Educating Glen
The picture above is very representative of my classrooms in the early to late 50’s at Diehlstadt Grade School. Many of those memories are still ingrained in my brain. It certainly was a more innocent and carefree time. Get on the train with me as I chug down memory lane.
I received a very good education in grade school, high school, college, and graduate school. Even though I attended small country elementary schools, I always have felt that these institutions prepared me to succeed in my later higher education, my profession, and in my life in general. One never stops learning. Some of the following memories had to be extracted from deep within the depository of my brain.
The Educating Glen section has eight chapters.
Table of Contents
I attended Diehlstadt Grade School, Bertrand Grade School, Charleston High School, Kelly High School, Southeast Missouri State University, Sangamon State University (now known as University of Illinois – Springfield), and a consortium of universities including, Louisiana State University, University of Illinois, LaSalle University, and others. My education did not end in a university setting, as throughout my career I tried to enhance my knowledge through professional designations in the various Departments that I worked in. I will address each stop along the way in the sections below.
Diehlstadt Grade School
I did not attend kindergarten. When I began elementary school in the fall of 1953, I was a shy, skinny kid. (Did I say I was shy?) I do not think that I ever looked at anyone’s face straight-on or directly into his eyes. (Unfortunately, I still struggle with that, but I am getting significantly better.) I could tell you the design of every floor covering that I ever stood on or everyone’s foot size as I always kept my head down. In those growing-up years, I lacked confidence and had very low self-esteem. I was very quiet, reserved, and unsocial.
I attended grades 1-6 in Diehlstadt, Missouri, a small village with a population of 150 in the 50’s. It was located about five miles from our farm near Bertrand. At that time, the village consisted of a post office, Griffie’s Store, a couple of churches, and the Diehlstadt Grade School/High School. Grades 1-12 were in the same building with the high school grades occupying the second floor. As I look back, I would conclude that the old building was always in ill-repair and probably not far from official condemnation. Plumbing was always an issue. In the fall of my fifth grade year, the second floor of the building became off-limits to elementary students – most likely due to safety reasons. At that time, the school became strictly an elementary school as the new T. W. Kelly High School near Benton, Missouri began accepting high school students in the fall of 1957.
At that time, Bertrand Grade School did not have a bus while Diehlstadt Grade School did. I remember so well getting on a crowded bus in those early years of my childhood. It was reassuring that my older brother, Bob (8 years older), rode that same bus until the end of the school year 1954 – 1955. Bob left Diehlstadt High School after his sophomore year to attend Charleston High School where he graduated in 1957. In the fall of 1955, my sister Kay entered the first grade and began riding the bus with me.
I can remember my first day at Diehlstadt Grade School very well. I was a scared little fellow. I can also remember my big brother taking me to meet my teacher, Mrs. Aileen Brady. Since I was very shy, I did not make new friends very easily. My first friend was the late Forrest Guiling. Eventually, I befriended Jim Malone and Don Daughhetee. Strangely, I only remember befriending the boys. Go figure!
I have always liked music. For me, it all started in the first grade. I played a mean chimes in the Diehlstadt First Grade Musical Band. I think the instrument was called chimes! (I am the little fellow on the left end of the first row.) I can remember that we performed during Christmas season that year at KCHR, the radio station in Charleston. I also can remember Forrest Guiling singing “Frosty the Snowman”. Wow! I bet that the radio listening audience was really entertained that morning in 1953 by our band. Rest in peace, Forrest!
My teachers at Diehlstadt from grades 1-6 included the aforementioned Mrs. Brady, Miss Tackett, Mrs. Kassel, Mrs. Curtis, and Mrs. Bagwell. Mrs. Gaty and Mrs. Buck were my music and art teachers, respectively. The principal at Diehlstadt High School was Mr. Cannon. When there was no longer a Diehlstadt High School, Mrs. Bagwell served as the principal. One of my vivid memories was that the bookmobile came on a scheduled day each month. I always looked forward to that day. Eventually, a nice cafeteria was built west of the school.
It was an interesting experience as students from all ages from six through 18 would mingle before school and during the lunch hour on the grounds. In my first few years, we did not have a cafeteria. Instead, a small café was attached to the outside of the gymnasium. I will never forget the smell of hamburgers and hot dogs or the swiveling stools at the bar in that little café. The only drawback was that it was very small and very crowded. Seats were very limited which meant that most people ate while standing.
It was very different in the sense that there were no cell phones, ipads, or ipods to distract us. We played fox and hound and red rover; swung high (“turning dittos”); slid on a large slide; and see-sawed. In the early years, all the guys played marbles – both chase and the regular style and the girls jumped rope. Have you ever heard of the terms “kiss ties mine”, “steelies”, “cat eyes”, “shooting taws”, “turning dittos””, or “hot pepper”? I can recall that in the second or third grade, the powers-that-be put out a directive relating to playing marbles. We could no longer “play for keeps” as they considered it a form of gambling. It probably was the 50’s version of today’s “safe space” or “big brother knows best”. The result was that the new rule ended marble playing at Diehlstadt Grade School. It was a good thing for me as I was losing a pack of marbles each week. At this time, one could run down to Griffie’s Store before school and purchase a pack of 19 shiny new cat eye marbles for five cents.
