Love Is In The Air. . . .Sweet, Sweet Love. . . .#2

Gino and George in September of 1948. The picture was taken on the road east of Panaca going out of town. The hill that has the white washed "L" for Lincoln County High School can be seen in the backgound.

George and Ina in the winter of 1948. The picture was taken in the High School courtyard.

This is me taken in June of 1950 in Salt Lake City on the lawn in front of my sister Theresa's home where I was living. I am wearing the dress and shoes I wore to my Baccalaureate ceremony the Sunday before my graduation from Lincoln County High School in May.

September of 1950. . . ."Say it isn't so"!. . . .Could this really be me flaunting George's Letterman's sweater while sitting on the fender of Ollie's car? Notice the stripes for George being a three year letterman in football and basketball. I very much doubt that Ollie was impressed!

In Chapter 1, writing of my romance with George Wimsatt, I had stated that true love does not always run smoothly and promised that I would write more on that later. Well, I guess it is now later. . . .

When I ended that chapter of our love story, I had graduated from Lincoln County High School and left for Salt Lake City to continue my education and enhance my beautiful smile through orthodontics. I would be living with my sister Theresa, her husband LeGrande, their two sons and a beautiful little daughter.

There were some important events that occurred leading up to my departure. In the spring of my senior year, the State Highway Department for the State of Nevada, sent a crew of 7 surveyors to Panaca. They were doing extensive work on the highway from the Delamar road through the canyon into Caliente, and on the road going out of Panaca over the summit, to the Utah State Line. Because of her reputation as the "best cook in Lincoln County", my mother had been asked to feed the crew breakfast, pack them a lunch, and feed them dinner.

Oliver Perondi was one of the crew. He was handsome, charming, and drove a new Oldsmobile. From the beginning, Ollie treated me like I was a princess, and I was very flattered. I found myself liking him a lot. But, there was George and I also liked him a lot. We had been a couple for a year and a half. We had shared some of the most exciting times in our lives.

The Panaca girls had a killer softball team. We had lost our coach. Ollie had become close friends with my brother Leo. Leo convinced Ollie to coach the team, with him as the assisstant coach. I found myself seeing Ollie often, twice a day at my home when he came to eat, and several times a week at softball practice. He wanted to date me. I knew it wasn't fair to date him when I was George's steady girlfriend, but honestly thought I could date them both without anyone getting hurt. So, off I went to Salt Lake, blissfully wearing George's Letterman's sweater AND a bracelet Ollie had given me.

Ollie made trips to Salt Lake to see me, even coming for one visit with a fellow surveyor and my big brother, Leo. Leo had never been happy about me dating Ollie, he much preferred I date George. What is it with big brothers? They can be so smothering!

I went home several times to watch George play football and basketball. I was also going home to be his date for the Christmas Ball. At that time, being the sweetie I was and because my mother told me I should, I returned his Letterman's sweater so he could wear it his senior year.

At some point, that "True Love" we had sang about, hit it's first big bump. I guess it was bound to happen when your girlfriend is a long ways away and going on dates with another guy. By the time George graduated from good old Lincoln in May of 1950, our romance seemed to be over. He left soon after his graduation for Washington DC where he had a job working for the FBI. John and Ruby Leach arrived in DC a week ahead of him. They also had jobs in DC. George and I had no contact but I was having a hard time letting go and kept track of him through John and Ruby. (Yup, we were friends again!)

Just before Valentine's day in 1951, Ollie showed up in Salt Lake City with a huge diamond engagement ring. He picked me up at Bekin's Van Lines where I was working, and took me to lunch. He showed me the ring and asked me if I would be engaged to him. He said he knew I was young but if I would wear his ring, he would wait how ever long it took for me to marry him. I was overwhelmed with emotions I did not understand, but I knew I could not accept the ring at that time. Coward that I was, I told him I would give him my answer the next day. In the middle of the night, I woke up in a cold sweat, and the first thing I thought about was George. Then I thought, "What in the world are you doing, Ina?" We went to lunch the next day and I told him I could not accept his ring. He asked me if it was because of George and I gave him a resounding "Yes"! He was sad, but being the gentleman he was, told me he hoped I would be happy.

I felt wonderful! On the way home from work, I stopped to get a Valentine card for George. It took a long time to find one that was suitable for the occassion as I had not exchanged a word with him since he left for DC. I stayed up most of the night writing a letter to put with the card. The letter was a masterpiece; charming, witty, sophisticated, and compelling. I mailed it and waited, with butterflies in my stomach, for his letter to arrive. I was sure he would affirm his everlasting love for me.

The letter soon arrived, and with my heart thumping madly, I opened it and began to read. "Dear Ina", it began. . . .and then my dream turned into a nightmare. . . ."take a hike!", it continued. Well, maybe he didn't say it exactly like that, perhaps not quite as blatant and cold, but the message was the same. I couldn't believe it! In my most ladylike manner, I swore and ranted. I was so irate that I was literally jumping up and down. What was he thinking? I had just refused a huge diamond ring from a handsome man, who I might add, had lots of money and a flashy car! True, George didn't know about the ring thing, but still. . . .So with pen in hand, I sat down to fire off a blistering reply.

Hearing the ruckus, my sweet sister came down to my little basement room to make sure I hadn't completely destroyed it. She asked what was wrong, and with all of the self-rightous fury I could muster, I told her the story and what I was going to tell George. She said to me, "Put your anger aside for a minute and answer me honestly, do you really love this young man?" "Because", she continued, "if you do, this is what you need to do . . . ." And so, I wrote George. I didn't mention his letter, but just wrote a very ordinary one telling him what was going on in my life and asked him what was going on in his. I told him I would be going home in a week with braces on my teeth and my "course completed certificate" from the LDS Business College, in my suitcase. I had submitted an application for an interview for the position of secretary to Esther Rollins, who was the Lincoln County Clerk. In the meantime, I would be baby sitting two little boys five days a week, while their mother worked.

I returned to Panaca and once again I waited, with butterflies in my stomach, for his letter to arrive.

To be continued. . . .