Samson, Darlene

Samson, Darlene; Accepted Application
Topic Started: Aug 28 2008, 11:20 PM (80 Views)
Darlene Samson	Aug 28 2008, 11:20 PM Post #1
Posts: 5 Group: Pupils Member #7 Joined: Aug 27, 2008	Darlene Mae Samson Student Age: 16 Height: 5’3” Weight: 129 Build and Carriage: Sturdy with extra wide hips. Hair Color and Style: . Dark brown, almost black and straight. It is always up except when she is in complete privacy. It is very long and straight, reaching to her lower back, but it also has a tendency to lie flat on her head. Eye Color: Dark brown Race/Ethnicity: Native American/German Complexion: Dark olive Indepth Description: Darlene has wide set eyes and high cheek bones. Her lips are wide, thin, and the same shade as her skin. She has a build that is sturdy and strong and usually wears practical clothing that is loose enough to significantly hide her sparse feminine traits. In her childhood, she was always active and kept up, or even led the way, with her brothers so she is well muscled. Country of Origin: America Date of Birth: July 2, 1888 Parents: -Ellen Samson (originally Elke Deutchendorf) -Nathan Samson (originally Nahata Tsosie) Siblings and other relatives: -Samuel Samson (brother; 18 years old) -Benjamin Samson (brother; 14 years old) Close Friends: None yet… Character History: Elke Deutchendorf was born in Cologne, Germany to a poor family, her father worked long hours in a textile but there never was enough to pay for his wife and six children. As the eldest child, Elke found herself in a position of responsibility and was forced to look for a job at a young age, but even though she desperately wanted to find work, she could never find a stable job, even as a maid. Convinced that Europe’s time was through, Elke looked to the west for new opportunities. She saved for years and was given a little help from her father, who hoped that America could offer new opportunities to his daughter. She finally had the money for a one way ticket to America when she was eighteen years old and she set off alone to the land of the setting sun, dreaming of the life that she would lead there. However, like most dreams, hers was never realized. The east coast was heavily industrialized, but it offered nothing but low wages and immigrants were on the bottom of the heap. Elke found nothing there but hard work and poverty, she worked there for a year before she knew that she needed to leave this life behind. Her dreams sent her further west. By now she had learned enough English to communicate, but she was still German enough to gain the disdain that was reserved for poor immigrants. She arrived in Kansas in 1886 where she was planning on settling down, but she happened to hear the endlessly enticing whispers of gold in California. Having always been poor, Elke could not resist the call of wealth and finally the realization of her dreams. She set off again, her eyes focused on the wealth that a marriage to another poor immigrant could never offer her. Elke traveled for many days on the railroad, trying to get as far west as possible before her small savings ran out. She made it to Denver, Colorado where she once again found herself looking for work. Because she still had a thick German accent, it was hard to find domestic work for the wealthy and the lower class men all wanted more than just simple housework to be done. Unwilling to lose her carefully protected honor, Elke was out of options until she happened to stumble upon the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad company which was looking for women to travel to a small town that they had established in 1880 in order to mine the San Juans. They were offering work to women as cooks and laundresses for the miners and Elke joined a group of women that were traveling to the infant town, called Durango. When Elke first laid eyes on Durango she fell in love; crisp, green mountains towered over the town and Elke discovered that a small town offered much more than any of the big cities that she had lived in before. The youth of the town gave Elke the feeling that she was building the future from the ground up and she knew that she wanted to settle down and raise a family here. Another factor in her decision to stay and ignore the call of gold in California was her infatuation with a local man. The man was named Nahata Tsosie, he was from a nearby Navajo tribe, but was living in Kinłání (the Navajo name for Durango). He was a very organized and motivated young man so he worked his way up at the local mining company to assistant director and was aiming for head director when he met Elke. Someone so driven was very appealing for Elke, she saw economic security in Nahata and the stability that she wanted to raise a family in. Nahata was impressed by Elke’s independence, he had never known someone who had so fearlessly traveled so far from her homeland. They fell in love within a month of their meeting. Elke and Nahata were married two months later and built a new house to live in. The house was on Main Street, just between the Saloon and the General Store, which were the two highlights of the town. It was not long until Elke had her first child, she was twenty one. Elke and Nahata changed their last name to create a little more professionalism for Nahata in his job. He thought that a more American sounding name would thaw out some of tense relations that he had with his fellow employees who distrusted his native heritage. Thus ‘Tsosie’ became ‘Samson.’ The couple was very happy with their new lives although many of the townspeople frowned on their union due to the mix of cultures and races, but it was not so bad because Elke was a foreigner anyways. Elke was adored by Nahata’s mother, who couldn’t speak a word of English but would offer her food and richly woven blankets while speaking softly in her own language. Elke was finally happy and Nahata was pleased too, however, their happiness was soon shattered. Elke was pregnant with Darlene when Nahata learned that the promotion he had so desired was being given to someone else, a white man. Disappointed and angry, Nahata resigned himself to assistant director, but not a full year after the appointment of the new director there was a cave-in at a mine where several men died. Nahata had always opposed the continuation of mining in that particular shaft, he had known that it was unsafe but the new director had disregarded his warnings. Now that it had collapsed, though, the director needed someone to blame. Nahata was that scapegoat. He lost his job and became the most hated man in town, unable to pay for anything and unable to get a new job, the Samson family soon had their house taken from them. They weren’t being run out of town, but there was not much that they could do but leave. Elke had gotten used to stability and she was heartbroken about having to give up the one place that she had truly loved. The small family went to live with Nahata’s mother. They lived in peace and quiet for a time, Darlene was born under the watchful eyes of Nahata’s village and careful care of Nahata’s mother. For a time, Elke and Nahata lived with his family and tribe. Darlene was two years old when Nahata’s mother died, which sent the young couple into a new tailspin. Elke’s only companion in the village was her mother-in-law even though they could not speak each other’s language, but the other villagers did not know much, if any English either, so Elke felt constantly alone. When her only companion died, she was unable to hide her frustration. Nahata too was not able to cope with the loss of his mother in addition to all the losses they had already suffered and left the village unexpectedly. While he was gone, Elke discovered that she was pregnant with her third child. Nahata didn’t return until about midway through Elke’s pregnancy and when he did he was grim, but refused to tell anyone where he had been or what he been doing. A few months later, he left again, this time as mysterious as the last. While he was gone, Elke gave birth to Benjamin alone in the village. Finally, Nahata returned to his family. He had returned, but he had change significantly from the man that he had used to be. He was quieter and sterner; he had lost the part of him that was kind and caring. He told his family that he had a surprise for them in San Francisco, and with nothing to hold them back, the family traveled to the city. Upon arrival, Nahata bought a house for his family. The house was larger than the house they had left behind in Durango and it was certainly more beautiful. Elke did not understand how Nahata had been able to afford such a house but he would divulge his secret. They told the neighbors that Nahata had struck gold when they were questioned. Nahata made a series of good and bad investments over the next few years, more good than bad. Eventually he had made a name for himself as a successful businessman, bringing more and more money into the family. He established a shipping line from California to Asia, bringing workers and goods into the city. He opened an opera house in the city, catering to the wealthy, who were his new social class. Nahata built another house in eastern California for his family. Elke wanted to return to Colorado because she had so loved the mountains and small towns, but Nahata vowed that he would never return to that part of the world. Nahata insisted that Elke change her name to Ellen to better fit into high society, he changed his name to Nathan and they almost became a typical American couple. Elke, now Ellen, was so unhappy in San Francisco that she moved to the house in eastern California with the children and Nathan remained in San Francisco. The house was in a small town surrounded by mountains and the beauty of nature, which Ellen was endlessly grateful for. The family lived a simple life, mingling with the locals and Darlene had a chance to meet people from all sorts of tribes, including her father’s. She lived there with her mother until she was thirteen, when her father sent for her to return to San Francisco. Ellen had raised Darlene to be independent and hardworking. Ellen didn’t have many maids or servants around the house, they made her uncomfortable, so she and her children handled most of the chores around the house. However, in San Francisco, Darlene was expected to fit into polite society. Nathan set up extensive tutors and etiquette teachers for Darlene, but still he felt that he should be