Lifelong Friendships: Janice Collins Bailey

Janice Collins Bailey

Marilyn Ash Barbeck:  When we started at East High, Marilyn’s, Barbara Hammond’s, and my Dad had a carpool to drive us there. We usually rode the bus home, but on especially nice days we would walk the three miles home.  On one of these walks, I asked Marilyn what she wanted to do when she ”grew up.” She replied very quickly that she wanted to smear honey on biscuits. I believed her because she was such a kind and loving person. And that is what she has done for her children and under any other circumstance of which I am aware. I still cherish her as my friend because she still spreads honey on biscuits.

Kathy Knee:  When Kathy became my friend at East, I liked her because she had such a unique character. She was funny, had a car (which none of the rest of us did) and a beautiful singing voice. She had many family responsibilities when she was in high school, so sometimes if we wanted to include Kathy we met at her home on South Hydraulic. We had great fun knitting, mending socks, gossiping, laughing, and talking about school.

Kathy was and still is a very determined person. She set goals and attained them, but never in a way anyone else would.  She was a great singing teacher at Mayberry,  Hamilton, and in other communities before returning to Wichita. Kathy retired from teaching choir at Hamilton Jr. High School several years ago and took care of her sister who suffered from MS.  She is still as Kathy as she ever was and has a much better memory than I do.

Kathy still has that beautiful voice. Barbara Hammond and I had the opportunity to hear her among the other voices in the Alumni Singing Quakers under Dr. Rinney’s direction. She’s still a good friend and lives in my neighborhood.

Marcia Benjamin:  I got to know Marcia at East although we both went to Robinson. I met her in Peppy Pilots. Marcia is a person with a ready laugh and more children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren than some of us teachers have taught. She was one of the “artists” that made banners for athletic matches, and of course the infamous Cold, Cold Heart. She was always pleasant to be around. I was jealous that she had an older friend who passed down her gently-used clothes, because Marcia had so many more neat clothes than I did. Marcia has a beautiful singing voice and a cheerful personality, Since she lives outside St. Louis, I don’t get to be in her company often, but being with her at reunions is always a treat.

Barb Hammond:  I knew Barbara from Adams Elementary. We only had first grade together.  I had joined the Girl Scouts. Barbara joined the Campfire Girls. I was always jealous of her spiffy Campfire vest, while I had to wear the ill-fitting green Girl Scout dress. Because I only had one class with Barbara, I didn’t know her well until we were at  East High. Barbara seemed  just as shy as I was so we had that in common. (Below, Barb in the “spiffy” vest)

 We were on the same toilet-papering team and in Peppy Pilots together. We enjoyed eating my mom’s spaghetti dinners before games. After games we went to Kau Kau Corner, and Barbara usually ordered a hot chocolate with a scoop of ice cream in it. We were roommates on our junior year train trip to Washington D.C. and New York, where we saw The Music Man and an art museum. Oh, I left out the Government Buildings in Washington D.C. We saw those, too. (Below, photo from the train trip to Washington, DC) 

Since I was moving around after college and so was Barbara, I really did not have a relationship with her until we both volunteered to help restore the Fresh Air Baby Camp in North Riverside Park. (I forgave Barb for being a Camp Fire Girl when she told me that she had worked for the Girl Scouts.) I had only known FABC as the Girl Scout Little House. Barbara and I both migrated to the North High school district for family reasons, so we now live fairly close together again and have gone to some events together. 

As you can tell from our website, Barbara has a good sense of humor and is a talented artist.