Diehlstadt Grade School had many dark rooms and tunnels hidden within its structure. I can remember playing under the stage and in the basement of the school. It was a great place for hide and seek. I would get so filthy from crawling under the stage and hiding in those darkrooms. My mom would often ask me if I fell into a mud hole when I got home. For a few years, we had a major attraction next to the school grounds. Two or three buffaloes roamed in a fenced pasture adjacent to the school grounds. The outhouse, which may have been a four–holer (too much information), was located next to that fenced pasture. I was very uncomfortable going to that outhouse. Generally, the buffaloes usually would just give us an inquisitive look and mind their own business; nevertheless, they made us all uncomfortable. If they took three or four steps in our direction, we would scatter like little ants.
Mrs. BagwellI did very well academically at Diehlstadt Grade School. In the 5th and 6th grade, my teacher was Mrs. Lila Bagwell. I consider her one of the best teachers that I ever had. She was particularly good for English and mathematics. I give her a lot of credit for preparing me for college and my life’s work She, James Howell, and Warren Moss are perched high upon a pedestal in my mind. They taught me how to diagram sentences, conjugate verbs, and properly use gerunds, infinitives, and participles. That really helps if your future includes research and publishing.
Sixth Grade Class at DiehlstadtI attended Kelly High School with seven students that attended Diehstadt Grade School during my six years there. After leaving Diehlstadt after the sixth grade, I never saw any of these students again until the 12th grade. The seven were Forrest Guiling, Linda Shaw, Joan Holt, Virgil Long, Don Gage, Carolyn Pemberton, and Ronnie Wyatt. Thus, eight out of the 65 Kelly High School graduates of 1965 attended Diehlstadt Grade School at one time or another.
Bertrand Grade School
I lived about one mile from Bertand, Missouri, a village with a population of about 500 in the middle 50’s. In 1961, the Bertrand school district decided to purchase a shiny new bus. With this purchase, they brought in some country kids that had previously attended classes at Diehlstadt Grade School and Armer Grade School. I was going into the seventh grade. I did not know what to expect; however, I did know most of the boys as I had played Little League baseball since I was eight years old in Bertrand.
In 1961, the district hired a new, young seventh and eighth grade teacher/principal named James Howell. Little did I know at that time that he would become a very important person in my life. Mr. Howell was an outstanding teacher. He also introduced me to basketball. He was a very progressive administrator and coach as we actually traveled to local schools to compete in both basketball and baseball. Not only was he the manager/coach, he also drove the bus. Since there were so many boys that wanted to participate in the baseball program, Mr. Howell had to divide us into two teams. One team was named the Osage while the other team was named the Blackhawks. I was the shortstop for the Blackhawks team.
As you recall, I have placed Mr. Howell high upon a pedestal with two other teachers in an earlier chapter in this section. Not only was he a great teacher and coach, he changed my life. He somehow got through to me that I had something in me that needed to surface. Through his mentoring, I became much more confident and established better self-esteem. Unfortunately, having more confidence did not eliminate my extreme shyness.
Another memory relates to the old auditorium that Mr. Howell had someone turn into a crude basketball court. It was not even large enough for a basketball half court and had only 12 foot ceilings. He had someone build a wooden backboard and hang it above the front of the stage. The base of the stage was the out of bounds; therefore, there was no baseline. Although one could shoot long shots from straight out, the corner shots were limited to about 12 feet on both sides. There were no straight-in layups or long corner shots. Shots with too much arc would carom off the ceiling. The floor had so many dead spots that it was almost impossible to dribble a basketball on it. Yes, it was very crude, but I give Mr. Howell a lot of credit for giving us the opportunity to play the game. That was my first taste of organized basketball.
At Bertrand Grade School, I also had my first taste of writing. I became editor of the 8th grade newspaper. It was called “The Warrior”. It was awful and I had great difficulty coming up with topics for my in-depth editorials. I think my first editorial related to student apathy. I am really surprised that I even knew what “apathy” meant when I was 13 years old. That editorial was hokey and awful. I did, however, love the smell of the fresh mimeographed page. (Usually, that was the smell of a test!) I think maybe we published four editions of “The Warrior” that year.
As I think back, Mr. Howell must have had an affinity for the American Indian with all his Indian names. He used names such as the Osage, the Blackhawks, and “The Warrior”. Our athletic team nickname was the Warriors. That was many years before all of the politically correct silliness. I am sure that he used the Indian names out of great respect for the indigenous people.
The hardest day of my young life was in May of 1961 when I was 13. I was selected as the valedictorian of my graduating eighth grade class. This meant that I had to give the commencement address. I have never been so scared! I can remember how my knees knocked together and how I was soaking wet with perspiration as streams of liquid ran down both arms! (No, I did not pee my pants!) I did get through that night, but it certainly was not easy.
At this commencement, I was given an award by the Superintendent of Elementary Instruction for Mississippi County (may not have been his exact title), J. Abner Beck. This award recognized me as either having the highest grade point average in the county or scoring the highest in the county on some standardized tests. At that time, I did not realize how this night was going to affect my life for several years, afterward. Ironically, Mr. Beck was not the only Beck family member to have a significant effect on my life. About eight years later, his wife, as Clerk of the local draft board in Charleston, Missouri, sent me my draft notice.
