Barbara J. Lindquist

She attended Franklyn Avenue Elementary School, Thomas Starr King Junior High School and the University of Southern California.

Barbara had a wonderful childhood. She often told how she watched those making movies in her neighborhood with such stars as W.C. Fields, Buster Keaton, and the Our Gang Kids.

She was very bright and was skipped a grade. When the Principal suggested they skip her a second time, her mother said, “No.” Ella didn’t want her to get too far ahead of her peers.

Barbara’s summers were happy events. Her family always rented a beach house in Oceanside, California, for the month of August. It was here that Barbara fell in love with nature and the ocean. She loved to study the tide pools with sea life, and collecting shells along the shore.

Paul, her father, was an avid fisherman and he taught her how to surf fish. Sometimes they would jig fish for herring off the pier. Barbara said no one could ever cook the herring better than her mother.

One summer they took a camping trip to the mouth of the Klamath River where they fished for salmon. Barbara likes to tell the story of how she hooked a very large salmon. Her father, afraid she would lose it, tried to take the pole from her. However, all the fishermen in their vicinity, seeing what was happening yelled, “Let the little lady land it herself.”

Barbara entered the University of Southern California as a premed. She soon learned that women were not able to break through the male dominated profession. That was when she changed her program to Science and Education. Knowing her compassion for helping people, she would have made a wonderful doctor.

She was a life-long fan of USC football. As a student, she went to all the games. She said she could see the team practicing from her classroom.

Upon graduating with a Bachelor of Science and a General Secondary Teaching Credential, Barbara married and had her son, Larry. She often said the only good thing that came from that marriage was Larry.

After her divorce, she and Larry lived with her parents and she worked at Fowler’s Book Store in downtown Los Angeles.

One day, one of her professors from USC came into the store. When her professor saw her, she said, “Why are you here and not teaching?” That decided Barbara to enter the field of Education. A lucky decision for all the students she taught and counseled through the years as an outstanding American Educator.

Barbara began her teaching duties as a long tern substitute at Canoga Park High School in San Fernando Valley. It was a two hour drive every day as there were no freeways at that time to the West Valley. When she learned there was a Science Teacher position opened at Thomas Starr King Junior High School, she applied and was hired. It was close to home, and she found many of her teachers were still there teaching.

She soon became involved in the schools programs and activities. Barbara was a tireless worker advancing many new and innovative activities and ideas. She not only taught Health and Science classes, but became chairwoman of her department, was a counselor, Ninth Grade Advisor, Graduation Director, and a friend to each student she taught.

Barbara wore many hats as an Educator. She worked on textbook and film committees, programmed students, planned Graduation Programs, worked in the Main Office of the LAUSD during summer vacation developing new science projects, and a new course of study for Science.

From 1964 to 1967, she worked as a Consultant on Science in the Main Office of the school district.

Barbara developed a program to help teachers in their classroom. She visited each school in the district and worked with teachers showing them how to set up interesting classrooms, helping them in developing lesson plans, and how to keep the students interested in the subject matter.

She also worked on the MacAteer Project which was to help slow learners understand and appreciate science.

Her last year as a Consultant, Barbara developed a workbook for slow learners which was used throughout the District.

Barbara’s work in the field of science did not go unnoticed. In 1973, she was awarded the Goddard award as the outstanding Educator in Ventura, Los Angeles, and Orange Counties.

The Academy of American Educator selected Barbara as an Outstanding Educator in America 1973-1974.

Early in the 1970’s, Barbara proved to be ahead of her times. She had her Health classes do a group project on the type of food being served in the school’s cafeteria. They found that the food served was overloaded with fat and sodium. When Barbara had her students report their findings to the administration, the prinicpal had the cafeteria manager serve more vegetables and fruit.

Barbara also began a “Candy Striper” Club. She had her club members make things the patients in the local hospitals could use.

One day, Fran, a former student of Barbara, droppped by to see her. Fran was in a quandary. It seems that Fran’s school was having a “Sadie Hawkins” dance, and she didn’t know who to ask to go with her. Barbara suggested she ask John Downing, a boy who was in Fran’s class. Fran took Barbara’s suggestion, and John accepted.

That first date led to a romance and wedding. John and Fran now have two very beautiful daughters. They kept in touch with Barbara and became close friends with her.

Barbara completed her teaching career at Hale Junior High School in Woodland Hills, California, in San Fernando Valley. She continued to bring science alive for all her students. Everyone wanted to be in Mrs. Lindquist’s class.

Barbara retired in 1979 to pursue new projects with her husband and family.

Barbara met her second husband, Rick, when he was hired as an English and History teacher at King Junior High School.

They noticed each other as they passed in the halls. Both thought the other seemed rather nice. Over time they grew to know each other through their work. Rick would check with Barbara about some of his students she was counseling.

As time passed, they became good friends. They joined the school’s bowling league and became team-mates. Their team was made up with Barbara, Rick and Wanda Longsine, a teacher and friend of Barbara’s.

To make the bowling more fun, the three team-mates decided that the one with highest score would take the other two to dinner. The choice of restaurant was to be a secret. Each of them tried to choose interesting places.

One time, Barbara sent Rick a drawing of an island and a boat. She had written that he was to choose one for dinner. He chose the boat. Barbara took them to San Pedro where they had a boat ride in the harbor followed by dinner.

Another time, Rick told Barbara and Wanda to plan on a long ride, and took them to the La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club.

Rick always liked to tell the story of the time they were asked to help the Boys’ Assistant Principal. They were to take a group of boys from the school to Disneyland.

One of the rides was Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride. Rick said that if he was going on that ride, it would only be with Barbara. He grabbed her hand and away they went.

