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HomeMy WebLinkAboutA&M United Methodist 121503aREFLECTIONS OF MRS. R. L. JACKSON(G y i �,� OF THE YEARS '32-'36 The responsibility of any pastor is to re- enforce the Tower of Christian faith in the hearts of his members so that they will be strong enough to stand against "The cyclones of indifference, the hurricanes of hate, the floods of jealousy, the sandstorms of covetousness, the blizzards of greed and the whirlwinds of egotism." Pastors have no way of knowing exactly how many accepted the teachings of "The sweetest story ever told." They have to be content with the ones, few or many, who come forward to acknowledge their faith in the story of all stories and be thankful for the seed that fell on fertile soil. A minister's wife has a very different responsibility, especially in College Station. She must provide "a home away from home" for hundreds of boys who are home sick for mother and dad and their cute little baby sister and above all, the girl they left behind. It was impossible to fill those vacancies, but I could help them feel they had "a home away from home ". It was built for that very purpose of entertaining the khaki clad sons of Methodism attending A &M. There is never a dull moment in any home which has been blessed with a son. Don't ever believe there was a dull moment in "the home away from home" of the Aggies. The doors were never locked. They came and went between military whistles. Card tables were never folded except when we would have a real party. Waffle irons were always ready to be plugged in and a pitcher was always filled with waffle batter. The Aggies brought their own butter and syrup. Why didn't we put it in the budget? We didn't have one - -we just managed. It wasn't too bad eating iceless muffins when you / 1 / are having a good time and fudge without nuts help keep the pounds off. When you are playing "42" and going in a hole, you didn't miss the absent nuts, what you missed was your high trump. With Aggies, one doesn't need too many rules. One they didn't dare break was the upstairs was "no man's land." In addition to enjoying privacy, I often carried food to my room. I had to be sure I would have ham or chicken or whatever for my invited supper guests. When you are making a home for boys, you just don't lock the refrigerator. For example, we were having Bishop C. C. Selecman for dinner. He was to speak at the church that night and suggested we eat after church when we could visit as long as we wished. When services were over and dinner was eaten, I went to get the home made ice cream. Both trays were empty except for a note saying, "It sure was good, guess who ate it ?" The Bishop enjoyed the joke and was kind enough to say, "After a dinner like this, all we need is coffee." Home is not just a place to eat and sleep and bang on the piano. It's a place for fellowship and fun and we had plenty! The sweetest music wasn't from the piano. It was the melody of laughter, especially when it was a regular old belly laugh and harmony was forgotten. One of the best parties was on April Fool's Day. The hotels of Bryan gave me several dozen guest cakes of soap. When wrappers were removed, we iced them with chocolate icing. You know boys - -they just had to have a bite of sweets before they tasted their sandwiches which were made with miracle whip and a piece of clean white material. They chewed'the rag until they decided it was impossible to digest. The salted nuts proved to be real nuts from the hardware store coated with whipped egg -2- whites with just enough salt to tease them. Nothing can last forever, not even fun. I had hot chocolate and cookies in my secret closet. While I was r- f; 3a helping pick up rags and warming the chocolate,lsoine of the Aggies decided it was time for me to get an April fool surprise. They slipped a cake of soap in the chocolate. When those who were not in on the joke began to sip it, one of them came to me and said in an under- tone, "Mrs. Preacher, did you know that milk was sour ?" I told him that it couldn't be; that I had bought it from a neighbor who had a cow. I followed his suggestion and tasted it. Needless to say, it went by the way of the rag sandwiches. Our refreshments then consisted of dry cookies, no sandwiches, no nuts and no chocolate, but enough fun to last the rest of the school term. "The Home away from Home" could have been called "The Fun House" like they have at fairs and circuses. One never knew what was coming next. Did you ever get up in the morning and were greeted by seventeen turtles? I have and believe you me, I stopped in my tracks on the stairway and screamed for preacher. He put them in a container until he could give them their freedom. If I had only known who, I would had had them slipped into the rooms of the pranksters. On second thought though, I knew if college security had caught the student pastor slipping seventeen turtles into the dorms, the Bishop would have removed us from our happy home and from the Aggies who we loved so much. I thought so much of the Aggies it was easy to forget and foregive them for eating the Bishop's ice cream, for putting soap in the chocolate, and for the living room parade of turtles. Mr. Jackson, "Preacher" as they called him, was also forgiving when they threw him in the lake on his