After this night, a couple of my classmates openly made fun of me. And, it really bothered me that a few of the older and bigger guys starting calling me “el braino”. It continued for a couple of years into high school. (I was a small, timid guy and certainly was not a fighter. Unfortunately, I let them intimidate me. It affected me so much that I actually hated to get on the school bus each morning as they teased me unmercifully!)
I sadly let that bullying episode start me down the path to “seeking academic mediocrity”. I just wanted to be “a little above average” and just “fit in” with everyone else. That mindset included being satisfied with just making “B’s”, thereafter in my education. I cannot deny that I was immature, weak, wimpy, and behaved stupidly. (The bottom line was that I allowed this bullying episode to make me become the classic underachiever and slacker. My study habits were atrocious or nonexistent as I rarely ever opened a text book. I set my standards too low ( “B”) and I met them. Yes, I behaved like a moron!)
In retrospect, even with a maximum effort, I may not have been in the very top tier of my class in high school even if I had vigorously applied myself; however, I am certain that I could have made significantly better grades by not being so lazy and by putting out a little more effort. I suppose that I will never know. (Even with my lackadaisical attitude, I usually made the honor roll.) Just how ignorant, “screwed up”, or immature can one be!? I do plead guilty to all these adjectives.
At the time this was occurring, I never shared this episode with anyone – not even my parents. I debated with myself about sharing this episode of my life in this website. I decided that, in the spirit of full disclosure and honesty, that this should be included in the telling of my life story. In sharing it publicly now, I am not looking for anyone’s sympathy, approval, validation, or condemnation. This is very painful and embarrassing for me to even discuss. I just feel compelled to share my experience to encourage anyone who may be reading this and is getting bullied to take the appropriate action and not behave as stupidly as I did. Tell someone about the bullying and use the episode to make you even more motivated to reach your goals.
Yes, it would be a gigantic understatement to simply say that my shyness and low self esteem was a factor in my well-being as a young boy, teen, and young man. It actually controlled my early years! Regretfully, it took me almost a decade and a traumatic experience (Vietnam) to see the negative repercussions of my folly. I thank God that I eventually woke up and was able to lead a relatively successful and contented adult life! I do realize that I cheated my parents, my teachers, and, most of all, Glen with my ridiculous actions. Mother may I have a do over?
Charleston High School
After completing the eighth grade, I attended Charleston High School (CHS) in Charleston, Missouri. I admit that I was somewhat intimidated at going to a new and much larger school. I think there were about 160 students in the freshman class. That is very different from the 18 – 20 in my eighth grade class at Bertrand. I never understood why not even one of my Bertrand classmates was in any of my classes (Language Arts, Mathematics, Social Studies, History, Science, etc.) at Charleston High School during my three years there. The exception was Vocational Agriculture where Benny Groves, Charlie Naile, and Jackie Heckert were in that class with me. I also knew Galen Harper from Bertrand baseball.
In fact, in my three years at Charleston High School, I had classes with only about 25 percent of the 160 students in my grade. I recall that several of the same students were in almost every one of my classes including Phil Adams, Boyd Atteberry, Clark Attebeberry, Lannie Black, John Newberry, Francie Brewer, Ann Cox, Sue Cox, Joe Dark, Wayne Davis, Lee Delaney, Mary Jane Farmer, Patti Hillhouse, Linda Plummer, and Pat Wallace. They were all nice, interesting people; nevertheless, this meant that I really never was able to meet the other 100 – 120 or more students in my grade. I have always found this situation very strange and have always wondered why it occurred.
Yes, it was very hard on an old, country boy going into the freshman class in a larger city school and not knowing one person in his class. Then, add to this situation that this old country boy is painfully shy. I would venture to say that I probably did not say a dozen words to any single classmate all year long. That was very tough freshman year for me.
Warren MossI was very blessed to have a legendary English teacher at Charleston High. In fact, I had Warren Moss for English in both my freshman and sophomore years. One does not leave Mr. Moss’ English classes without learning proper English, good writing skills, and classic literature. I was not so hot on the literature part, but I really enjoyed the grammar and writing side of his courses. I really learned how to write in the formal, academic style in his classes. One aspect of Mr. Moss’ classes that I did not enjoy or appreciate was the in-class presentations. Once assigned a topic, I literally became ill for several days prior to and on the day of the presentation. I eventually got to the point of volunteering to present early just to give my body relief from the stress. I could tell that I had an effect on the other students as they suffered with me in my presentations. My knees would knock together, my voice would tremble and fade, and sometimes I felt like I was simply going to faint. I did get a little better but I never got to the point that I enjoyed it one bit. I am certain that if anyone remembered me from my English classes at CHS, it would be as that weird, trembling kid who made everyone uncomfortable watching him make presentations.
I did enjoy playing basketball at Charleston; however, it became obvious to me that it was secondary to football. I actually started out as a guard. After all, I was only 5’ 6″ as a freshman. In my sophomore and junior years, I played and even started a few games with the varsity without ever practicing with them. (I actually had a class during the seventh hour – the team practice period!) It was no surprise to me that the Bluejays won only one game in my junior year. Simply stated, basketball was not the priority at Charleston High School at that time. I do not think it would be unfair to say that it sometimes was used as a tool to keep the football players in shape. I did, however, really like Coach Marshall, Coach Beyers, and Coach Cope and all my teammates. They all treated me very well.