doing more. With his new and almost endless income, he decided to send Darlene to a far away school to get away from his own culture and become more ladylike and also gain a little prestige for his family name. Thus, Darlene Samson found herself on an ocean liner headed toward Europe like her mother so many years before her. Personality: Darlene is hardworking and dependable when she wants to be. However, there is a wild, untamed side to her, which is the side that is usually presented to the world. She has a temper that is always on the verge of igniting, but she is very skilled at hiding her emotions. Even when she is furious at someone it rarely shows. She is a very emotional person overall, but she hides it so well that only those who are very close to her realize that she is not as stoic as she appears. One would even come to realize that a small smile is equal to rolling around on the floor laughing when it comes to Darlene. She appreciates jokes; she just doesn’t appreciate haphazard expressions of emotion. Darlene is very proud, it is easy to insult her and forgiveness is incredibly difficult to earn. She is especially proud of her family and heritage though people often find fault with it. She has a limited amount of respect that she doles out very carefully. Like her mother, Darlene has a deep love of mountains and the outdoors. She prefers simple things whenever possible. From her father she got his drive to always do better, but she dislikes that part of herself and has turned that energy into a quiet rebellion. Darlene rebels against society’s rules, but always does it discreetly. Strengths: Love of the outdoors, a façade that is always calm and collected, love of the simple life, patience, honesty, and a fierce internal drive. Weaknesses: Temper, tendency to become emotional (though it always well hidden), rebellious nature, and her general appearance as she is not considered to be beautiful in the traditional sense. Interests: Nature, art (more appreciation than doing it herself), talking with interesting people, traveling and adventuring. Pet Peeves: People without patience, wealthy people, people who talk too much or sleep too much or do anything not in moderation, and general ignorance. Quirks: Darlene’s heroines are Annie Oakley and her mother, she hates eating in front of other people and she loves all things that are colorful, though it would be hard to guess this from the simple way that she dresses. Skills: The ability to write, read, and speak well, weaving (in the traditional Navajo style), and practical skills like laundry, cooking, and cleaning, though she would never speak of these things to others, she merely does them when they need doing. Sample Post: Quote: The ocean liner chugged along resolutely, Darlene leaned over the cold metal railing and stared down into the thrashing water below. She lifted her gaze to the horizon, part of her felt free out on the water like this, but the rest of her was thumping with nervousness. This new school really was new, it was definitely that, but did it have to be so far away? She frowned ever so slightly at the horizon and turned her back on it, this was the one time that the beauty of the world untouched by man did not bring comfort for Darlene. She was walking back to her tight, cramped cabin when she was nearly trampled by a group of children, they were scampering toward the front of the ship, shouting merrily. “Land! Land! Land ahoy!” they chorused as they passed her. After being at sea for so long, torturing herself with thoughts of her new school, Darlene could hardly believe it. She found herself racing toward the front of the ship with the children. The fine shoes that her father had insisted she buy before she left clapped loudly on the deck, they were hardly practical for running and she nearly toppled over several times before reaching her destination. The front of the ship was crowded with others, all chattering amongst themselves and gazing raptly ahead at the thin dark line that was shore. Darlene grasped the rail and stared ahead at her new home, England, and held her breath. She stood completely still for a moment, letting the wind rip dark strands of hair from her bun and wave them in front of her eyes without moving. She knew that she would always remember this moment; in all of its excitement, adventure, and utter and complete fear. Edited by Darlene Samson, Aug 28 2008, 11:26 PM.
Posts: 5 Group: Pupils Member #7 Joined: Aug 27, 2008


Headmistress Cavendish	Aug 29 2008, 12:17 AM Post #2
Posts: 15 Group: Global Moderators Member #4 Joined: Aug 20, 2008	Miss Samson, It is of my utmost honor to announce your acceptance into the Pennington Academy for Young Ladies. You are coming into a school with an impeccable and distinguished reputation, and a very competitive curriculum for a Ladies' school. Congratulations on your acceptance. Your assigned residence is in the NORTH WING. You have your own choice of which bed you wish to take. Again, I welcome you into Pennington, and I do hope that you will enjoy your time here as an esteemed student. Amelia Cavendish Headmistress Edited by Headmistress Cavendish, Aug 29 2008, 12:18 AM.



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