Another ride was the Tom Sawyer’s Island Raft. Half way across the pond to the island, it jarred throwing Barbara off balance. Rick caught her from falling. Once he had his arms around her he knew that this was the girl he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.

Because of the altercation between Rick and his mother over his wanting to marry Barbara, they decided to elope. With the help of their principal, they had their classes covered, and were able to get away early on Friday, March twentieth, the last day of school before the Easter Vacation.

They decided to go to Carson City, Nevada, accompanied by their friend, Wanda, who was to be their witness.

Barbara and Rick were married on March 21, 1964, in the Carson Wedding Chapel at 5:00 p.m.

That evening, as Barbara, sitting on the bed, was brushing her hair, a flash of electricity completely encircled the foot of the bed. Barbara and Rick were both startled. Later they decided that even the elements were celebrating their marriage.

They spent their first week together in the cabin of Wanda’s parents in Calpine, California.

They had a wonderful week there, playing in the snow, and visiting all the interesting places in the Eastern Sierras. It was during this week they met their life-time friend, Ramona Melvin, a resident of Calpine.

Barbara and Rick fell in love with Calpine, with its beautiful ponderosa pines and bought a cabin there. They spent every summer vacation in Calpine with their family and friends.

Their marriage was a special love affair. Barbara and Rick were blessed in they were always able to work in the same schools. Throughout their marriage, they were never apart. They did everything together. Even their work brought them closer.

When Barbara had a meeting to attend or a program to lead, Rick was there with her. When Rick had to present a program, Barbara was there to help. They were a wonderful happy team and enjoyed each other’s company. They were two peas in a pod, and madly in love.

They both were family oriented, and were always there to help the family in any way they could. Every summer was a happy time at the cabin with all the family.

Barbara and Rick would go up to Calpine at the end of school, and get it opened and cleaned. They would go back to Los Angeles, pick up Barbara’s parents and bring them up to Calpine. They spent the summer there, “Bar-B-Qing”, fishing, sight-seeing, and making weekly trips to Reno to shop and see some shows. One summer, they put up a swimming pool and a cabana where they could sit and have their meals under the beautiful pine trees.

They both loved to travel. They took trips to Canada, Mexico, Hawaii, and one summer drove to the East Coast. They arrived in Florida and drove along the coast to Vermont, stopping at many historical places. Rick also wanted to show where he was born and grew up in New Jersey and New York.

Many of their trips were epics in themselves. Once on the way home from Hawaii, the plane lost an engine. Luckily, they were not at the point of no return, and were able to return to Hawaii.

Another time they decided to rent an R.V. over a President’s Day weekend with Barbara’s mother, father and Wanda.

The RV people showed how everything worked and if they needed help, there was a manual under the driver’s seat. They decided they would travel to Death Valley. When they got to the turn-off for Death Valley, they stopped for gas. The gas gauge still showed full. However, they took on quite a bit of gas. That’s when they realized the gauge was stuck.

When they stopped for the night, the mantels were burned out, so no light. When checking the manual to see how to get them to work, they found the manual was written in German.

This was when R.V.’s were new and not too many were on the road. Once Barbara, Rick, her father, and Wanda went for a walk, leaving Barbara’s mother in the R.V. When they returned they found a long line of people going in the back door and out the front door. The four of them had to get in line to get back in the R.V. It seems some people asked her mother if they could look inside and she said, “Yes.”

After Barbara’s mother passed away they thought they would take her father on a house-boat cruise on the Sacramento Delta. Barbara and Rick envisioned lying on the deck relaxing in the sun, fishing off the back of the boat, and having a nice Bar-B-Que. When they arrived at the house-boat landing, they were told that there was the worst windstorm in over 100 years. They did get the boat out, but had to return and spend the rest of the time on the dock.

Their friends said, “You want a real adventure? Go on a trip with Barbara and Rick.”

Barbara and Rick were always learning new things. They took several college courses on different subjects. One was a three day course on the Chinese Culture in San Francisco. Another was on the Gold Rush Country around Sonora. They also took a course on the theater, and saw several plays.

The course on the theater was in two parts. First, there was a one hour class where the instructor explained what they would see that night, and what to watch for.

There was a three hour lapse between the class and the play, so Barbara and Rick bought a book on “Little Known Restaurants in Los Angeles.” They tried most of them and were pleasantly surprised how good the food was.

There was one restaurant called “Lost on Larramie.” They never did find it. So far as they were concerned, it was still “lost.”

Theirs was truly a happy love affair and grew stronger though the years. Their marriage lasted forty-six wonderful years.

Barbara and Rick had a favorite song, “You Were Meant For Me”, lyrics by Arthur Freed, music by Nacio Herb Brown.

They also had a poem they fell in love with. They found it in a book titled “The Smoke Jumpers” by Nichols Evans.

If I be the first to die,

Let grief not blacken long your sky.

Be bold yet modest in your grieving.

There is a change but not a leaving.

For just as death is part of life

The dead live on forever in the living.

And all the gathered riches of our journey,

The moments shared, the mysteries explored,

The steady layering of intimacy stored.

The things that made us laugh, weep or sing,

The joy of sunlit snow or first unfurling of the spring.

The word less language of look and touch

The knowing.

Each giving and each taking.

These are not flowers that fade,

Nor trees that fall or crumble,

Nor are they stone.

For even stone cannot the wind and rain with stand.

And mighty mountains peaks in time reduce to sand.

What we were, we are.

What we had, we have.

A conjoined past imperishably present.

So when you walk the woods

Where we walked together

And scan in vain the dappled bank beside you for my shadow,

Or pause where we always did

Upon the hill to gaze across the land

And spotting something, reach by habit for my and

And finding none, feel sorrow start to steal upon you,

Be still

Close your eyes

Breathe

Listen for my foot fall in your heart.

I am not gone, but merely

Walk with in you.