Grandma and Holly, Our Actresses

Holly was our actress, and she was amazing. Even in elementary school she had the poise and confidence of a much older child. In both 5^th and 6^th grade she was asked by her principal to represent their school at a speech contest in downtown Phoenix. She wrote her own essays, the principal approved them, then she presented them on the stage, along with dozens of other youth from across the state. I would have been trembling in my shoes, but Holly walked onto the stage like she owned the place, and gave her speeches with the finesse of a polished orator.

She was in her first real play in Junior High, when they put on 'Lil Abner, and then Bye Bye Birdie. By the time she reached high school she was an established actress, and performed in all the theatrical performances, usually in a leading roll.

Holly came by her acting abilities naturally. I never had the guts to try out for high school plays, although I secretly believed I would have been good, but my mother, Holly's grandma, was an accomplished actress in her youth. She stared in plays like “Arsenic and Old Lace,” and “Blythe Spirit,” and when she got married the town newspaper announced her engagement by informing the public that they were losing one of their best actresses. One of my favorite pictures of mom was taken as she lay dying on the stage, shot dead on her wedding day, in the play “Smiling Through.”

Holly certainly inherited her grandmother's talent, and she was a delightful actress, too. After graduating from high school she went up to Rick's College, in Idaho, to major in secondary education with an emphasis in theater, so she could become a drama teacher.

The following spring we went up and see Holly in a play. She had the lead in “The Matchmaker.” It was fun to see her apartment, meet her roommates, and look around the school. Best of all, though, was attending the play. Holly was superb! I sat enthralled the whole time, vicariously enjoying the thrill of being an actress myself, and wishing I had plucked up the courage to try out for a play back in my high school days.