Barbara O. Reisler Woodworth

Although I moved to Mt. Vernon in my junior year, and lived there only for the two years before college, Mt. Vernon and A.B. Davis left a lasting impression. Moving from NYC to suburbia took a bit of getting used to. Having previously lived in an apartment house, I admit to finding the quiet disconcerting at first. Living in a private home for the first time was also a different experience – one I came to love. Happily, making new friends at Davis was never a problem and I enjoyed many first-time school activities such as attending football games and joining a horseback riding club. My memories include renting the same horse that Sal Mineo rode and riding along the NYU Thruway, then in the process of being built. After graduating from Davis, my good friend Judy Himmelstein (now Rosner) and I enrolled at State University at Oswego. For me, that decision turned out to be the highlight of my life. It’s where I met my husband. Married during college - when we found an apartment for $48.00 a month - Bill and I completed the four-year undergraduate program in three. After graduation we taught at a small upstate school system that agreed to hire a husband and wife at the same school. After receiving his Masters, Bill and I and our then three year-old twin daughters moved to Buffalo, where bill received his doctorate from the University of Buffalo and where we made our home. With Bill firmly entrenched in his position as professor, I alternated between being a stay-at-home mom and serving as director of a nursery school. When the youngest of our three children entered first gradek I accepted a position as consultant/grant writer/administrator with the Buffalo Public Schools. For the past 15+ years I’ve been a freelance journalist, with well over 1,000 articles appearing in more than 50 publications. This January, Bill and I will celebrate our 47^th anniversary with our children, their spouses and our three grandchildren. With summers spent at our cottage and winters in Florida, our home remains in Buffalo but my memories of Mt. Vernon and A.B. Davis remain strong!