Notebook: Jun. 24, 1996

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ELIZABETH ECKFORD, 54, LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS; homemaker Back in 1957, under a court-ordered integration, she was one of nine blacks to attend the all-white Central High School in Little Rock. Eckford attempted to enter the school alone, but was jeered by white students and blocked by the Arkansas National Guard. It was a seminal incident in U.S. history. Eventually she and the eight other black students would be escorted in by 101st Airborne paratroopers. Today Eckford is the mother of two boys and resides in the same house she lived in during the trials of Central High. Last week she was at the University of Maryland to see a video on the episode submitted to the school's National History Day competition. Three students from a Kansas school had persuaded her to talk about her experiences. Says Eckford: "I have encountered people who just don't understand the emotional cost that it entails."