It is June 1949 and Barbara had just graduated from the 11th grade at Weirsdale High School.  During the last week of school, Barbara along with her friend Anne Schmidt, got selected to attend “Girl’s State” at the capital in Tallahassee where she is now at.  Girl’s State was a program in which high school girls from all over the state went to the capital to attend a week of learning about how the government works.  The program included lectures, mock elections, and meetings with state officials.  

 Morris was working as a stock clerk in the Chemistry Department at the University of Florida. He got the job through the Veterans program having served in the Navy during the war.  The University was about a 45-minute drive from his home in Flemington where he lived with his parents and two brothers.  The Mixson’s did not have a phone at that time.