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HomeMy WebLinkAboutgrowing up on the Texas A&M CampusGROWING UP ON Tl -I>✓ Ti3XAS ABcM CAMPUS 1940 -1942; 1946 -1948 by Lee Adcock Hunnell Reflections 91 Early Childhood Mother was singing Su1-1 the rt>rl'it) Uff and Uaddy sawed away. shortening the legs of my crib. It is my earliest memory. We were then new to College Station. My father was career military, 1929 g raduate of West Point, LJSMA, Corps of (Engineers. In 1939 he was assigned to duty at Texas ABcM as PMSP1'. That year A8z M's "Fighting Texas Aggies" were n umber one in the nation. We were proud to be Aggies and proud to be "Texans. in her enthusiasm for our new home, Mother bought us cowboy boots boots since worn by m children and grandchildren. There were no quarters on campus for us that fall, so for a few months we rented Ur. Mayo's house in North Oakwood. I was only 2Y but my brother "Tommy, 4;4, and I were free to roam the woods and ravines around our house. In those days Mother was reading to us about Tom Sawyer and 1 Iuckleberry Finn, and the wooded gullies with little islands in them were perfect for reenactment of our bedtime stories, Several civilian professors lived in nearby houses_ The Middletons were my favorite. Although their only child. Oracle, was away at college., they were very good to us. In his chemistry lab, Dr. Middleton made marvelous glass straws with loops and wiggles for us; one could go cross -eyed watching red Kool -Aid wind through them. When my parents brought us "calling" on Sunday afternoons, Ur. Middleton would relieve the boredom of our having to sit quietly by hiding pennies in the living room for us to rind. also he saved us the comics that were printed on the little cardboard sheets that separated his shredded wheat biscuits. We played with the other professors' children who lived nearby: the Blanks (Tina and Dicky) and the Pemberthys (Wally, Jean, and Beth). They had a big red dog, probably a setter. Although we lived off campus t hat first year or so, there were frequent occasions when we visited the campus. A big attraction was the free movies on Sundays at Guion Hall. I was fascinated by the fountain in front of Sbisa hall; sometimes it had colored lights on it_ I also liked to visit the building with the dome: (the Academic Building) and look at the contents of the glass case in the rotunda_ Once my parents showed me that the Aggies had acquired a fine stuffed owl, "borrowed" from a rival college in I louston. On my next visit, shortly thereafter, I saw a shattered trophy case, and an empty shelf where the repossessed Rice Owl had once, briefly perched. Sometime in 1940 we were able to move on campus. Cl ur first home on campus, the " "Thorton house," was on a very short side street off Lubbock (now Joe Routt Boulevard) and near Kyle Field, G. Rolly White Field I -louse sits there now. Only one other house was left on the street; our neighbors were Dr. and Mrs. P.W. 13urns, and sons Curtis (9) and Jack (2). Our families, four generations now instead o f two, remain friends to this day. We were soon introduced to the culinary advantages of living at an agricultural college: we ate tender calves liver and drank sweet raw milk with cream on top unpasteurized, unhomogeni -just like we loved on Granddaddy's farm in Kentucky. There was a wild persimmon tree in our yard_ I have had a yen for persimmons ever since. We did not get to live in that house a long time before a building project required that both houses on the street be removed. The Burns family moved to College I Iilts; we we re assigned quarters just a block cast on Lubbock_ Our home. known as the "E. L. house," was right behind Dean and Mrs. Bolton whose house faced Throckmorton. "fhe houses across Lubbock from us backed up to Guion I -Iall. My brother and I were sitting on the floor of the living room of that house when news of Pearl Harbor came over the radio_ I had no idea what had happened, but I knew it was very, very bad, and I should probably cry about it, so I did. My childhood was not the same after that day for a long, long time. The War Years Daddy soon left for "the War." We wcrc allowed to live in the Williams house for a few weeks; I don't know why; perhaps it was until Daddy's orders came through. We were still in the house for my fifth birthday, in May, 1942. I came down with the mumps, and Mother had to leave me to go to Louisiana to say goodbye to Daddy_ Dr. Andres came to the house and gave me a quarter because it was my birthday and i was so sick, I liked living on campus. One could go everywhere on smooth sidewalks by tricycle. And there were always clean cut young men around that were nice to little kids. Perhaps those, young men made life interesting for the "'KK's" (the Campus Cops), but the military families in those days probably provided very little excitement. Once, while we lived in the Williams house o ur dog, Clementine, disappeared. Clem was a Boston terrier with an affectionate nature but unblessed by beauty, highly valued only by our family. I was inconsolable until the KK's put me in the sidecar of a