One thing that I will never forget is playing touch football on the grounds south of the shop of the vocational agriculture building. Our ball was a four or five inch piece of wood cut into a hexagon. Someone had sanded the rough corners. Don’t ask me why we did not use a small rubber football. We had several participants, even some from the varsity football team. Wow, teenagers are weird!
Another thing that I did really enjoy was participating on the parliamentary procedure and animal husbandry teams. We came in second in district at Cape Girardeau my sophomore and junior years in the parliamentary procedure team competition. Judging cattle was fun, but our teams never fared very well in the district competition. I liked the Vocational Agriculture classes in the classroom, but once we went to the shop portion of the semester, it was drudgery for me. I never had the acumen to perform tasks with my hands. Baseball and basketball were the exceptions to that total ineptness.
I left Charleston in the spring of 1964 due to the failure of a school bond referendum. I left behind several good friendships that I had cultivated during grades 9-11. After some fretting, I finally concluded that I had to get over the shock and put on my “big boy” pants. Kelly High School, here I come.
Kelly High School
I had to process in my mind that I had to change schools prior to my senior year! I had always assumed that I would spend all my high school years at Charleston High. And I was finally getting comfortable there. It was certainly a major shock to my system!
I had heard many positive things about Kelly High School, but I have to admit that going to a new school was something that I was not looking forward to. The long wait during the summer months was excruciating. I was nervous and excited at the same time. Was I going to like my new school? Would I fit in? I eventually concluded that I would just have to wait until classes started in the fall. It was somewhat comforting that I already knew a few people at Kelly High School. Earlier in the spring, I had attended a basketball game at St. Henrys High School in Charleston (Kelly HS vs St. Henrys H.S.) and had spoken to a few old friends from the sixth grade at Diehlstadt Grade School. When I told them about my possibly coming to Kelly High School in the fall, their comments were very positive and welcoming.
I knew that Kelly had a very good basketball program and very good fans that followed it. Even though the team was playing on an opponent’s court that night, their crowd of supporters was large and boisterous. I knew that I wanted to attend college, so, what about the academic offerings at Kelly High? Charleston High School was a much larger school and could justify offering more advanced courses. Kelly High School was a small school and I realized that many smaller schools only offered the basic courses. Was this the case at Kelly? That is something I would not know until I register for my classes.
In early August, I was invited by an old Diehlstadt friend, Forrest Guiling, to meet him at an open-gym at the Kelly High gymnasium. I was very surprised that more than 20 guys showed up for that shoot-around. We had to use both half-courts to accommodate the good turnout. Playing half-court may have been a good thing as none of us was in game-ready basketball condition at this time. After introductions, we divided into shirts and skins. The group on my end of the court consisted of five future varsity teammates. I played on a team with Johnny Merrick and Tom Nebel. Ronnie Wyatt, Forrest Guiling, and Paul Thomas were on the opposing team. Tommy Nebel was one of the five guys that I did not know. I knew Johnny, Ronnie, and Forrest from Diehlstadt Grade School and Paul from Bertrand Grade School.
At first, I was a little tentative, but after getting my feet wet, I became a little more aggressive. I had a pretty good feeling about that workout. It took me a while to get accustomed to playing with Tommy Nebel. He had terrific peripheral vision and hit me in the nose a couple of times with brisk, no-look passes. I immediately noted that these boys took it seriously and played with intensity. I was introduced to Coach Bob Barker who watched us play for a short while. Of course, he could only say “hello” and certainly could not “coach”, in any way, that early in the season according to the silly Missouri High School Athletic Association rules. I was hoping that he did not notice what some might construe as “suspect” hands on some of Tommy’s hard passes to me. In my opinion, I had adequate hands. My excuse was that Tom’s no-look passes surprised me. I knew after leaving that scrimmage that I had to be more attentive when Tom had the ball.
That was the only time that I actually attended a Kelly High School open gym. I did not know if the reason for that was that I did not impress anyone or if there were no more open-gyms that summer. Thus, I was kind of left with an uncertain feeling. Was I really that bad? Yes, my lack of confidence showed its ugly face again. It was a consolation that I already knew four of the guys that would be on the varsity – if I make the team!.
The first day of school had arrived. I could not believe the large number of students that were congregating in the Commons area. Students were happily sharing the highlights of their summer with each other. It was loud and animated. I immediately noticed that two of my friends, Ronnie Wyatt and Johnny Merrick, were very popular with other students as each had a contingent of followers around them. Each called me over to introduce me to their friends. As both were determined that I was going to feel comfortable at Kelly High, they made sure that I met all the pretty females. Johnny, particularly, liked to tease me and actually, while introducing me, told one of the very cute girls that I wanted to go out with her. I probably did, but, of course, we had just met. Ronnie and Johnny were long-time friends and both were great guys.
