Annie – Part 1

This is a slight backtrack on the timeline with Jubal. I met Anne P. in the winter of ‘77, 6 or 7 months after Lynn left. She was working for the OH State License Bureau that my dad was running out of his carpet store, The Big T. Yes, Dad retired from plumbing and heating and got an independent building from which to sell carpet, flooring, and draperies. He hired Anne as a typist. There were two other typists as well, Maryanne and my sister, Becky. Anne only worked there for a few months until she was hired by Penton Publishing in Cleveland. They published engineering journals.

I met Anne as a result of being snowed in at the farm, about a mile north of Oberlin on Butternut Ridge Rd. I had to hike out*. Dad drove out to pick me up, but could only get to within 2 miles of the house. That was the first snow of what turned out to be a very hard and cold winter. The wind and snow were blowing so hard that I could feel it on my skin through my heavy coat. I was also carrying my guitar and fiddle since I didn’t know when I’d be able to get back to the house. I stayed at Mom’s and Dad’s that night. Guy was going to pick me up at the ‘T’ in the morning. So, I rode in with Mom and Dad. I was sitting on a bench in the store talking to them over coffee when a very Bohemian looking young woman in a tan, wool coat, large glasses, and a red beret walked in and went to her desk. Mom introduced me to her. Yes, she drew me in like a magnet from first sight. I found her rather cosmopolitan persona intriguing, and I fell hook, line, and sinker…

Anne (Annie) and her friends, Lynn F. and Karen R. – friends from Hiram College where she had earned her BA with honors – came to the Ground Round to catch our show a couple of times. Later, Annie would come to the shows with me, once each at a few of the venues. But not that much. There were no commitments between us at that time… even though we developed great affection for each other from almost the day we met.

Annie and my sister, Jacqui, took turns babysitting Kristen and Ian when they were staying with me. Annie would come to the farm and stay with them, and I’d frequently drop them off at Jacqui’s since Annie wasn’t always available with my work and gigs schedules.

* During that storm, all the water pipes in the house froze, and I had to replace them (with my dad’s help) in the following weeks, once I could get back in. The snow plows had piled up ice banks 6 to 8 feet high all along both sides of Butternut Ridge Rd. and in front of my quarter-mile driveway, back to the house. It was many days before I was able to get back to it.

To be Continued

–LE