Jim and Anne Edgson (Photo Credit: John Ulan)
Jim and Anne - a 50-Year Love Story
When you come to university, it's not just a degree you get, it's a beginning - or so goes the philosophy of Jim Edgson, '66 BSc.
For Edgson, life changed as he waited for the Ring 4 bus at the top of what was then Radio Hill. At the bottom of the hill stood a young woman. She wore a knee-length winter coat and had her hair swept up in a beehive hairdo. He walked down the hill and struck up a conversation.
It was noon on March 15, 1963, and it was the day Edgson found his beginning.
Exactly 50 years later, at the stroke of noon, Anne and Jim Edgson sat at a table in the food court of the Students' Union Building, which was built over the spot of that Ring 4 bus stop. Edgson and his wife had driven through a blizzard to be on campus and celebrate the moment of their first meeting.
Despite a winter much snowier than the one back in 1963, the pair wandered around campus. Back in the days when they were on a student budget, long walks were common dates. On other evenings, Edgson would invite Anne to his Athabasca Hall building. Women weren't allowed in the residence at the time, so the pair would sit in the foyer to play canasta - and the occasional bit of footsie.
"I left the U of A with a bachelor of science. I ended up with a lifetime partner," says Edgson.
Listen to Edgson recount the moment of their meeting and see which item in Athabasca Hall brought the memories flooding back.