Red Hair

She had red hair down to her waist. My grandmother's hair when she was a teen was not that bright, orangey red, it was a deep, dark red. She said that her father, James Tribble, loved her red hair. It held a strong value as a symbol of their Irish ancestry. However, it was thick and heavy and gave her headaches. James Tribble would not let her cut it; it was too beautiful. She said that he had a temper and one would not want to cross him. She didn't dare to cut it.

She said she had wanted to become a doctor, but her father said that women didn't become doctors. However, Elizabeth Blackwell had already become the first American woman with a medical degree. She created the first medical school for women. She ensured it had high entrance standards, rigorous studies, and quality graduates. In fact, her medical school offered a better education than many of the traditional male medical schools. All of this was done before my grandmother stated she wanted to be a doctor. But James Tribble was not aware of this. She also had been told she had a beautiful voice and that she could be trained for the opera. But that was too scandalous. So when my grandmother, Lucretia Tribble, finished high school, she stayed in school one more year and obtained a teaching certificate.

Just before she left home, in defiance of her father, my grandmother had her hair cut to above shoulder length. The long cut-off section was saved in a box until it was sold for doll making. When she and her Aunt Rea, who was more like her sister because they were only a year apart in age, boarded a train to head out west, she felt light, excited, and free.