BY DORIS KINGRY
As a young teenager, when Whiting Field was under construction, I worked one summer in the old Wilkes Pharmacy, a few doors north of the corner drug store that later became the Wilkes Pharmacy.
My friend and fellow schoolmate Mildred and I made many milkshakes, malts, cherry cokes, and sandwiches, primarily for the civilian construction workers from Whiting Field. There simply was a scarcity of places for the workers to eat or sleep. Many private home owners rented rooms to the men. My own mama and Aunt Lizzie rented sleeping spaces to several on their wrap-around porch. The men were glad to have a place with quilts and sheets and pillows to lay their heads at night.
One of the young men who came each evening to eat at the drug store took a liking to me. The feeling was mutual. However, at the tender age of 14 or 15 I was forbidden to date. My dad told me I could not date until at least 16 years old. As an obedient daughter, I believed him.
Living a mile and a half from town, walking to and from work six days a week, I saw an opportunity to spend some time with my new friend as he asked to walk me home in the evenings. I was happy to agree.
However, I would not let him accompany me all the way to my door. About a quarter of a mile from my house, I sent him on his way, rain or shine.
I do not know where he stayed in Milton, or I simply do not remember. That was my summer romance at 14 or 15. The fall came, and I went back to school, never hearing from my new friend again.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: A summer romance during NASWF construction