For one Hawkeye couple, the journey of a thousand miles started at a wobbly table in the Main Library.

In the late 1960s, Dr. Harold “Harry” Mihm was pursuing his MD at the University of Iowa Roy J. and Lucille Carver College of Medicine, and Georgia Benda was an undergraduate studying special education. They began as strangers seated at a communal table on the Main Library’s second floor, both intensely focused on their coursework. In fact, one afternoon Harry was so absorbed in the task of annotating his anatomy textbook that he didn’t realize his scribbling was sending a tremor down the table, irritating the young woman a few seats away.

“It was distracting, so I asked him to please quit shaking the table,” says Georgia. They got to talking, and Harry offered her a ride home to keep out of the rain. So begins their origin story, a playful back-and-forth that has lasted a lifetime.

53 anniversaries and four children later, they’re both glad Georgia spoke up. They were married in 1970, at the beginning of Georgia’s senior year and Harry’s third year of medical school. After graduating from the College of Medicine in 1972 and completing an internship, residency, and fellowship, Harry went on to work as an OB/GYN for 36 years in the Quad Cities area, where the couple made their home. Georgia became an active member of the community and was soon elected to the school board in Bettendorf. She served six terms on the board of the Bettendorf Public Library and was a charter member of the Bettendorf Community Schools Foundation.

Now retired, the Mihms spend half the year in Bettendorf and half in Naples, Florida, a beachside town that boasts a robust community of Iowans. They enjoy spending time with their family, which has grown to include 11 grandchildren and a beloved Schnauzer. This year, Harry and his daughter made a cross-country road trip to Florida with the dog in tow, meeting Georgia in Naples to spare their canine companion a cramped journey under an airplane seat. 

“We’re Iowans, through and through,” says Harry. “But even Hawkeyes need some sun.”

But it may be that Harry and Georgia’s paths were always meant to cross. As it turned out, they both grew up in Northeastern Iowa, about an hour away from each other. While her mother, aunts, and sister had all attended Clarke College, which was then a women’s school, Georgia broke with tradition by becoming a Hawkeye. At first, this decision was slightly disappointing to her mother; she’d always hoped Georgia would attend Clarke and settle down with a graduate of its brother school, Loras College.  

It turned out that her mother had nothing to fear when her daughter moved down to Iowa City in 1967. Georgia started dating Harry and was stunned to learn that he’d earned his bachelor’s degree from Loras. It seems that life had plans of its own, brought to fruition by a fortuitous encounter at the Main Library.

Georgia and Harry have maintained a strong connection to the University of Iowa, and especially its libraries. Next time they visit Iowa City, they’re planning a visit to the building where it all began.

“It’s pretty amazing to think about. So much changes in 50 years, but the character and the culture of the place are the same,” says Georgia. “That’s how it is with us, too. We’ve grown together.”

The table where they sat that day may have been replaced, but the essence of the Main Library’s second floor—its towering stacks illuminated by tall windows—remains. And so do the students, who sit with their textbooks open, pens in hand, each one still on the first page of their own story.