Eventually, all of us proceeded to the gymnasium where the superintendent, Mr. Edwards and the principal, Mr. Adams addressed us. After Mr Edwards’ short talk, Mr. Adams proceeded to welcome all the students and shared some of the pertinent 1964-65 policies and rules of Kelly High School. After his spiel, he dismissed everyone with the exception of the new students. Finally, our new student orientation began and lasted about 30 minutes.
The next step in the process was getting our locker assignments. I can remember standing in line by gender in alphabetical order. As I was an “M”, my new locker mate happened to be a “N”. I could not believe it, but my long-time friend, Charlie Naile, and I were to share a locker. Of course, I had known Charlie, who I always had called “Snubby”, since we were five or six years old. As he lived in the town limits of Bertrand, he attended most of the grades 1-6 at Bertrand Grade School while I attended those grades at Diehlstadt Grade School. (On second thought, I think “Snubby” may have attended Bridges Grade School in the early grades.) We also attended the same church in Bertrand. Charlie and I became even closer when we were classmates at Bertrand Elementary School in the seventh and eighth grade. We were going to share locker number 207.
Apparently, students were allowed to keep the locker that she/he had in the previous year. Our next-door neighbor, Locker number 206, was shared by two females, Janet and Diana, with whom I became very close friends with. (more about that in good time). My friend, Mike Duke, shared a locker on the other side of Charlie and me. I was in good company. Thus far, all was well.
I cannot remember how I pre-registered for classes. I must have completed a form and sent it through the mail. (In the 60’s it certainly could not have been online and I do not remember ever going to Kelly High during the summer to do it!) I just know that I had already selected my classes before arriving that first day of school. I can remember debating what two electives that I was going to take. Physics, Government, and Trigonometry were givens. It came down to Art, Drafting, Typing, and Speech. I immediately eliminated Speech. I did not really want to take Typing either (my biggest mistake ever in school). My selections ended up being Art and Drafting. I was very concerned about doing well in either but I had to live with my selections. I was awful in both. My artwork was very juvenile – simply deplorable. I hated drafting also as I just really could not visualize the third side of a figure in my brain. I suppose my brain is just not wired that way!
We then walked to each of our classrooms, met our new teachers, and stayed only for a brief time. If I remember correctly, that first day was short as we may have only stayed at school for half a day.
I learned on the second day of school that our old parliamentary procedure team was going to put on a demonstration for Mr. Wallace Alden’s government classes. I can remember that we were very rusty. Jack Heckert had moved up to be the chairman of the team as our former chairman at CHS had graduated. Jack did very well. Our team consisted of six guys including Jack Heckert, Ben Groves, Snubby Naile, David Peters, Jerry Northern, and me. My role in the skit was to be the buffoon. I played that role very well. Our presentation went well.
Mr. Alden became my favorite teacher at Kelly High School. He even tried to play cupid for me and a couple of coeds (not both at the same time). He was a good teacher that I really respected. Later during that year, he and I became good friends. He actually tried to recruit me to his alma mater, Arkansas Southern in Magnolia, Arkansas to play both baseball and basketball. I cannot imagine how someone from Boston ended up in Magnolia, Arkansas. It was really a punch in the gut when I learned of his unfortunate death.
Kelly High School was a great experience. My worrying and anxiety had been for naught. Everything about my new school exceeded all expectations. I will always treasure that year’s experiences.
Southeast Missouri State University
It was mid-August 1965. I was beginning to get anxious as classes were about to commence at Southeast Missouri State University (SEMO) during the first week of September. I was looking forward to this major change in my life; nevertheless, there is always that nervousness that comes with the unknown. This would be the first time that I had lived away from the comforts of my home and my mommy.
I can remember arriving at the campus in Cape Girardeau in the middle of the afternoon that sunny September day. I had received a letter that summer stating that my new home would be the Myers Residence Hall. In the 60s, residence halls were not co-ed. Further, SEMO was famously recognized for its conservative values. Myers Hall had a good location in the southwest corner of the SEMO campus and was close to the shopping areas on Broadway. It was located northwest of Houck Fieldhouse and the football field and southwest of the new library that was under construction. It was just east of N. Henderson Street that served as the western-most perimeter of the campus. My room was one level below the first floor near the TV room and one of the side entrances to the residence hall. It, however, was not actually in the basement. I checked in at the main desk and the attendant provided me with directions to get to my new room.
Upon arrival, I was very surprised to find that I had two roommates. The room was quite small and had only one sink and two closets. My first thought was that three in the room of this size was going to be a problem. Actually, it was not that bad and we survived. Fortunately, one of my new roommates had already claimed the top bunk. That was fine, as I certainly did not want to sleep on the top bunk. I ended up with the single bed.
My two new roommates introduced themselves. Their names were Sam Wyman and Rick Hux. Rick was a very short fellow with dark hair while Sam was probably 5’ 9” with light brown or blonde hair. They had been classmates at Richland High School. I immediately liked them both. Then, they helped me carry my stuff from my car to the room. That first week, I drove our family’s trusty 1963 Comet to Cape Girardeau. That decision later caused some problems. Parking behind Myers Hall was very limited and was generally available only to upper classmen. I solved that problem by parking in a lot at the First Baptist Church of Cape Girardeau. I actually ended up parking there for the entire school year (only the weeks I drove the car to school) and may have received one warning note that entire time. The parking lot was only four or five blocks from Myers Hall. I would periodically move my car into different parking spaces in the church lot. It never was vandalized as the church lot was well lit.
