Leaving Germany, teaching, and other stories from a local resident.

Interviewer 1: Would you feel comfortable talking about your life perspective? Where did you grow up? 

Ruth: You want to go way back, right? I was born in Germany in 1936, so I'm 88 years old. I came to America when I was about three in 1939. Well, it was Hitler, and Jews were expelled, so we came to America, and I grew up in Denver in Colorado. I went through high school in Denver, and then came east to college. I went to Smith College and then to Harvard for a year to get a master's in education. 

I taught high school history for four years, one year at Lexington High School. Then, I had a baby and then started law school. So my career was as a lawyer in downtown Boston.

My two children went all through Lexington schools, and one of them continues to live here. Her children also graduated from Lexington High School. The last one graduated about two years ago. So I've had lots of admiration for Lexington High School.

Interviewer 1: What was it like growing up in Colorado?

Ruth: It was wonderful. Denver's a wonderful place to grow up. My parents went there. They were highly educated. My mother had a PhD. So, they got to New York and then decided we didn’t want to be in New York and instead wanted to be someplace where we could hike and ski. And that's why they ended up in Denver.

 They didn't know anybody, and that's kind of how I grew up. I did a lot of skiing, tennis, outdoors, and mountains. It was a wonderful place to grow up.

Interviewer 2: What was your experience with tennis? Is that something you really enjoyed?

Ruth: It was a big part of my life. I mean, I played up until maybe 10 years ago. I had a couple back operations, but it was a big part of my life. I miss that. I even miss it more than skiing. 

I mean, I grew up skiing in Colorado. There were no lifts when we moved there. Zero. I grew up with the whole development of that sport there, but it's gotten to be so expensive. I mean, I was able to get my grandkids on skis and was happy about that, but then I pretty much had to stop.

Interviewer 1: You talked about your relationship with Lexington. Could you tell a story about teaching in Lexington or growing up around here?

Ruth: Well, I've lived in Lexington since 1969, so a long time. It's a great place to grow up. The kids got a great education. The community has changed enormously. And now they're building this new high school. I keep getting notices about it, but I don't have to get involved in that anymore. 

Interviewer 1: You said you taught history at Lexington, right? Was there a specific time period when you taught?

Ruth: It was in 1959; it was actually half a year I was there. It was part of the Harvard Ed program. You get a Master of Arts in Teaching. I don't think that program exists anymore, but after I ended up in law school.