SEMINARY MIDDLER (1956-’57)
Late in August, after a good summer staying with my sister Jean and her family, we loaded up our little trailer and headed back to Pasadena. We stopped the first night at a little church in a small town near Bozeman, Montana. There we took part in a worship service in the evening. Next day we drove on to Boise, Idaho, touring the "Craters of the Moon" national monument enroute. From there we drove across Oregon, and camped near Prineville, Oregon. We had to pitch our tent on a gravel bed that made sleeping very uncomfortable despite our air mattresses! Then it was on across the Cascades, where I got some good pictures, and down along the Oregon coast. We stopped once to pick blackberries from a big thicket right along the highway.
We camped one night at a big redwood grove, where we all were amazed at the size of the giant redwood trees. One burned out stump near the campground was large enough to have accommodated our tent, and possibly the car, as well. Next morning a herd of elk, perhaps 30 head, were seen in a nearby meadow.
We finally arrived in Pasadena very late one night, only to find our apartment full of sleeping people! The seminary receptionist had followed our instructions, and given the key to a new student family just coming in--John and Elaine Rex with six (!) children, and a dog. So we got out our own camping gear, and joined some of the children and the dog on the floor. This family became good friends, and we enjoyed many a pleasant time with them in the next two years. John Rex became a Presbyterian pastor after graduting from Fuller.
Soon the second year of school began. As a second year student, my new title was "Middler." I had courses in advanced Greek, and began the study of Hebrew, a very tough language. With a full schedule of classes, and my continuing work at the library, we were very busy. Jane did some child care work, to provide extra income.
I learned, soon after classes began, that another student was looking for someone to help him pastor a little church, Museum Heights Community Church. The location was in the foothills between Pasadena and Los Angeles, about fifteen miles from where we lived. I found the student, a senior, working at a parking lot, and we hit it off very well. Wilfred Naujoks was a German national, a son of Salvation Army workers in Hamburg, and had come to the United States to study for the ministry or missionary service. He was one great fellow to work with. He had been forced to serve in Hitler’s Youth Corp during the World War II.
The church we served was a tiny little non-denominational group that met in a hall above a liquor store. Used Saturday nights for dances, the hall had to be cleaned and swept each Sunday when we arrived. We threw out dozens of empty bottles and other debris from the partying of the night before, preparing the room for Sunday School and worship. Sheets strung on wires served to provide a measure of privacy for the bathroom stool and wash basin. Wilfred had a fine wife, Carolyn, whom he had met while attending a Bible School in the New England area. They had one small daughter, Karen.
Wilfred drove a new Volkswagen van, the first one I had seen. We usually rode back and forth with them to the church, as the van could carry both our families easily. Sometimes on week nights Wilfred and I went calling on homes in the neighborhood of the church, especially Sunday School families, trying to help people to know the Lord. Driving around the hills of the neighborhood, we saw coyotes, coons, and possums.
We took turns preaching on Sundays. When Wilfred was to preach, I taught the adult Sunday School class, composed of about six or eight women and, sometimes a couple of men. When I had the sermon Wilfred taught the class. It was great experience in every way. We still keep in touch with one family from that little church. The tiny compensation given us barely paid for the gasoline used in driving to and from our homes. We worked together in that little church until the spring of 1958, and then found two other students to carry on the work. Sadly, the church dissolved not long after we left Pasadena, largely because the leading families desired to have their children in a larger church.
My work load was very heavy, especially the study of Hebrew, which is one difficult language. Of course, I didn't really master it, at all. We did manage to translate the whole book of Esther in class, and found that a good way to sample the language and grammar. I was working 25 to 30 hours per week, and money was scarce. Yet it was in this 2nd year of seminary that we became good friends with some wonderful people. We seminary students freely shared what we had, plain food and good fellowship, even clothing, with anyone in need. We often had big pot-luck dinners together.
Also, Jane and the children and I did some "touring" of the area. We visited Mt. Wilson and Mt. Palomar observatories, and the nearby beaches when we had a little time on a Sunday afternoon or a holiday. Jane was active in the seminary wives' organization, and that helped her to get acquainted with other young women. We were older than most of the students. I was actually a year or so older than the president of the seminary, Dr. Carnell! The year went very quickly.
