prefer to wear a skirt.
Daria shrugged. “I guess we’ll see.”
-60s-
January 16
Dear Aunt Amy:
Well, here I am again, a week into a new semester. It feels a lot more natural than it did for the first few weeks last September! As we had no seniors on this floor, we didn’t lose anyone to student teaching, and unlike some of the other floors, no one has dropped out or moved, so the floor is the same as last term.
Violin instruction and orchestra remain the same. The quartet met, and we played some arrangements of Beatles songs that actually worked well as a string quartet. I also met with the Journal Board last Monday evening; it seems like a nice group. It is, however, the first group where the girls really outnumber the boys, almost 2-1 in fact. It will be interesting to see if the dynamics are different.
My professors for English and American Lit II are different. Dr. Richardson (English Lit) is something of a walking stereotype – late middle age, mid-Atlantic accent, tweed jacket, and an unlit pipe in his mouth when he’s not actually lecturing (it’s lit the moment he goes outside the classroom). The American Lit prof is about the same age and very much on the stiff side. Still, both seemed okay on initial impressions.
The biology professor seems resentful to be teaching the class; word is he is a first-year professor from Johns Hopkins who thinks he’s above teaching the intro-level. I think he’s going to be tough. He’s already sneered several times while claiming that we couldn’t understand something as we couldn’t be bothered signing up for a class with no lab.
I’m not sure if we lucked out with our speech professor or not. Half the sections are taught by a theater instructor who also teaches in the English Department, ours by an education instructor who teaches a theater class. I dislike public speaking, but I think I can handle it. Only one history class this semester, and historiography seems like at best a non-interesting subject. The professor is as tweedy as the English Lit prof, but a little older and without the unlit pipe in his hand or mouth during class although I saw him smoking one along with some of the other history professors in various offices last semester.
I have worn the boots around the dorm, breaking them in. If we get a few nice days, I’ll try them outside. It has been alternating between drizzly and freezing.
Since you asked if anything was different this semester, remember I picked up that radio. As far as AM, besides 3 clear stations (which you can imagine), we can get 4 other stations consistently – the campus station and three country music stations. We can also get three FM stations – two ‘easy listening’ stations and Dad’s FM version of his clear air station. As for the campus station, it plays a wide mix – about a quarter each top 40, basic pop, modern jazz, and classical. The first two are very hit-and-miss. I don’t mind some of the modern jazz and like the classical, but Jane really dislikes the former and only tolerates the latter.
Fortunately, the radio came with headphones. Jane tolerates the BBC world news and some of the various other shortwave broadcasts in French, but not much else. Still, we are still getting along very well. I hope everything is going well for you, and congratulations on your promotion!
Love
Daria
-60s-
A few days later, as Daria was reading a rather boring chapter for historiography, Jane approached her in a very tentative manner, which was certainly uncharacteristic.
Daria’s eyes looked up, partially over her frames, but did not otherwise move her head. “What’s wrong?” she simply asked.
“I know I teased you a bit about Trent, but what did you honestly think of his band?”
“You mean, ‘you know us, we’re still thinking of a good name’?”
Jane grimaced. Her brother and his group had gone through any number of names, but none had stuck. “Yeah, them.”
“Well, their covers weren’t bad. I didn’t go to many school dances with live music,” (most school dances had featured 45s that students brought) “but their covers were better than most. Their original music…the tunes were okay, the lyrics were mostly bad, but people still danced to them.”
“I’m trying to get them booked for a dance in April. The committee is interested, but Trent said they need to do something more before the folks here to commit to them, but no one could say what.”
“Have one of the committee people in one of the party frats book them cheap with the promise it’s an audition for at least another gig that would pay well,” Daria suggested.
“H’mm, that might work. Thanks!” Jane turned, but then spun back to face Daria. “You do realize that if they play a frat, we’ll have to go?”
Daria sighed. “Try not to book them at Delta or one of the stuffy frats. Also, they really need a name they can stick with.”
“Good points.”
-60s-
Saturday, February 11
And so it was that Daria found herself being dragged to one of the larger social frat houses on the second Saturday of February. They and their sister sorority were throwing a ‘pre-Valentine’ party and dance, featuring ‘The Spiral’ – while still playing mostly Beatles and Stones covers and similar tunes, the band had also picked up a bit of the new, mostly San Franscico sound, which was becoming known as ‘psychedelic.’ The crowd really liked their usual covers, and a small but significant portion enjoyed the new sound as well. Their cover of the Beatles’ ‘Rain’ helped sell the sound with some. Jane especially enjoyed the new sound, while Daria was unsure – really enjoying some tunes, disliking others.