During my first week at SEMO, we had what was called orientation and pledge week. An upper class student adviser was assigned to a group of 8-10 students. I remember meeting my student orientation adviser for the first time. Her name was Charlotte Graff. I do not know what organization she represented. She was a very pretty girl and had ironically graduated from Kelly High School in 1963 or 1964. That first week I spent a lot of time with her. Often, I would be the only one in my group to show up at a scheduled event so I kind of got to know Charlotte pretty well. Actually, I had met her before, but did not realize it. I actually had dated her younger sister, Cecille in early October of 1964. The three sisters (Charlotte, Elaine and Cecille) must have had the same curfew as Cecille and I would sometimes arrive on the Graff’s front porch at the same time as her sisters and their dates.
My roommate, Rick, had an electric guitar and played it quite frequently. He played a mean version of Chuck Berry’s “Memphis”. As I lived only 35 miles from Cape Girardeau, I usually went home on weekends. Rick, not only, went home to Essex, Missouri on weekends, but quite frequently he would depart during the week. He was “in love”! Sam, on the other hand, stayed on campus full-time and soaked in the essence of campus life.
It was nice that several old friends from Charleston High School were also assigned to the same floor of Myers Hall. I can remember John Newberry, Mike McCubbins, Steve Kilby, and Mike Dotson – and possibly Benny Groves, all from Charleston High School, living on our Blackhawk Wing. There was something comforting about already being acquainted with so many of the guys on my floor.
My freshman year, the boys of Myers Hall shared their cafeteria with the girl’s from Leming Hall. In the last three years, the girls of Dearmont Quadrangle shared their cafeteria with us. I would rate the food at both halls as fair to middling, if I can use an old cotton terminology. The world as I knew it, grew as I was introduced to some new food – food that my southern mom never prepared. The cooks prepared vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, and Brussel sprouts. I did, however, really miss my mom’s cooking.
Rick and Sam were studious. Note that I did not include Glen. All I wanted to do was play basketball. I wanted to play basketball all day long including the night hours. Almost every night, I would walk the halls trying to find five guys or more that wanted to play basketball. It was very difficult to get anyone before 10:00 PM. Quiet hours were from 7:00 to 10:00 PM and most of my fellow students actually studied. On those nights that I actually could arrange a game, we would go down to Capaha Park, about six blocks away, and play from 10:00 PM to midnight. Very often, we would have to sweep the snow off the court prior to playing. I furnished the basketball and always carried a net that we had to hang before playing each night. Unfortunately, I suppose it would be fair, but sad, to say that my major during my first three years at the University was basketball instead of mathematics.
Spending so much time at the park, I became much better in all facets of the game of basketball. I had become a good one-on-one player, a better shooter, and a more aggressive rebounder. Our games were very competitive and sometimes got a little rough. There were many scuffles, but I do not remember any fisticuffs. I have always wished that I had as much confidence when I played high school basketball as I had playing the game at Capaha Park.
I always looked forward to intramural league basketball. I played on some very good teams and a couple of those years, we won the league championship. Many former high school athletes competed in the same league as me. In fact, I can recall playing against a couple of the varsity players that I competed against at Oran and Chaffee when I attended Kelly High School.
It suffices to say that academics was not my first priority when I first entered college. I am embarrassed that I did not give it my all the first few years. I think it simply illustrates my immaturity at that time. I regret to say that I would often sleep-in on the day after one of our late-night games at the park. I am not proud of the fact that I skipped many of my early morning classes. It was irritating to some observers that I could make okay grades without studying or going to classes. I guess that I was a good test taker.
Rick left Sam and me after our first semester. He was having difficulty in his English class – particularly the written portions. I was actually making an “A” in mine. He asked me one time to write an essay for him. I did and he turned it in. When he got his/my paper back, it had all kind of scribbling on it and in big red letters “D-‘. For some reason, Rick never asked me to help him again. I should note that Rick became a professor of physics at Southeast Missouri State University. I think this goes to show that some professors pigeonhole certain students. This student can write well and this student cannot! Regardless of each student’s effort or final written product, that student tends to get the same grade all semester long. I call that process pigeonholing.
Life was good at Myers! Sam and I had less crowded surroundings and we were getting to know each other much better. Sam eventually got to the point where he was going to the library every night to study. Actually, I think it was at this time that he met his future wife, Juanita, a sweet girl from St. Genevieve. It is ironic that Sam and I roomed together parts of three years. He was a very serious student while I rarely cracked a book. I was bad!
Sam became a personal assistant (PA) his sophomore year and continued that position for the remainder of his time at SEMO. I think it really bothered him that I appeared to not be serious about my education. Sam actually became a guidance counselor in the DeSoto or Herculaneum, Missouri school system. The last time I saw him in 2001, he informed me that he had used me frequently as an example to his students. I was afraid to ask him if his using me as an example was for comedic effect.