birthday, clothes, shoes, watch and all. We were 3- having a church picnic and the crowd really did enjoy seeing Aggies baptize a Methodist preacher Baptist style. It is the ambition of every Christian worker to find new and unique methods of recruiting their forces. I accidently found a way I never heard of before. I had used all the familiar avenues to win a young man who came from a Christian home, a home where the children were taught to lisp the name of Jesus almost as soon as they were taught to wave "bye -bye ", but, with no result. But I wasn't ready to give up. As Mr. Jackson and I were driving through the campus, this young man was on the steps of his dorm. We stopped and he came to the car and became a captive audience. I asked him the frank question, "Where have I failed and tell me what it will take to get you to join our group at the church. Your relatives are such good workers and we need more just like them. Tell me where I've failed and what I can do to really interest you and I'll do it." Here was his answer: "I need some soxs darned.' I told him to go get them. The deal was closed. He kept his promise and was a regular attendant. I am persuaded to believe the holes in his soxs were more comfortable than the bumps my darning caused. I didn't promise a pettipoint creation. I do hope his bunions are much better. Darning several pair of soxs is a small price to pay to have a little part in seeing a bright and happy face in his pew to worship the God who breathed the breath of life into his nostrils. "The Home away from Home" proved to be a normal, happy home. Because it was normal, heartaches did creep in. Death messages had to be delivered, "Dear John" .letters had to be read, broken hearts had to be comforted, and financial problems had to be adjusted. How I wished and even prayed for the wisdom of Soloman. I was thankful I could direct them to the one and only who not only had -4- -5- the answers, but would walk with them and show them the way. We worked, shared and played with them all week. Come Sunday, they came to church and prayed with us. They treated the worship service with the same interest they showed in their games - -they gave it their best. No difference what the topic of discussion, they handled it as if they were working for grade points. I was constantly surprised and amazed at the inward search, the outward look and the upward reach of those big, mischievous fun loving Aggies.fI - consider my contacts with them as one of the rare privileges of my life. One of God's beautiful gifts to the world was loving mothers who never forgets that little bundle of flesh and blood the family physician placed in her arms with the statement, "It's a boy." Because they knew the financial condition of the church and knew it took money to serve the simpliest of refreshments to their sons, they helped in so many ways. One of the surprises of my life was when the express delivered a huge box to my door. Who do you think it was from and what do you think was in it? It was from the A &M Mother's Club of Dallas. It had popcorn on the cob and I don't mean an ear or two, but half a bushel, several pounds of sugar, several quarts of shelled nuts, all kinds of chocolate, chips and so on, shreaded coconut, bottles of Karo, all kinds of flavoring it would take to make cady. They even sent a check to buy butter, milk and eggs. I was glad they didn't shell the corn. The boys had so much fun doing it. They didn't have to worry about broken fingernails and they were so thrilled that "Mom" had not forgotten their sweet tooth. My thrill came when I read the beautiful letter explaining the Silver Tea and its results. A letter of appreciation -6- from loving hearts of mothers, just because I had shared not much more than a cold drink and a waffle. There is no thrill that can equal that of being a minister's wife. Through the week it is thoughtful, undreamed of and certainly not deserved, courtesies. On Sundays, it is when one you love and have prayed for steps out and says by his action, "Your God shall be my God." The Aggies are in leadership all over the world. If time and space were available, the list of the exceptional leaders would be too long to mention. A few who had such important part in church work and have contributed unlimited talents to the outside world will have prominent places in history. When the name of Guy Hutcheson is mentioned, I don't think of a successful consulting engineer. My thoughts are of the best Student Council president we had during our ministry. His leadership was outstanding) his character beyond reproach. Mr. Jackson remarked so often what a prince of a gentleman he had to help lead and mold the students. The statement of Mr. Hutcheson in the Longhorn of '33 said, "No greater token can be said of any man then 'He was a regular fellow.'" Though he has many honors and citations from the field of engineering, the greatest of all awards was the honor of being selected Radio Engineer with the second Byrd Antarctic Expedition to Little America, 1933 - 35. Many Christmas greetings have found their way to my mail box. The most exciting and one of the most appre- ciated was the one from Little America. Because every one wanted the stamps, I watched it with an eagle eye. He closed the greeting with, "Though I've written this wearing sheepskin lined gloves, every finger is