The Spiral managed to immediately earn three gigs out of this one, playing two frat/sorority formals in April and the annual College spring formal on April 22. The first two would earn them their normal rate, but the latter would score them double pay.
The combination of Valentine’s Day being the following day and discussions among a number of students got Al thinking during orchestra rehearsal on the following Monday. After the quartet practice on Valentine’s Day itself, he worked up his courage and asked Daria if she would accompany him to the music and band fraternities/sororities formal on April 14th (Al was a member of the music honor fraternity, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia) as well as the College formal on the 22nd. Daria didn’t have a huge interest in attending either, but knew this would score points with both her mother and grandmother. She also liked Al well enough, so once she got him to understand they’d be going as friends, she agreed.
Jane had been bantering with a Sophomore who was in her Western Civilization class as well as the Basic Biology class she and Daria were in. It turned out that he was a percussionist and a member of the band service fraternity (KKPsi). Overhearing Daria and Jane talk right before class that Thursday morning, he asked Jane to the same dances, to which she was more than happy to accept.
-60s-
February 21
Daria as surprised to find her mother waiting for her when Historiography class ended that Tuesday morning. “What’s happened?” she asked before any greeting could be exchanged.
Helen sighed. “To be blunt, your grandmother Ruth died yesterday. You’ll have to miss the rest of this week.” This was Daria’s paternal grandmother.
Daria merely nodded, in part from the surprise – her grandmother had seemed healthy at Christmas. Helen accompanied her as they arranged for Daria to miss classes that week and to leave a note for Jane.
The funeral was Thursday afternoon. Daria would have tried to return to college that Friday if she could have figured out how a ride might have been available, but it turned out she was delayed for an additional reason.
Instead, she returned Saturday morning. She and Jane went to lunch, and were only able to talk afterwards.
“So, what happened that seems to have you confused.” Jane was concerned, but wasn’t certain how concerned she should be. Daria had claimed not to be close to either grandmother, but perhaps her death had hit her harder than she would have expected.
Daria’s mouth set. “Both of my grandmothers have always wanted both Quinn and myself to become society ladies, if different sorts. On the other hand, my father did not get along well at all with his father. Grandmother doted on Dad, however, and seemed torn between how she felt towards him and how she felt she should respond to him like her husband had wanted. And, of course, there is really no one she wanted to inherit anything other than some mementos than us.”
Jane merely nodded.
“So, Dad inherits the house and furnishings – Mom will likely organize an auction for most of that stuff. Quinn inherits her jewelry.”
“Anything her style?” Jane thought that unlikely.
“Not really,” Daria agreed. “Grandfather was a reader, however, so I inherit his library. It also turns out he had wanted to go to college, but was drafted into World War I and ended up not going. Dad’s going to Penn was one of the few things he did Grandfather totally approved of before he was drafted in turn. So, because I am going to a regular college and Quinn has often announced she either would never go past high school or would attend MM Junior College if she had to, I inherit half of Grandma’s cash and a third of her investments.”
“I take it that’s a lot.”
Daria merely nodded. “Not sure exactly how much – I’ll probably get over ten thousand cash and at least a quarter million in stocks and such.”
Jane blinked.
“I don’t get to mess with the investments until I’m twenty-five, but I do get any dividends. My guess is over seven thousand a year, more likely nine or ten.” That was a decent amount – the mean US income for 1967 would be around $8,200.
“So, you’re almost but not quite well off, but at least around average without having to work.”
Daria nodded, “And more importantly, even if Mother can add to my security, I’m not dependent on her anymore.”
-60s-
March 15
Dear Aunt Amy:
As you may see from the attached, my midterm grades arrive today. Obviously, I am a little disappointed to have anything other than A’s. I believe I may raise the Historiography grade, but am unsure about the Speech. Biology is confusing, in part because the instructor seems unable to communicate concepts without referring to visual evidence, which he only knows how to present in labs. A few of us have mentioned this to the Department Chair. He told one of the other students he might monitor the class after reviewing the mid-term grades.