I saw Sam only two or three times after 1968. I last saw him in 2001 after attending my Kelly High School’s 36th class reunion in Benton (We always had our class reunions with the graduating class of 1966.) Marlene and I met Sam and Juanita for lunch at a Bob Evans Restaurant in Festus, Missouri, on our way back home to Rochester, Illinois that next day. Sam appeared to be very pleased, for my sake that I had turned over a new leaf after returning from Nam. We made tenative plans to visit each other again. Unfortunately, Sam passed very soon after that lunch engagement. Sam was a good guy!
Southeast Missouri State was truly an educational bargain. It was very highly rated in academics while having a very reasonable cost. From 1965–1969, the tuition was $80 per semester including books. Compare that to the current in-state rate of $7,659 for residents of Missouri. The cost for room and board at Myers Hall in 1965 was less than $400 each semester including all but Sunday night meals. The 2019–2020 cost for Myers Hall with 19 meals/week was $4,931 each semester.
Dr. Mark Scully, served as president of then Southeast Missouri State College from 1956 until 1972 and continued from 1972 until 1975 after the institution was renamed Southeast Missouri State University. His presidency was the most transitional period in the institution’s history, with tremendous growth in faculty, buildings, and student enrollment. He was the first SEMO alumnus to serve as president. Ironically, he was born in Charleston, Missouri, which is the location of the high school that I attended through my junior year. Dr. Scully was well known in Missouri educational circles for his fight to keep tuition affordable for all district students. Enrollment grew from 1,500 to 8,500 students during his tenure. All Missourians owe Dr. Scully a ton of gratitude for his contributions to the higher educational system in Missouri and particularly to SEMO State University.
The 60’s was a turbulent time to live in America. It was a time of radical change with the Vietnam War, LSD, free love, and the hippie movement in California. In middle America including, Cape Girardeau, Missouri, things changed at a much slower pace. After all, it was the Bible Belt and a bastion for conservative values. Ironically, Missouri, in the 60’s was a state where almost all of the elected state officials were Democrats.
Given the conservative environment at SEMO, I can recall a student from the organization, Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), visiting our dorm on a cool spring night in an attempt to organize a campus chapter of SDS at our university. The SDS was a very left-wing organization that was not compatible with the student culture at SEMO. As he continued to espouse his radical beliefs, things got very tense. He was told in no uncertain tone that he had two choices which were to leave the campus immediately or to be hung by his feet from a nearby building. He ignored the warning and continued his nonsense. Mob rule became the order of the day as he was carried out of the room screaming and cursing. Eventually, he must have realized the seriousness of his dilemma as he finally tore loose from the out of control mob. He was then, chased across the campus by a group of angry men! Thankfully, he was a fast runner and never was caught and thankfully, he never returned to Myers Hall. That was my only experience with the radicals in the 60’s.
I am going to share a story about an incident that happened to me. On my 18th birthday, as a joke, my mom had my senior high school picture blown-up to poster size (24 x 36). The picture was neatly rolled in a tube. I always thought it was quite funny that she did that. In my sophomore year at SEMO, after being home for the weekend, I decided to take the rolled-up picture back to school with me. Don’t ask me why? I guess that I thought that I could have some fun with that large portrait of myself. As I have mentioned earlier, the boys from Myers Hall ate our meals at Dearmont Quadrangle, a female residence hall. Periodically, we had formal dinners where we had to dress up in our Sunday best. I can remember going to one of these events in December of 1966. It was actually the annual candlelight Christmas Meal. Everyone was dressed in their best and the lights were turned down low, offering a very formal atmosphere. As I sat down with some of my friends at our table, people began coming up to me and saying things like “nice”, “thanks for sharing”, and ”good job”. I really did not know what they were referring to.
When I finished my meal, I proceeded as usual to take my plate to the dirty plate conveyor belt. That is when I noticed that my poster had been taped above the conveyor belt. Everyone and his brother could not help but see it when they dropped their plate off. Not wanting to garner any additional attention, I hurriedly placed my plate on the belt and quickly exited. I did not want to suffer the humiliation of taking it down in front of everyone. Later that night, I returned to get my poster. That was an incident that I never have been able to live down. I was almost as shy in college as I was in earlier years so this was the ultimate embarrassment. I probably do not have to tell you that I took the picture home that weekend and have never seen it since that awful night! To this day, I do not know the identity of the culprit who pulled this cruel prank on me. Sam denied all involvement in this stunt.
A strange thing happened to me during the summer after my junior year of college. I received a phone call at my home in Bertrand from the Superintendent of Warsaw High School in Warsaw, Missouri, asking if I would like to teach ninth grade mathematics in his district. I was dumbfounded, as I had only completed three years at SEMO and did not know that one could teach in Missouri without a degree. That has always been very puzzling to me. Where did the fellow get my name and phone number and who recommended me, a student with mediocre grades? I dismissed the caller before learning any of the specifics. It actually may not have been that bad as Warsaw is near the Lake of the Ozarks; however, I did not have a desire to teach in Warsaw or any other district. I have never had any ambition to be a teacher! My program was a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics – not a degree in teaching mathematics.
