Late 1930's - the Girl Next Door- Pauline Allen

"Gary" had fallen in love with the girl next door.

Pauline Garrison 1935

Pauline came from Jerseyville, Illinois, a farming community about 20 miles north of Alton.

She was the youngest of 7 children, with 3 older brothers and 3 older sisters. Her mother, Nellie Quinn Allen, was a 60 year old widow in 1940; Pauline's father, Thomas Allen had died in 1933, when Pauine was still in high school. Her brothers Hugh and Kin were now working the family farm.  

Pauline had grown up surrounded by a large and close-knit family.  Her grandparents had been immigrants from Ireland and Pauline grew up among numerous aunts, uncles, and cousins who owned adjoining farms. The farms were prosperous; my mother said she never really knew there was a depression; they always had plenty of food and she was never aware of any hardships. 

One of her favorite stories was that one Christmas morning before going to church they were allowed to open a present and hers was "galoshes" (rubber boots.) She was mad all through church, and then found out afterward it was a joke; she had plenty of other presents waiting when they returned home.

Pauline and high school friends

Pauline may have had an occasional bout of Irish temper but she had a sunny disposition- she was bright, cheerful, and full of fun.  She was popular in school and was vice president of her high school class as a junior.

Pauline Allen, the girl in the center

 After graduating from high school she had attended secretarial college and then moved away from home to make a career in nearby St. Louis, rooming with her friend Edna.