Just Three Months from Graduation!

On Saturday, March 13, 1926, a friend of Ruth Meredith's who was learning to be a hairdresser came by to Marcel and curl her hair.  You can see from the picture what that looks like.  Ruth was happy with what Margarite had done for her.  Normally her hair was straight, not like the stylish Marcel wave.

The big occasion was Ruth's graduation picture, to be taken on the next day, Sunday. Graduation at Austin High School in Chicago was set for June 25.

In her diary, Ruth said, "After church I met Wanda.  We went down to Russell Studio on Michigan Blvd., where we posed for our 'grad' pictures. Both came back home, ate, went to B.Y. and church.  Had a full day all right."

Wanda was one of Ruth's closest friends and "B.Y." referred to the Baptist Young People's Union.  When I attended a Baptist church many years later, the group's name had changed to "Baptist Youth Fellowship" or "B.Y.F."   Ruth had lots of compliments on both her hair and the picture when it finally was ready in early May.

It may seem like Ruth's life was easy, but she had her share of turmoil.  The tenants upstairs in the rental flat above Meredith's moved to another flat several blocks away in April.  The young couple who rented the apartment said they'd sign a lease, but then refused to do it - and later moved out without notice.  The whole family, but especially Jim, worked hard to clean, paint, wallpaper the flat each time it changed hands.  The Merediths counted on that extra money.  To make ends meet, Jim would sometimes work an extra day, Sunday, at Western Electric.