CHANGING OF THE CLASSES
I know that universities and academies have modern technology today in order to signify when classes are to change but pity the poor students who never witnessed the method that once was used at the Montgomery Bible School/College on Ann Street some 61 years ago. I have a clear picture in my memory bank of Roy Balkom standing in the middle of the campus holding a hand held Army siren and turning the handle and that noise could be heard a country mile. Of course I think some of the veterans attending the school thought it was an air raid about to happen.

THE POND, OH YES, THE POND
Just east of the main campus and down in the valley was a pond. Why it was there I don’t really know. Perhaps to water the cows that belonged to brother Turner. You normally think that a pond was for fishing but I don’t remember people fishing in the pond but they may have. Basically it was used for baptizing. Now, don’t get ahead of me on this. Remember the word means to dip, plunge and/or submerge and that is exactly what it was used for, especially at night. Many were the impenitent male students who were immersed in that muddy pond. I remember one uppity dorm dweller that was taken by several rowdy fellows and cast into the cold water and every time he came up out of the water (not rejoicing) but speaking forth strong words the fellows would toss him back into the pond. Finally he got the point, learned the lesson and came up with his mouth closed very tightly. Oh, the memories of campus life.

X-RATED MOVIES
I mean by that, all movies were forbidden including Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, period. We were in the world but not of the world so we were taught and movies were of the world. You dared not to slipped off and attend one. You know why? Before there was the CIA & THE FBI, there was Leonard Johnson. This brother had spies everywhere. He was all seeing and all knowing. So it is with a sense of pride that I now relate to you a true story about two very smart students who attended a wild western movie in downtown Montgomery and never got caught!! That is back when the cowboy kissed the horse instead of the pretty lady. Would you believe those bad boys married right to ladies by the names of Helen and Virginia and turned out to be gospel preachers?

THE DISCIPLINE COMMITTEE
I still shudder when I think of this group. That was not the welcoming committee. The Sanhedrin had nothing on this august court of justice and I do mean justice and not mercy. It was the last place you went before you boarded a bus or train for home. What were some of the dastardly deeds that would send you before this committee? Well, some of the lesser violations would be like holding hands in public (that would be like boys and girls). One ultra-conservative brother (not a committee member) asked a couple guilty of such a sensual act as to what they were leaving for marriage. Of course skipping classes, bad attitudes, disrespectful toward authority and especially for a dorm student to be habitually late for ‘lights out’ at night were bad, bad, bad. Didn’t parents know that MBC was a Christian school and not a reformatory?

Those were the good years my friends and I would not take anything for the memories.

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