Other than that, things are going well for me. Orchestra, the quartet, and the editorial board are interesting but don’t take up a huge amount of time. I will be having three more poems published in the spring issue, and Jane will have two drawings and three illustrations. She has also had six cartoons published in or accepted by the newspaper.
In partial answer to your question, compared to what the news has reported about a few other campuses and some other places, things are relatively quiet here on campus. I hear the odd rumbles of protest, a few of the boys are growing beards or at least mustaches, and a few more are letting their hair grow somewhat longer (or perhaps they don’t want to spend money on a haircut). I don’t care for the first, am neutral on the second, but I think most of the boys growing their hair longer look better than they did.
As for us coeds, I have noticed less hairspray is being used in the bathroom in the morning – I have stopped praying for a better ventilator system there and now merely hope for one. About a fifth of us – including Jane but not myself – are wearing shorter skirts, some of which may be called ‘mini-skirts.’ More us, including myself as well as Jane, are wearing blue jeans, at least on weekends. More of the boys are as well. That reminds me, last September, about 90% of the boys wore either suits/sportscoats or sweaters to classes, all with ties. Now, maybe 20% do. To my surprise, my guitar playing is in demand around the dorm on Sundays, even if it’s mostly modern folk; however, I don’t sing.
To answer two more of your questions (are you doing research for one of the magazines?), cigarette smoking remains about the same for the upper classes, although a number of Freshmen have now taken up that habit (neither Jane nor myself have). While faculty smoking remains about the same, I see about the same number of boys smoking pipes around campus as in the fall, but not as many cigar smokers – maybe when it warms up some more? As for drugs, I don’t know. I haven’t smelled any odd smoke or seen anyone obviously under the influence of anything other than alcohol. I would hate to see how much more drinking there would be here if the drinking age here were 18 like some places!
Yes, I have heard a few murmurs about San Francisco being the place to be this summer. I have no intention of going – do you want to try and convince Mother that Jane and I should be sent as undercover observers? Convince her of that and cover expenses, and I’ll consider enlisting Jane.
Love
Daria
PS Jane’s GPA was a 3.5
-60s-
Saturday, March 18
“Jane, may we have a few moments to talk with my daughter before we leave?” It was the start of the school’s spring break.
Jane beat a hasty retreat while Daria gave her parents a puzzled look. She had wondered why both of her parents were picking the two of them up. It was clear she was about to learn why.
Helen asked straight out. “Daria, did you suggest to your aunt that she help you go to some…some hippie get-together in San Francisco?”
“No,” Daria stated firmly. “She asked me two different times if I had heard any rumors about it, which I had. She asked if people here were interested in going. I replied that while there was a little talk, it didn’t seem much more than that. She also asked a lot of questions about how students were dressing and such on campus these days, if there were any changes from the fall. I asked if she was using me for research, and told her the only way I would even consider going to San Francisco this summer was if she was getting me an assignment on full expenses and with your permission, neither of which I thought possible, never mind likely, plus the same for Jane.”
“Don’t you think it would be dangerous?” Helen asked.
“I don’t know,” Daria replied honestly. “From what I’ve seen in the news already, I don’t think it would be terribly dangerous in the physical sense if one was careful. No doubt those looking for, well, let’s call in a chance for misbehavior would have no trouble finding it, which would true most places.” Daria suddenly looked surprised. “You’re kidding! You’re not considering….”
“I wasn’t,” Helen stated sourly. “Your aunt and father, however….” She glared at Jake.
“This will be news,” Jake stated. “Possibly big news. So yes, we – the network and Time-Life – could send in reporters, who would be seen as the outsiders they are. You and Jane would be more acceptable, because you are the right age.”
“I still don’t think you should send two girls out to such a place!” Helen snapped.
“Our people out there say it should be perfectly safe. The girls will have contacts if there are any problems, and if the place deteriorates, they can leave at any time. Daria has the clearest mind and best insight and more integrity compared to anyone else we can find, and if we send her friend along they’ll be able to watch out for each other.”
Helen glared, it was obvious she objected, but for once it looked like her husband, aided by her sister, was going to win this one.
“Did you mention the idea to Jane?” Jake asked.
“Not really.”