I left SEMO at the end of December 1968 and was sworn into the United States Army in April of 1969. I left for Vietnam in April of 1970. In late January of 71, I returned to the university. Not only did I return, I returned with a different attitude. Combat will do that to one. I had the mindset that nothing is going to stop me now from getting my degree and making good grades. Vietnam was my wake-up call and for the first time in my college career, I actually applied myself. That last year, I lived at home and commuted. One semester, I drove alone and another I carpooled with some friends from Sikeston. I never missed a class and I did extremely well. In fact, upon my return, I made straight “A’s”.
The military had made me a much more mature person. In Vietnam, I began to appreciate the simple things such as water, clean air, and the lack of noise. I simply did not realize how good that I actually had it back in Missouri. With this new mindset, I was not going to blow my future. In that respect, Vietnam was good for me.
I graduated from SEMO in 1972 with a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics. I was now ready to take on a next challenge. It was only the beginning of my higher education.
Sangamon State University (U of Il- Spfld)
When I arrived at the Illinois Department of Public Aid, I realized that I wanted to begin work on a Masters degree. I had several months of educational benefits left under the GI plan that I could use. The new Sangamon State University (established in 1969) was chartered as an innovative university and offered several graduate degree programs.
It originally operated as an “upper-division” university—that is, a university that offers only the last two years of undergraduate education, as well as graduate work. The first classes were held on September 28, 1970, at First Methodist Church in downtown Springfield. In October of 1971, SSU began offering classes in the current campus location near Lake Springfield.
Sangamon State’s University’s stated mission was to be a “truly pioneering segment of public education” through a spirit of openness, innovation and adaptability. In 1995, Governor Jim Edgar abolished the Board of Regents for Sangamon State and it merged with the University Of Illinois system and was called The University of Illinois – Springfield. In the fall of 2006, it began admitting freshmen and became a full-fledged four year institution
I knew that I wanted to get a technical degree as opposed to a liberal arts degree as it would be more relevant to my position as a research analyst at the Illinois Department of Public Aid. After reviewing the many programs offered, I chose the Applied Statistics program. I attended night school throughout the 1970’s and received a Master of Science in Applied Statistics.
When I first began taking classes at Sangamon State in the middle 70’s, I was quite shocked by the informality of the faculty. Coming from the very conservative Southeast Missouri State University, it was so strange to see my professors wearing shorts and flip-flops in the classroom. It was just so different from the button-down atmosphere of SEMO. I did run into some very good statistics professors at the university, but I also had a few foreign instructors that I could not understand a word they spoke.
Another thing that I can remember about Sangamon State University was how cold that it was to walk across the flat prairie land from the parking lot to the classroom in the dead of winter. At that time, there were very few buildings to block off the strong wind. Sometimes I would go out to the lake campus three or four nights a week.
Sangamon State had a very good soccer program in its early days. Their athletic teams were called the Prairie Stars. In those years, they frequently qualified in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) soccer tournaments at the end of the year and usually did very well. In 2010 they moved to the NCAA Division II ranks.
It took me a few months, but I finally got the 30 hours of credit that I needed for the MS degree. I now had a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and Master of Science in Applied Statistics. What is next?
Consortium
The State of Illinois has always been very generous with its employees. I received excellent healthcare and a great pension plan. (Unfortunately, the State took a few pension holidays along the way and failed to fully fund our pension plan. As I write this, there has been no notable repercussions of the legislature’s folly.) The benefits given currently to new hires, today, are significantly inferior to those that we received.
Continuing education was an unadvertised benefit that was offered periodically, but was not available to all employees. With this benefit, the State of Illinois would fully reimburse the employee if that employee could demonstrate that his/her continuing education could benefit not only the employee but also the employer. In other words, the reimbursement criteria were very subjective. I was one of the fortunate ones as they completely paid for my program. I received my Ph.D. in Research Methodologies through a consortium of universities sponsored by the State of Illinois. This consortium included Louisiana State University, University of Illinois, LaSalle University, and others. The State of Illinois was exceptionally good to me!
In my program, I had some very liberal professors of economics. They really pushed the concept of ‘share the wealth’ and ‘income redistribution’. They would have made Marx and Lenin proud. It suffices to say that I did not see eye-to-eye with many of them. It became so bad that, I was convinced that I would have difficulty ever supporting a Democrat in any future elections.
The State wanted us to publish. They realized that having the Ph.D after our name certainly enhanced our potential for getting our research published. I can honestly say that in my more than thirty years with the State of Illinois, I was never asked to fudge any findings. If they did not like my conclusions on an issue, they would simply ignore the fact that I had completed a study on that issue. I could publish the findings under my own name if I wanted to, as long as I included a disclaimer stating that the conclusions are mine and not necessarily the conclusions of the particular State of Illinois department where I was working.
Professional Designations
While at the Illinois Department of Insurance, I was able to earn the (ARP) and CPCU designations. The Associate in Research (ARP) designation is an advanced education program for persons in the research and planning aspects of the insurance industry.
The Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) designation is the highest designation and the most advanced educational program in the property and casualty side of the insurance industry. To receive the CPCU, one must pass 10 essay exams that relates to several aspects of the insurance industry including ethics, statistics, economics, reinsurance, risk assessment, and other components of insurance. It is advertised as comparing favorably to the CPA exams. It took me about 24 months to study and pass all ten exams. I am so glad that I do not have to write those exams again!