Mildred Armstrong Kalish

I was born on a farm near Garrison, Iowa, in Benton County on St. Patrick's Day in 1922. My growing up was influenced by The Great Depression, by the self-reliance and work ethic of my mother's parents- themselves descendants of pioneers- who never quite made it into the 20th Century and by the remarkable challenges and the inestimable rewards of living a rural life where we children were expected to accept responsibilities beyond the ordinary. From early on, I was eager to be self-supporting and independent.The summer I became thirteen I became the companion , cook and caretaker of a retired missionary; I served as a hired girl on two local farms; I earned an Elementary Teacher's Certificate from Iowa Stte Teacher's College at Cedar Falls. I accepted the position as Governess in Yonkers, N.Y. Joining the The United States Coast Guard Women's Reserve, I was sent for Radio Training to Miami University at Oxford, Ohio and on graduation I served at the Headquarters of the 5th Naval District in Norfolk, Virginia where I met and married fellow radio operator Harry Kalish. Thanks to the G.I. Bill, we both furthered our education at the State University of Iowa. We have 2 sons, 2 daughters-in-law (par excellence) amd 4 grandchildren. I am an Emeritus Professor of English retired from Suffolk County Community College on Long Island. I have taught at the State University of Iowa at Iowa City, The State University of Missouri at Columbia, and at Adelphi in Garden City, NY. My husband and I are residents of a retirement community in Cupertino, California.