“Go get her!” Helen snapped, hoping Jane would see sense, since her daughter (in her opinion) clearly wasn’t. Helen sighed worriedly. At least when Quinn had heard the idea, she had been aghast. Daria may or may not be susceptible to this hippie movement, but Quinn was, so far at least, still very much in traditional high school mode.
Jane, needless to say, was very interested. Yes, both were a bit leery, to say the least, but both were even more excited by the prospect, fed by rumors and a few songs. Over the break, the Morgendorffers, Lanes, and Amy planned the two friends’ summer adventure in San Francisco. One thing Daria did was restring her guitar and buy an extra set of strings. Another thing she did, for both herself and Jane, was buy combat boots, so they could break them in, just in case they needed to kick their way out of trouble.
*
Planning for the summer seemed to motivate Jane, giving her focus which bled over into her class work. Daria did not need that extra motivation, but she certainly was kept busy. The one thing she neglected a bit was her novel. She had completed detailing the background the semester before and wound up planning a fifteen-chapter work. She had the novel outlined, and the first eight chapters in rough draft before spring break. Between then and the end of summer, she would only get one more chapter roughed in and a bit of editing.
April was therefore tremendously busy, as classes would end on the final Friday, April 28. On April 13, the string quartet that Daria was in played four pop songs during the recital period. The students, for the most part, enjoyed their renditions, although not all of the music professors (classicists all, and the few who enjoyed other music were still fans of the big bands of their youth) felt the same.
The very next night was the formal for the music and band fraternities/sororities. This was being held in a hotel quite near Daria’s hometown. To Daria and Jane’s surprise, the band was not in any way a rock-n-roll group. Instead, it was a throwback to a more traditional dance band. Their parents would have recognized about a third of the tunes from their youth, and about a quarter were older dances still. Daria, who along with her sister had had to endure several years of dance classes, was quite comfortable with the waltzes and polkas, and was easily able to dance most of the big band numbers as well. The remaining songs were mostly from the ‘easy listening’ hits of the previous ten years. Overall, Daria rather enjoyed herself more than Jane – who was not much of an enthusiast for older styles of music or dancing.
Their dates also had pleasant times. Neither had much hope that the girls would want to stay overnight in the hotel as numerous other couples would be doing, and so they weren’t really surprised or disappointed when they had to drive their dates back to campus after the dance. If Jane rewarded her date a bit more enthusiastically before bidding them good night at the door of their dorm just before they were locked, Al was satisfied with the goodnight kisses he received from Daria.
As for the rest of the weekend, Daria had several friends, or at least acquaintances, in the music department. The second level of the three bands (Symphonic Band) was giving its concert on Sunday afternoon, while the jazz band was giving its concert the day before.
The next weekend was equally as busy for Daria. The orchestra concert was on the Saturday afternoon. Daria was a bit disappointed, although not surprised, that her parents were unable to attend. Still, a number of her friends had come to both the recital and the orchestra concert. That Sunday, the elite band (Wind Ensemble) gave its concert, and Daria went to support the few people she knew in it.
That Saturday night, however, was the campus formal. Until recently, it had actually been called ‘the Prom’ after the term ‘the Spring Ball’ had fallen out of fashion in the early 1950s. Currently it was simply called 'the formal.’ It was now held in the new gym building – this not only had a basketball court, but dividing walls could be opened which joined it to a practice court and a smaller volleyball court.
The Spiral did play a few, somewhat traditional dance numbers (they were attempting to get some gigs as a wedding band that summer and so were trying to expand their repertoire a bit). Mostly, however, well over half the songs they played were covers of current or recent hits, with about a third their own original material. On the whole, they were well-received by the student audience. While Daria had a good time, this time Jane enjoyed the dance more.
As the friends headed into their finals, only Jane knew how excited, and apprehensive, she and Daria were about the upcoming summer trip – this would be totally new experiences for both of them, and San Francisco was a long way from home and any personal support. Granted, the network and Time-Life were giving them more than financial support, it would still be impersonal and perhaps uncertain as to quality.
Still, Daria dealt with this a bit better than Jane. Both did well, although Jane knew she could have done at least a tad better.
*
Phi Mu Alpha and Kappa Kappa Psi are genuine organizations.
*
In the end, Daria managed to raise all her grades to an A, other than earning an A- in Biology. Daria’s spring gpa 3.94
Jane’s spring gpa was 3.49
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