If this were the 1961 directory that would also carry over to 1962, wouldn’t that ean that all the work that went into setting it up had to be done before 0 was even born according to his accepted birth date? If the directory came out too close to the end of the year then it was out-dated by the time it was published and I don’t think the Polk people would want that.
Good question, and fortunately we do have Charlette’s statement from the Seattle Mystery Museum website (now FORBIDDEN) - which dates the entry:
From Capitol Hill to Capitol Hill
Confirmation that Barack Obama lived on Capitol Hill - Seattle
by Charlette LeFevre
1/6/09
Very little has been written about President Barack Obama¹s mother Stanley Ann Dunham¹s time here in Seattle. Brief articles and even briefer accounts from schoolmates make the person who was the ³most influential² person in Barack¹s life all the more intriguing. A single mother who enrolled in the University of Washington in 1961 and 1962 extension program she likely came across many social prejudices in the predominantly all white campus.
Perhaps Anna Obama felt more at ease in the diverse neighborhood of Capitol Hill which housed many students from the neighboring colleges. Recently located was a listing for Stanley Ann Obama in the 1961 Polk directory at the Seattle Public Library : “Obama Anna Mrs studt h516 13th av E apt. 2”
The publishers of the Polk Directory were apparently contacted, and were ‘unable’ to provide any information regarding when the 1961-62 issue was published...
You’re right of course, now that it’s been established the name appeared in the 1961-62 Polk, the earliest her name could have been included - going by the ‘she started at the U of WA in September’ - was in the last three months of 1961. As the directory is a useful marketing tool, under those circumstances, the book couldn’t have come out before end of the year...and the information it contained would have been already outdated by one year.
I doubt if the people who relied upon the directory would have found that very useful...
But it’s evident isn’t it, that Anna Obama was in Seattle early enough to be included in the directory and furthermore, early enough to be able to enroll at the university.