I went to Findlay Senior High School. I did not get to go to college because there was no money at that time, but the three oldest of the family did not go to college, but then the other eight did but we all helped each other and they all became successful people.

I took commercial courses in high school and I went directly to Marathon Oil Company after I graduated from high school in 1940. I did fine there. I worked as a secretary at Marathon and I ended up being the secretary to the president, Mr. Donnell at that time. Then in 1945…

Lou: I have to interject because she was the first class president of high school that Findlay ever had.

Annie: First president of the class, yeah. That’s not important. But anyway, then Lou came along and we were married in 1947.

In those days Mr. Donnell felt that women should not work after they were married because the men were coming back from the service and they needed the jobs. I wasn’t planning to go back anyway because we had a comfortable living, but it’s kind of interesting I think, you know, that this is an altogether different world.

So, Lou and I were married in 1947 and we took a month long honeymoon all the through the west and went to Sun Valley, Idaho and we had a wonderful, wonderful honeymoon. Then we had five children, five children in seven years, and we were very, very busy.

Yes, our children are Michael, Lou-Anne – I really didn’t want to name anybody Lois so I compromised and called her Lou-Anne – and then we had Dorothy “Dotty”, then we have John, then we have Nancy. They’re very special people in my life. What else do you want to know? Oh, I had a ball! It was wonderful. It was really wonderful.

Lou: Today she talked to one in Florida, one in Virginia. She’s got a network of these gals.

Annie: We just had the most beautiful growing up years. We really did. My father was a great organizer with those eight boys and he would have them in boxing matches. He had horses, and when we were first married the first – my youngest brother was only…how old was he? Seven?

Lou: Six.

Annie: Our first Christmas we bought him a pony and really I can’t tell you what my childhood was like. I always say, don’t ever mourn me. I had the best life of anybody’s ever had. We did! We did! I just had a ball, I mean it!

Lou: Their stable was in the garage in their house.

Annie: That’s right, but it didn’t really matter because it was really – we did have a nice life. We had a lot of family games and I don’t mean to sound like a Pollyanna but growing up in high school I had everything I could imagine except for pretty clothes to wear (Laughs), you know? I really did. We had a high school sorority. We had tea dances. It was unbelievable the kind of wonderful life we lived as high school kids.


My friends all went to the service and we did not have any dates in those days because there weren’t any guys left except the 4F guys and we really didn’t (Laughter)…

We played a lot of bridge and I worked at Marathon we did things like we would have bond drives and we would ride in a Jeep and sell bonds up and down the street. I worked for the hospital as a Red Cross aid and we did everything that the nurses did except give medications because there weren’t any nurses around. I can’t tell you…it was a really good life. It really was. I really enjoyed my life.