My freshman year at Auburn was while I was serving in the Army
Specialized Training Reserve Program (ASTRP). I have discussed this period
in the section Military/Enlisted Service.
I returned to Auburn in the fall of 1947 and began courses toward a
degree in Electrical Engineering. Being a veteran, I had school cost covered
plus I received $65 per month. This was barely enough to live on.
I had been in school only about two weeks when there was an event that
changed my life, although I did not know it at the time. A friend asks me if
I was going to take ROTC. I said, "No, I have done my military service." He
then said that they paid you $27.00 per month. I joined the ROTC the next
day because that gave me 40 percent increase in income and I could even take
a young lady out occasionally. This also would take me out of poverty and
allow me to purchase liquid refreshments
In
the summer of 1948 I fulfilled my lifelong dream, I learned to fly. I took
advantage of the GI Bill that paid for all of my flying lessons. My
instructor was Johnny Ogelsby, a friend who met through building model
airplanes. Johnny was about two years older than me and had been a Navy
pilot in the Pacific.　 He was a good instructor and I really enjoyed flying
from the Birmingham Airport which was only about four miles from our home.
The final test was to make a solo cross country flight. I planned to fly
from Birmingham to Auburn then to Montgomery and then back to Birmingham. A
few days before my scheduled flight there had been some heavy storms in the
area. What I did not know was there were aftereffects of these storms in the
upper atmosphere. My flight to Auburn was not very smooth. In calm weather
you can fly quite a distance with having to even touch the controls. On this
day I had to control the plane for the entire trip.
The Auburn airport was just a grass strip for light planes. It was also
on a slope. I had to land up hill. After landing I tied the plane down and
arranged to have it refueled then I hitchhiked in to Auburn. I went to the
boarding house where I spent the previous semester and saw several of my
friends. I wanted someone to ask me what I was doing in Auburn since they
knew that I was not in school. I wanted to reply, "I just flew down for a
visit." After about two hours in Auburn and since no one had ask the
question, I left and resumed my flight.
Shortly after my solo cross country I received my Private Pilots license.
This completed the government’s obligation for my flying. I could not afford
the cost for plane rental and I never was able to fly again, but my lifelong
dream had been fulfilled.
My
first year back at Auburn was uneventful. The Auburn campus came up to the
main intersection in town. This intersection is known as Toomer's Corner
since Toomer's Drug Store is cattycorner from the entrance to the campus. If
you have ever watched an Auburn football game played at Auburn there is
always some mention of Toomer's Corner. This is where the students always
celebrate a victory. I had moved from one boarding house to one that was
only about 100 feet from Toomer's Conner, the perfect place to live.
During this year Auburn and the University of Alabama resumed football.
They always played in Birmingham since neither school had a large stadium.
They had not played each other for more than 25 years. Auburn lost by a very
large score. There was no joy in Auburn that fall.
The next year was a different story. Auburn won. The students celebrated
by building a very large bonfire in the middle of the intersection at
Toomer's Corner. The police did not interfere, they just redirected traffic.
There was a fire truck that stood by in case it was needed. The celebration
lasted for several hours. When Auburn beats Alabama everything stops and
celebration begins.
Now
the Auburn students paper the oak trees at the entrance to the campus at
Tyson's Corner. This major student activity is accomplished every time
Auburn wins a ball game. The oak trees are over 100 years old and
removing the toilet paper presents a problem. They usually use a fire hose.
The water pressure sometimes causes some damage to the trees. One energizing
student thought that burning would be a better way. The result caused more
damage to the trees. This practice was not repeated. In 2010 an Alabama
supporter poisoned the trees. He has since been indited. All Auburn and
Alabama fands are praying for their recovery.
I
had a date on a Saturday night during this summer of 1948. We were going to
the movies at the Alabama Theater in Birmingham. I do not even remember who
she was but I do remember that evening. As we drove toward town, with one
arm around my date and the other on the steering wheel, I am afraid that I
was paying more attention to my date than my driving. I finally noticed some
flashing red lights behind me. I pulled over. The police officer said that I
had run three red lights. I got a ticket. The remainder to the evening I
drove with two hands and was much more careful.
This happened on the Saturday before the Monday that I was to depart for
ROTC Summer Camp at Fort Monmouth, NJ. The ticked had a court date or I
could pay a fine by mail. After church Sunday evening several of my friends
and I went to the home of one of our friends. While there I requested an
envelope and stamp. I placed the ticket and payment in the envelope and
asked my friend to mail it for me. I had been using my Dad's car and I did
not want him to know about the ticket. I knew I was now that my problem was
solved and Dad would never know about the ticket.
A few days after I returned from ROTC Summer Camp my Dad said, "Son, this
letter came for you while you were gone. It looked important so I opened
it". He handed me the receipt for my ticket. Why was the city so efficient?
I could have easily done without the receipt. Dad never said another word.
Maybe he was just glad that I had accepted my responsibility.
One of my class mates had a Chrysler baby blue convertible and three of
us went to Fort Monmouth with him. Since I had been to Fort Monmouth before
I knew my way around and we had no problem finding places to enjoy our off
duty hours. We were billeted in typical one story barracks in an area at
Fort Monmouth known as Camp Wood. We frequently went to Freehold, NY where
there was a boardwalk and an active establishment at the end of the
boardwalk. We had to be back by 11:00 pm for bed check. We frequently would
arrive back near Camp Wood, park the car just over the fence and go to our
barracks. As the sergeant came through for bed check we would be sitting on
our beds pretending to take our shoes off. As soon as the sergeant went out
one door we went out the other, climbed the fence, got in the car and
continued to enjoy a few more hours of the evening.
