Palo Duro HS Class of 70: Linda Washington, the prettiest girl in the class of '71

(I told this story at our May 2025 Golf Outing Luncheon)

It was the last few weeks of our last semester. Track and Baseball had just wound down, there was nothing to cheer about, nothing extracurricular to do. We were sick of school. All we wanted to do is get out of this place, go somewhere and do something different. At least that’s how I felt.

In those last days, Marty K and I continued our routine of meeting near the school office after 4th period and walking to 5th period study hall together. We’d pass the library, enter the hall and say hi to baseball Coach McElduff who was the hall master. If you remember, study hall was located right next door to the library.

One day while passing the library, it’s doors were wide open and there in front of the desk was something new, it was Linda W, the prettiest girl in the Class of ’71. We both made a slow wide left turn and entered the library as if to check out a book (which I had never done in my 3 years at PD). We each got a book and took it up to Linda. We asked her what she was doing, she stamped the books and said she was now a library attendant. We smiled at Linda, looked at our books to see what we had just checked out and then proceeded on to study hall. On the way, we both had the same idea… we want to be library attendants too, but how were we going to pull this off.

The plan was that I would go up to Coach and explain to him that the school year was winding down and I didn’t really need study hall anymore. Coach and I had a very good relationship, maybe he’d see it my way. Marty… well Marty never really needed study hall, and Coach knew it, so he’s bound to agree.

We both gave our pitches to Coach. He looked at us bewildered then grinned and said “Oh… the new girl… Linda”, we both said “Yes”. Coach closed his lower right hand desk drawer, motioned and said he’d see what he could do.

The next day, same routine, we saw Linda in the library, then when we approached Coach he said “it’s taken care of, you’re now attendants”.

To keep a long story short, I can’t remember doing much work in the library but I do remember having a very pleasant 5^th period the remainder of the school year.

'70 Library Staff