Ellen Josephine Peterson was born in New Sweden, Maine, on November 5, 1883. Her parents were Swedish immigrants; her father, Anders Gustaf Peterson, died when Ellen was only ten years old. She was valedictorian of her high school class in Caribou, Maine, and entered Colby in the fall of 1903, being initiated into Sigma Kappa that November. (1965 Sigma Kappa Magazine Biography, transcribed by Pat Berg Currier)
In high school, others say of Miss Peterson, “Wish there were more like her.” She enjoyed playing basketball in her free time, and her favorite study was Life of Grant. Even as a high school graduate, she envisioned her future occupation in teaching.
Ellen J. Peterson’s high school yearbook. Pat Berg Currier’s family collection.