Breaking Down Barriers
And Justice Has Been Served
When Harry Day's father died just before Harry was to enter Stanford University, Harry
was forced to run the family ranch instead. Life was hard. The little adobe house on the New Mexico border had no electricity or running water and was many miles from the
nearest city.
But life went on and Harry eventually married Ada Mae. When their first child was born,
they traveled the 200 miles to El Paso for the delivery, then brought their baby, Sandra,
home to start her life with the limited resources the ranch offered.
There wasn't even a school within driving distance. So Ada Mae did what she had to and
began home schooling little Sandra at four, reading to her hour after hour every day. But
Harry and Ada Mae knew that they wanted their daughter to have a college education—
the one Harry had missed—so later they sent Sandra to the best boarding school they
could afford.
Not only did Sandra go on to college, but in 1952 she graduated from Stanford University
Law School near the top of her class and set out confidently to make her mark at a top
level law firm. But Sandra still had some hurdles to overcome. The only offers she
received were for legal secretary positions.
So she started her career instead in San Mateo, California, as an assistant county attorney.
Later she and her husband moved to Arizona, where she built a prominent law practice.
It was 29 years after Stanford that she received a phone call from Attorney General
William French Smith. President Reagan had nominated her—Sandra Day O'Connor—to
be the first female justice of the United States Supreme Court.
from The Best of Bits & Pieces
When Harry Day's father died just before Harry was to enter Stanford University, Harry
was forced to run the family ranch instead. Life was hard. The little adobe house on the New Mexico border had no electricity or running water and was many miles from the
nearest city.
But life went on and Harry eventually married Ada Mae. When their first child was born,
they traveled the 200 miles to El Paso for the delivery, then brought their baby, Sandra,
home to start her life with the limited resources the ranch offered.
There wasn't even a school within driving distance. So Ada Mae did what she had to and
began home schooling little Sandra at four, reading to her hour after hour every day. But
Harry and Ada Mae knew that they wanted their daughter to have a college education—
the one Harry had missed—so later they sent Sandra to the best boarding school they
could afford.
Not only did Sandra go on to college, but in 1952 she graduated from Stanford University
Law School near the top of her class and set out confidently to make her mark at a top
level law firm. But Sandra still had some hurdles to overcome. The only offers she
received were for legal secretary positions.
So she started her career instead in San Mateo, California, as an assistant county attorney.
Later she and her husband moved to Arizona, where she built a prominent law practice.
It was 29 years after Stanford that she received a phone call from Attorney General
William French Smith. President Reagan had nominated her—Sandra Day O'Connor—to
be the first female justice of the United States Supreme Court.
from The Best of Bits & Pieces