In the spring of 1956 I had purchased a Japanese 35mm camera, and took a few pictures that second year in school. Now that camera came in might handy! In oneChristian education class, Jim Dyer, a fellow student and a fine artist, and I teamed up on a project. Jim did a series of simple paintings of the missionary journeys of Paul. Jim did the art work, and assisted me in taking the slides of his pictures and maps. I composed the narrative, and recorded it on tape. It was a pretty good production (at least we received good grades on it), and I used it a few times in churches in later years. We each had a copy of the booklet and slides.
Perhaps my most interesting class was one on preaching. We studied many famous sermons, and also had to present short sermons in class, subject to very detailed criticism--of the message, the language used, gestures, facial expression, etc. It was very helpful experience!
David became a paper-boy that year, equipped with a good bicycle. We often had to help him with the heavy Sunday papers, and on rainy days. We also purchased a used bike for Jane and one for Mary. Sometimes we all rode our bikes together on a Sunday afternoon. I carried Martha, still pretty small, in the front basket on my bike.
School was over by the middle of May, in 1957, and I at once looked for a fulltime job for the summer. I was fortunate in having had such good experience with the Bureau of Reclamation. I walked into the U.S.Civil Service Commission branch office in Pasadena one morning, looking for work. I’m sure by God’s arranging, a representative from the Army was there in the office looking for a management analyst to do the same sort of organizational studies I had done with the Bureau. Because I had "permanent status" with the U.S. Civil Service,(that is, I could be rehired without examination) by afternoon I had an excellent short term job with the U. S. Army!
I worked for the Army for about three and half months, quitting in early September. The Army office was only three miles from our apartment, so I rode my bike to and from work most days. I took my lunch and rain gear, when rain threatened. The work was difficult, as is often the case. People don't like an "efficiency expert" poking around, asking lots of questions why they do something this way, instead of that. I was first assigned to do a thorough study of the Inspection Department. I ran into considerable opposition, but came up with a good plan for reorganization of the Inspection department, that saved the government an estimated $10,000 per month in working time and car mileage. I presented that plan before the Commanding Officer and, of course, the Major in charge of the unit, and his assistants. The CO gave his approval to my plan. The Major in charge of Inspection claimed he got stomach ulcers over that. I wasn’t there long enough to see how well the plan was carried out. I also did a study of the Civilian Personnel Office, and was able to give some help to the newly appointed Personnel Officer in developing a good team. My experience during the war helped me greatly in those studies. I had learned a lot about inspection in the aircraft manufacturing plants and also knew the Civil Service rules pretty well.
I was free on weekends, except for serving the little church. We went on lots of picnics that summer. Over Memorial Day we went to a public beach near Santa Barbara, and camped for a couple nights with two other couples. That was fun. Jim Dyer, our artist friend, made some beautiful watercolor paintings of the pier, the flowers, and clouds. I envied his skill, and wished I could paint!
Late in the summer, just before school began, we went on a week-long camping trip with the Lowes, our Chinese friends, who had never been camping before. We drove across the Mohave desert, and up the east side of the Sierras, and into Yosemite National Park. The first night, in that high country, we about froze! Water left in our washpan froze solid! All of us were cold in the night, but the morning sun was warm, and we soon were cheerful. On the second day in the park we drove down to the lower, west side area. There we found a grand place to set up our tents, right by the horse corral! At least the children all thought it was ideal though Jane was not in complete agreement on that! Martha had a pony ride after convincing us that she wasn’t too little, and one morning David and I took a trail ride with a large group. Our mean horses did their best to rub our legs against trees and rocks all the way!
We all needed to get back to Pasadena soon--the Lowes to their thriving business, and I to my third year at Seminary. We left Yosemite Park on the Friday night before Labor Day weekend, planning to camp one last night at Grand Sur beach, on the ocean. We had forgotten that many folks would be out camping that weekend. We found all the campgrounds jammed full, so we decided to just drive on home to Pasadena.
We arrived about one o’clock in the morning, to again find our house full of people! As in 1956, we had left our keys at the seminary office, so that any incoming students needing housing for a few days could have a free place to stay while looking for housing. This time it was the Ray Andersons, with their three children and a dog. Ray was from South Dakota, a farmer who had felt called to leave the land and prepare for Christian service. So we dug out our sleeping bags and mattresses, and bedded down on the floor with some of the Anderson children and the dog. Again we thus became acquinted with people who became good friends. Ray went on to get his Doctorate, and later returned to Fuller Seminary to become a professor and then head of a department.
We spent the next few days getting settled in again. I went back to my job at the library, and David to his paper route. Summer of 1957 was over--a great one!