Silver Heartbeats: "Scenery and Small Trips" Scans - Professional & Social Life (Month 2025)

Grandma Pat was a teacher, and within this first “Scenery and Small Trips” box of slide film, there were a few from her teaching at Hillcrest School according to how she labeled the images.

I looked into the school to see if it was still operating—within the Milwaukee area I found two Hillcrest Elementary schools, one in Kenosha and one in Waukesha. If either of these are the one she taught at, I would guess Waukesha would be closer to the Milwaukee Metro area. I do not believe the same building is still standing, but the elementary school is operating in a different building if that building still stands. It is also entirely possible that she was at a different Hillcrest school in Milwaukee altogether and the school just no longer operates.

Outside of the classroom, Grandma Pat was known for being a social butterfly. In fact, she liked to joke about how on occasion her grades were down because she socialized so much. I believe I have a letter from Marquette University somewhere in the files where she was turned down for the Masters program because of her grades. She did get that Masters degree, so she definitely figured it out eventually. She was the light of the room for pretty much her entire life. Her dance cards were always filled, and I also have a Christmas card in the archives where five men from the same fraternity asked her on a date.

Here is a very brief glimpse into snow days and classroom life with Miss Deniger (as she would have been known as at the time), and life in her 20’s with friends and as a godmother. If I find anymore images that fit this category in other slide boxes, I will update them here. In addition are some images of friends, many of her best friend Marie.