Carolyn’s parents were Glenn Nicholson and Ruth Holmstrom, who were married in 1932 in the grandstand at the Buchanan county fair. The couple had five children – four daughters and a son. The girls, from oldest to youngest were LouAnn, Betty, Carolyn and Glenda. Their son Jim was the youngest of the five children.
The Nicholsons bought a 240 acre farm in Maynard in 1941. Soon after, Glenn erected a basketball hoop in the barn and the family’s love affair with basketball was born. The Nicholsons also instilled a strong work ethic, with the children performing farm chores and held to high standards for their school work.
Glenn and other community members, including the newly arrived Fish family with their 4 school-aged girls, organized to convince the Maynard school district to reinstate it’s girls’ basketball program, giving the Nicholson girls the chance to fulfill their basketball dreams.
Lou Ann played on that first team as a senior, as did Betty, a sophomore. Carolyn and Glenda would join the team, both them a year early as 8th graders.