I do not know who she is or whether she’s still alive, but I think about her each day.

From an old certificate, I know she had her First Holy Communion in St. Vincent de Paul’s Church in Chicago in May of 1922. On this day in May of 2011, her imprint still remains inside what is now my condo along Lake Michigan. Was she one of the first people to lean on the marble ledge with her tiny hands and gaze out of my window staring at the waves?

If she was seven on her First Communion in 1922, Ms. Agnes C. Disselhorst would be 96 years old today.

I do not know much about little Agnes, but I can tell her parents loved her. The certificates were cared for so well, they are still here almost 100 years later so I could discover them as I tore down a closet in my renovation project. Her parents also cared enough for their little daughter to give Agnes the gift of education. A certificate tells me Agnes attained “a degree of excellence in Palmer Method Muscular Movement Business Writing” in June of 1928. There is also a 1933 class photo from The Immaculata High School.

I look forward to reuniting these with the Disselhorst family, but I have been unable to find Agnes online. Did Agnes get married and become a journalist? Would I know her by her married name? I am eager to tell the end of the story.

Can you help me?