Flores retires, reminisces about 1970s

Fresh out of high school, as a newly married young woman with a one-month-old baby, Margaret Flores reported to work in 1972 to the new Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs. Thinking that she'd only work a short while, she settled in and stayed for 30 years. This year she will retire from her position as a library circulation desk manager and try to reclaim her life as a homemaker, which she abandoned many years ago.

During her tenure, Flores moved from the Dean's Office (where she first worked as a receptionist), to the Business Office, and finally to the Public Affairs Library. As a 30-year tenant of Sid Richardson Hall, she's a good source for historical anecdotes.

"I remember we had a two-line phone in the Dean's Office," she said. "I may be wrong, but I seem to recall that there were only 10 faculty members and 10 students. I remember that the student affairs office was in the Dean's Office, where the current supply room is."

During those early days, she recounted, it was not unusual to hear the whirring of the helicopter bearing President Johnson as it landed on top of the LBJ Library during his visits. "The one big regret I have is that I never got to meet President Johnson. I'd hear him coming down the hallway when he was in the building visiting with students, but I was working at my desk," she said. "I did get to meet Mrs. Johnson and her two daughters, though."

One memory that she said she would never forget was when President Johnson passed away and his body lay in state in the LBJ Library. "I was looking out the window that's across from the faculty lounge, and I remember seeing the coffin and Mrs. Johnson and the whole family arrive. There were hundreds of people lined up (for the vigil). I never went; instead, I prayed and thought of him and the pain his family was feeling. It was a cold day."

According to her, one of the biggest changes the building has undergone came in 1985-86 when the Public Affairs Library was remodeled. During this renovation, the circulation area was expanded, a copy room was added, and all administrative offices were consolidated on the lower floor.

"Before then, we had no carpet and we only had hard metal chairs for students to sit on," she recalled. "Now, students have computers and comfortable sofas to sit on to read."

After she retires, Flores, who is a lifelong Austin resident, plans on spending a lot of time with her family, dancing, watching old movies, taking cooking classes, monitoring her health, and--maybe--finally learning to drive. If she can get over her fear of flying (she's only flown three times and the 9-11 incident has affected her), she says she'd also like to revisit Las Vegas.

"I am thankful for having had the opportunity to work with the students, staff, and faculty. I hope I have made a difference here as it was always my goal to do my best with the abilities I had," she said. "Time has flown. It doesn't seem like 30 years."

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May 13, 2002

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