Once, while we were spending three days at the rifle range at Sea Girt,
NY. We were dressed in fatigues with helmets and sleeping in pup tents. The
range is on the beach and we were given an hour or two to enjoy the beach.
The area where we swam was adjacent to a group of beach houses in the
adjoining community of Manasquan. While at the beach two or three of us
struck up a conversation with some young ladies in the nearest beach house.
We took a bold step and ask if we could see them that evening. They agreed.
Of course we were not supposed to leave the rifle range. After dark, we
sneaked down to the beach, complete with rifles and helmets. We found a
place to hide our rifles and helmets and dressed in our fatigues we climbed
a fence (we were experienced at this) and had a nice evening in Manasquan.
We were never caught or at least no one ever called us on the carpet.
During May of 1949 I met a nice young lady, Martha. We casually dated for
the month of May. I went home for the summer. While at home I dated and one
night I got over zealous with my date and invited the lady to come to Auburn
for Homecoming in the fall. She accepted.
On
my first day back at Auburn in the fall I asked some of my friends if they
had seen Martha. I was told that she had had surgery during the summer and
was still recuperating. I thought I would contact her in a day or two. Like
many on the first day back, I went to the movies. As I entered the theater
there were no seats. I walked down the right isle all the way to the front
and then back up the left isle looking for a seat. I finally saw one in the
middle on a row near the back. I took the seat. Who was I sitting by?
Martha. This was her first time out since having surgery for removal of a
toxic thyroid. She could hardly talk. As she tried to talk I began to laugh.
She immediately got up and left her seat. I immediately followed her and
convinced her to return to her seat. We then sat, held hands and paid little
attention to the movie.
I continued to see Martha on a daily basis and I realized this
relationship was becoming more than casual. But Homecoming was coming and I
had invited someone else for that weekend. My main commitment for Homecoming
was to take my date to the dance on Saturday night.
On
Friday of Homecoming weekend my roommate and I acquired a pint of Southern
Comfort. Late that afternoon I picked up Martha and we joined several of my
friends. My roommate and I began to consume Southern Comfort with Coke.
Southern Comfort is smooth. It was not too long that we had to put my
roommate to bed.
Some of my friends had run out of refreshments and decided to go to the
Cornstalk Country Club, the name we gave to a place several miles out of
town that sold beer. When we were about half way I asked the driver to stop
the car. I got out and began to lose my cookies in a corn field. This did
not go well with Martha since she did not drink. Shortly thereafter I was
put to bed. This was another close call with Martha and I did not know what
the outcome would be,
On Saturday my roommate and I made it to the football game but we were
suffering. I took my date to the dance and tried to just relax for the
remainder of the weekend.
How about Martha? We continued to date, were married in 1950 and I have
not let Southern Comfort touch my lips since.
One day I was in an engineering lab after class. They had a small 7'
television set. It was connected to a long wire antenna on the building
roof. I began to play with the television. At that time both Birmingham and
Atlanta had three television stations and each was approximately 100 miles
from Auburn. I was able to receive a faint signal, not strong enough to see
a clear picture but strong enough to know that the signal could be received
in Auburn.
I
began to believe that if a proper antenna was used I should be able to
receive the TV programs. Over the next several months I saved my money and I
purchased a 10" TV in Birmingham. Over a period of several weeks I obtained
aluminum close line wire and some 1" x 2" wood to build antennas. I
constructed two cubical quad antennas, one for the low band (channels 2-6) a
one for the high band (channels 7-13). A cubical quad has a rectangular
configuration and it is set on edge. I mounted these antennas on a mast and
pointed it toward Atlanta. Much to my delight I did receive a signal.
Sometimes the signal was strong enough to view the program. This was the
first real TV reception in Auburn.
I continued to receive TV on occasions and when the signal was strong I
would place the TV in the boardinghouse window and students passing by could
see it.
During my senior year I was asked by a Fraternity to build them a set of
antennas for a TV that they intended to buy. I then build three yagi
antennas for them. These yagi antennas had more gain than my antennas and
the Fraternity received a fairly good signal.
During this senior I wrote a paper entitled, "Will Television Come to
Auburn?" In this paper I proposed that a set of high gain antennas be placed
on the Auburn water tank which was the tallest structure in town. At this
height there should be able to receive a good television picture. The signal
would then be amplified and retransmitted to the local Auburn area. I
received an "A" on this paper. This concept was actually implemented in
rural areas several years later.
In
June 1949 I completed ROTC and was commissioned a 2nt Lieutenant in the
Signal Corps. In the fall, our military instructor, a Major, called me in.
He was recruiting. He told me that there was a new pay raise that was
expected to be approved by Congress in the next few weeks. He showed me the
pay scale. As I recall my base pay would be about $230 per month plus the
housing and substance allowance. I had a classmate that had just graduated
and went to work for Southern Bell at $180 per month and he had to work as
an apprentice for the first few years starting out climbing poles.
After a few weeks I decided to enter on active duty with a three year
commitment. At the time there was no thought an army career or of marriage.
I graduated in March 1950 as a Distinguished Military Graduate and with a
degree in Electrical Engineering (Communications Option).