motorcycle and drove me around the neighborhood. Clear up near the commando course, we rode, looking and calling for Clementine. By the time we returned, dog -less, Clem had been found close to home; she had wound her leash around one of the foundation pillars supporting Coach Norton's house and was stuck up under there. Sometime in 1942 we moved off campus and into the little red brick house that still is numbered 211 Fairview in College Park. We rode out the war there, a blue star in the window_ Military discipline in the home continued despite Daddy's absence. We polished our shoes every Saturday night, read our Sunday school lesson every Sunday morning before we wcrc allowed to read the funnies, walked to St. Thomas' Episcopal Chapel on Jersey Avenue, and wrote to Daddy every Sunday before we could go out to play_ We hid in the dark of the center hall during air raid warnings, rejoiced when Daddy called home, and looked for his wonderful packages of German helmets and ammunition boxes. Once Daddy even sent a Cicrman doll he found in a bombed out toy store (I named her "Buz ") and wooden shoes from Holland. Campus was still only a few blocks away and we were very much a part of its daily life. The commando course was a great place to play with rope swings over a mud pit and other obstacles to challenge the brave hearted_ Mother wrote to Daddy every single night and went daily to pick up our mail at 13ox 4777 at the little post office near the New Men's Dorms. We all mourned when Reveille died. I thought it wa particularly tragic that he was buried on the birthday of the man for whom I was named. History should reflect that the funeral (not the death) of the first famous dog was on Robert F. Lee's birthday, January 19, 1943 or 1944. St. Thomas' Episcopal C'hapel, across from the drill field, played an important part in the life of the Adcock family. Mother was active in many capacities; Tommy and I were charter members of the Sunday school. Other than my parents, no other adult did more to frame my character than did my beloved Sunday school teacher, Mrs. F. L. Thomas. I adored her_ In fact, when I was very young, 1 thought she was named "Mrs. St_ Thomas." She was a renowned collector of children's books and a champion story teller. "ro this day, 7 can hear her rich tones echoing in my cars and conscience_ Each Christmas she would give me a book, which she would sign. I have every one and still read them to my grandchildren. Once Mrs_ Thomas asked the members of our class to memorize her favorite prayer, the Prayer for Grace_ To my surprise, I was the only child who did_ Mrs. " Fhomas rewarded me by allowing me to be in a movie with her which was filmed by the forestry department. Mrs. "fhomas emphasized the importance of the "Fen Commandments_ For some reason I was always called upon to recite the third_ Later in life I realized why she liked my rendition; a version that would only have been appreciated by the long time residents of ABcM: Thou shall not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain for the Lord will not hold him CUlicre.vt who taketh his name in vain, After the War May 1946, Daddy finally came home and was reassigned at Texas ABc 4. We got to move into our third home on the campus, 244 Lubbock. It was by far the biggest house 1 had lived in and was ideally situated for adventure. From our front yard we could see the band march by; we could even sell Cokes for a dime to the football crowd. Because we were just across the. street from the basketball games, we went to most of them. And we swam regularly in the huge indoor pool; at night we could just put on our pajamas after a swim and wear them across the street going h As students at A8cM Consolidated, we could join the Knothole Club and go the Aggie football games for only a quarter. Only the quarter was never necessary because we knew which of_ the wrought iron bars near the Kyle Field entrance were just a little farther apart that the others, and we could slip through, which we did regularly. Off season, we loved to ride our wagons down the steep cement ramps. In the spring we used the huge expanses of concrete between the stadium gates and Lubbock to draw gigantic hopscotch games which we played in the cool hours before school. C'ol. Frank Swoger was our neighbor then and his children our playmates. We rode our bikes to school in those days, along the: sidewalks of Lubbock and Throckmorton, then across the drill field by Duncan Hall over to Jersey. The absolute best weekend of the year to live on campus was Mother's Day weekend. and although the parade was exciting_ the really fun part was the Saturday before the parade. Engineer Day_ The most marvelous exhibits were on display all over campus. We ran from one wonder to the next. In one we saw a faucet suspended by a string with water coming out of it. Mr. Fleming had free samples of wood working in the shop_ Another year they stamped out aluminum ashtrays that had the "Texas ABcM emblem on them. And in the chemistry lab they gave away free popsicles, made in test tubes. I really miss being a child. tree to wander on Engineer Day. I recall one. spectacular birthday while I lived on campus in the house on Lubbock. On May 26. 