Jamie Kathryn Carter Bollich

I graduated from UT Austin with a journalism degree in May 1973, then worked for the Beaumont Enterprise and Journal as a copy editor, feature writer, health news editor and columnist (a consumer column and later a general interest one called "Life in the Slow Lane.") Was co-owner of a bicycle shop for several years. Stayed home to raise my four children and now write and research family history topics with a distant cousin, Herman Wright. Our book “Arvetta” came out in 2018 and may be purchased on Amazon. I speak at and attend history and genealogy conferences in Southeast Texas and around the state. I've tested on several DNA sites and am fascinated by what I have learned. Have helped several adoptees find their birth families. I am a deacon and elder at my church and sing as a choir member and soloist. I love to read, write, fish, visit libraries and museums, do research online, listen to Judy Garland, Nanci Griffith, Celtic and folk music, and study Scotland, Ireland, Wales, and England (traveled there in 2011), take pictures, and spend time with family.

One thing that occurs to me occasionally is that it's a wonder we made it to classes on time in view of how large Spring Woods is and how few minutes we had to cross the campus. If a bathroom or locker stop was required, it was even more of a challenge. I remember feeling proud of our school's modern look and appreciating the good teachers there. SBISD was so fortunate to have the fine leadership of Dr. Landrum. Years after graduation, I learned that Dr. Landrum and I are cousins through our Simmons ancestors, and that tickled me. I never cared for football or the sports program and didn't want to go to games or pep rallies, so I was pretty different in that respect. I remember startling a teacher on the first day of school by telling her I was there to learn, not pay attention to football!