frozen stiff. It was one of our prized possessions and I did so want to keep it among my own souvenirs of yesteryears. But that was before Women's Lib so my husband became the caretaker. In our different moves, much to my regret, it has been misplaced. This is a very brief appreciation of one who was so helpful in our church. The reflection of his brilliant mind shines from here to Little America. The achievements of General Armand Simpson will have a prominent place in the history of our nation. His decorations include two Distinguish Service awards and four Legion Merit awards. His activities under General McArthur and other outstanding leaders read like a story of romance. A &M is fortunate indeed to have him serve as vice president of Student Services. He will have a hand in guiding the military program, the Corps of Cadets, ROTC, and the Aggie Band. His retirement brought him back to his birth state of Texas and to Bryan where he found the girl of his choice, Miss Mayors.Tle wooed and won her and they have been happily married since 1938. They live in Bryan and are members of First Church. He was also a member there when he was in A &M but he was the type who would serve where Christian service was needed. All of us know the wonderful help they give to the Wesley Foundation at the present time. I crossed paths with General Simpson socially between the two churches. As Paul Harvey often says, "This is a little personal." During Corky's freshman year, I was injured and it wasn't a happy thought that because of me he couldn't finish his education. I would have to be in the hospital not months but years, and with hospital bills, college expenses during the depression years convinced me we would have to have help. I wrote to General Simpson who head of the Student Labor Committee, asking if he could help find work for Corky. In just a few days he placed him in a position which -7- -8- placed him in a position which enabled him to stay in school. Efficiency was his watch word in everything he did. His presence with any group of Aggies commanded gentle manly behavior. I was always glad to have him and Marjorie attend our parties. Just their presence served well as chaperons. When his record of achievements are recorded and read in the history of our nation, heads will bow in reverance for such capable, devoted leader- ship. Our ministry in A &M Church was from '32 -'36. The student body numbered nineteen hundred. Most of the faculty lived on the campus. The residental sections were few and far between. We had only eight or ten on the Official Board, and no office force, not even a secretary. Mr. Jackson not only had his pulpit and pastorial duties to fulfill, but he also taught Religious Education in the college with thirty and forty students. When his busy day's work was done, he visited the boys in the dormitories. /1 We were fortunate to have Major R. J. Dunn, who was director of the Aggie Ban4, to bring several members to church and play for our evening service. Another piu5 was having K. H. Beach, who directed the College Glee Club, to direct our choir, and Mrs. Homer Norton, wife of former Coach Norton, as our pianist. The Aggies appreciated these faculty members helping us out and proved it by their presence with the exception of when the Corps trips demanded their presence. We understood the rules and regulations of a military school and the importance of their colorful parade before a game. We understood it but on those days, the church was all but empty. Most of the faculty went through -9- loyalty to the team, and to help scream them over the goal line. We knew when we were appointed to A &M that it was a student pastorate. Our students did come first and that is why it was placed first in this reflection. It is difficult to put value on the religious work the boys did. Their leadership was recognized throughout the Bryan District. So often when different pastors would not be able to fill their pulpits, they would call me to send them a speaker. The Aggies gladly responded and the reports of their efforts were always "The boys did just fine." They were not only good speakers but good actors. The pageants they were in revealed unlimited talents. When I was asked to share my reflections of our four years in A &M Church, the first thing I thought of was our rich, rare and real experiences we had with the Aggies. Now that time and space have run out the last thing I'm thinking about is also the Aggies. I've gypsied from Texas to San Francisco and back with my preacher husband. We have served all kinds of churches, but not one could ever top the cooperation and loyalty of the Aggies. Then we needed them, they were there whether it was to promote some new project or to see that justice was done when misunderstanding prevailed. If every member of every board of every church would give that same loyalty to their pastors, we would not have so many forced retirements on account of broken health or so many heart attack deaths. What we would have would be churches with influence which would be felt around the world. Love, cooperation and understanding are those musts that should be added to complete dedication to insure a successful ministry. Yesteryears at A &P1 were wonderful years. Today is also wonderful. I am persuaded to believe tomorrow and all tomorrows will be still better.