Almarian Berch | Historical Photos of Almerican Berch

: Boarding school at St. Joseph’s Academy, Chickasha, Oklahoma (1929). Almarian Berch is on the front row, far left, in a black dress. The photo is labeled “third grade class,” in spite of the apparent wide range of ages. Almarian was promoted to the third grade at age 7, however, where she was one of the smallest in her class. (from the Hollingsworth family collection)

: Almarian Berch, — both main photo and inset are labeled “about 14,” which would place the year at 1936 (from the Hollingsworth family collection)

: Almarian Berch, with notation on the back of the photo: “age 14½ 1936.” Almarian did not have a middle name (from the Hollingsworth family collection)

: The 1936 orchestra from Mount St. Mary’s High School in Oklahoma City, an all-girl Catholic high school at the time (co-ed beginning in 1950 through the present). Almarian Berch, age 14, is standing with violin in hand, front row, second from left. (from the Hollingsworth family collection)

: In this undated photo of Lula and Almarian, circa 1940, Lula’s handwriting can be seen at the top of the picture. “Lula” and “Lulu” were interchangeable, her signature usually “Lulu,” but always pronounced Lula. She never used her given name of Lucinda. (from the Hollingsworth family collection)

: Almarian Berch (right) with “sister-cousin” Ben Marion (left) on the OU campus in Norman, 1938. In spite of the similarity of their unique names, the origins were not related. Ben Marion was the daughter of Jessie Combs (Lula’s sister) and her husband Ben Marion Willingham, a Native American. The origin of Almarian’s name is from her father, Al, while –marian is part of the discovery process detailed in the book (from the Hollingsworth family collection)

: Almarian Berch and future husband, Francis W. Hollingsworth, standing in front of Almarian’s dormitory at the University of Oklahoma in 1942. Newman Hall, still standing at the corner of Boyd and Chautauqua in Norman, was originally a Catholic-sponsored dormitory (from the Hollingsworth family collection)

: Francis W. Hollingsworth and Almarian Berch on the University of Oklahoma campus, graduation day 1942. They would be married at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Oklahoma City the next year (from the Hollingsworth family collection)