{"id":44,"date":"2013-03-08T17:24:55","date_gmt":"2013-03-08T22:24:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.valdosta.edu\/voice\/?p=44"},"modified":"2013-09-16T12:12:11","modified_gmt":"2013-09-16T16:12:11","slug":"dorothy-pittman-class-of-1969","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.valdosta.edu\/voice\/2013\/03\/08\/dorothy-pittman-class-of-1969\/","title":{"rendered":"Dorothy Pittman Class of 1969"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"p34-35_Pittman\"<\/a><\/p>\n

In the summer of 1967, Dorothy Pittman stood in line with other new transfer students at then Valdosta State College\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s registrar\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s office, waiting to declare her major before being sent to the corresponding table.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153When the person in front of me told the registrar he was undecided about his major, she had him go to three separate long lines,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Pittman said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I was not about to spend my morning standing in line, so when I was asked my major, the immediate answer was history. Needless to say, the lines at the history table were short, and I had completed registration for my summer classes in less than one hour.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Pittman graduated in May 1969 and went on to attend the School of Library Science at Florida State University. Afterward, Pittman worked in several different library positions, including the assistant special collections librarian at the University of Georgia, and eventually she traveled\u00c2\u00a0to Edinburgh, Scotland, to pursue a Master of Letters in medieval history.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153At that time, librarians were in short supply, so I had a choice of what jobs I wanted,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d she said.<\/p>\n

After returning, Pittman continued to work in libraries up until 1997 when she became the owner of Horton\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Book in Carrollton, Ga., the oldest bookstore in the state, quite by mistake.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Even while working as a librarian, I had always thought it would be fun to open a used bookstore,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d she said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153When I came home to Carrollton, I dropped in to see the owner of Horton\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s to ask his advice on some books I found. We started talking, and soon I was working for him, and within several months, I was the owner.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Horton\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s was always rumored to be one of the oldest bookstores in Georgia, but its age was secured when the American Booksellers Association (ABA) celebrated its 100th birthday and asked to hear from bookstores 100 years old and older.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153A couple months later, we received the official publication from ABA listing us as the ninth oldest in the nation,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Pittman said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153And the only one in Georgia.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Looking back at her time in Valdosta, Pittman is happy she chose to attend Valdosta State College.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Valdosta was the right school for me,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d she said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I loved the dorm life, the library where I worked as a page, my sorority, and the professors. The atmosphere was one where even someone like me, who was an introvert, could excel.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

During her enrollment, Pittman was a member of Alpha Xi Delta, treasurer of the Student Government Association, and a page in the library. She also competed in the Miss Valdosta Pageant, which she called \u00e2\u20ac\u0153an experience.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Although I did not consider myself a beauty, I decided to give it a try,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d she said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153After two days of walking around in a bathing suit, heels, and a gown, we spent just one evening onstage before a packed audience at the civic auditorium.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Being so involved on campus, Pittman kept a strict schedule in order to never fall behind in her classes.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153The only exception was my last quarter when I stayed up all night to finish a term paper due the next day,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d she said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I swore after that to never do it again as the final product was not up to my usual standards.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Being the owner of Horton\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s has not stopped Pittman from visiting her old stomping grounds.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Before my daughter decided to attend VSU, my family and I had visited a couple of times,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d she said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153While she was there, I would drive her down at the beginning and end of each semester,<\/p>\n

so I got a chance to see the changes that had taken place.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d As Pittman’s graduation neared, she remembers being enthusiastic\u00c2\u00a0about the future, despite less-than-promising circumstances. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153During my time at VSC, there were the assassinations of Martin\u00c2\u00a0Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Pittman said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153It was also during that time that 19-year-olds were being drafted for service in Vietnam. Even so, everyone was confident in the future and ready to begin their adult lives.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not certain that anything prepares you for the \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcreal world,\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 but VSC did give me the tools to understand and deal with the things that life threw me.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the summer of 1967, Dorothy Pittman stood in line with other new transfer students at then Valdosta State College\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s registrar\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s office, waiting to declare her major before being sent to the corresponding table. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153When the person in front of me told the registrar he was undecided about his major, she had him go to…

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