1948, I had a slumber party. at which no one slept but me_ In the morning I learned that one of nay guests had become sick at her stomach during the night, and two more walked her home in their pajamas then walked over and sat on the steps of (Guion Ilan to see what it looked like by moonlight_ In the morning Mother fixed us all breakfast, then we went to a special 10:00 Saturday morning movie at Guion IIan. It was just about the best movie I had ever seen: Mickey Rooney played young Thomas Edison and grew up to be Spencer "Tracy. It was wonderful! And it was free! Fall was another exciting time to live on campus. Day by day, we could watch the bonfire being assembled. Finally the big night would come; the band would march in and the Fro would be lit; and we would all run around in the sparks, and a spark would always burn a hole in my brother's jacket. and Mother would be really angry, and Tommy would do it all again the next year. I wonder if little boys are still getting spark holes burned in their jackets at the Aggie bonfire. It was easy to become a connoisseur of fine climbing trees on the A.8cM campus; there were so many and one could be fearless, knowing an Aggie would rescue you if you became afraid of the leafs' heights. One of the finest trees was in the front lawn of the commandant Col. Welty (later the residence of Major Norman Parsons and his six children and later Col_ I3oatner, who became a general in the Korean War)_ The ancient oak was supported by a brace under one huge limb that ran like an elevated sidewalk parallel to the lawn below_ Another even grander climbing tree was in the center of our block in a parking lot. We built a fortress up in it in the summer of 1947 or 1948. We spent hours climbing higher and higher in that magnificent oak and none of was ever hurt. Rut it was a sad day for us when it was bulldo to build the Memorial Student Center_ My brother walked up its huge fallen trunk then jumped off and broke his foot. The skating rink, later known as the Grove. was another campus site etched in childhood's memory. It was the scene of parties by day and free `Tuesday night movies in the summer. Once a sudden summer shower caught my brother and me at the theater. Like everyone else there, we sought shelter under the projection booth. Two Aggies were concerned about me. wrapped me in their raincoats, and ran to my home, carrying me_ And on another evening, we were waiting for the Tuesday movie when the curtain came down, suddenly, on my idyllic life as a child on the campus. Eager to get prime seats. Tommy and I had bolted from the supper table that July evening and gone to the Grove before its gates were even unlocked. We simply crawled under the fence and staked a claim to even more seats than we had friends_ "Then_ just before the movie began Dr_ Burns - the neighbor from 1941-- and our minister, The Rev. Orin 1 Ielvey, appeared at the little open air theater. They said Mother wanted us at home Strangely, they had brought a car to drive us the short three blocks to our house. I tome was stranger still. The quiet street we had left only an hour before was lined with cars, "Their occupants all seemed M be in our living room, stoney faced or crying. In a few moments, Mr. I- Ielvey told me why. My father had been killed that day in a military training accident at Ft. Belvoir. Virginia, while on summer maneuvers with the engineering students lions the corps of cadets. Mother elected to stay in College Station. Although our nearest relatives were nearly 1 000 miles away, she reasoned that the community was "a wholesome place to raise children." But, once again we had to move off campus. In doing so, 1 had the unique experience of our old, rambling quarters at 244 Lubbock being cut in two. The house had been sold; it had to be moved to build the new Memorial Student Center, but it was too wide to pass through the live oak lined streets. I saw a carpenter take an axe, create a hole in the floor of my bedroom, then take a hand saw and saw across the floor. I still wonder if he could have sawed all the way around the room, up the walls and across the ceiling. Whatever he did was eventually reconstructed because the house stands today just north of North Clate and my bedroom is whole again. We had two more good years in the community; even off we never lost the feeling that we were as much a part of AR.M as any of the cadets. I would ride my bicycle over for Engineer IUay and attend the Mother's Oay parade and watch as an award in honor of my father was presented to the cadet with the highest average in engineering in the junior class. Twice I was allowed to present the award. The persimmon tree is gone, the B. L Williams house is now a parking lot, Onion Ilall was torn down years ago. and I pace the halls of the MSC wondering about where my old sawed -in -two bedroom would have been. Of my childhood on the campus of "Texas AcYc M, only the friendships and countless happy memories remain. Lee Adcock I lur�riell February 1998