Ann Street Memories

Montgomery Bible College/Alabama Christian College Reunion

2010-10-06T14:54:00.015-05:00

This occasion occurred on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, September 24-26, 2010. On Friday night students who attended MBC & ACC on the old Ann Street campus during the years of 1940’s, 50s & 60s met in the Faulkner University Cafeteria for a delicious meal and fine fellowship. We also sang for a few minutes. It was a most enjoyable time as we visited with friends from ages past. Of course it was sad to listen to the long list of names of our brothers and sisters who had died since the last reunion two years ago. I personally thought everyone looked good considering the mileage we all had accumulated over the decades of years. I believe the oldest person present was L.E. Wishum, age 87, and he is still teaching and preaching! Some in the picture below were students in Jr. High School while most were in college during the 1940s (beginning in 1942).

In this group picture there are four couples who have been friends since 1948 (62 years) and have been married for 62 years, making a total of 248 years!! Isn’t that wonderful! They are: JAMES & FOY WATKINS, QUENTON & OLGIA CROWE; L.E. (LEON) & BETTY WISHUM AND CHARLES AND RUTH STIDHAM. I don’t’ know exactly why Charles (last on the right) and Ruth (5th from Charles’s left) were separated when this picture was taken but I can imagine Charles had been busy talking with someone and just got in the picture in time. The four gentlemen have been teaching and/or preaching the Word of God for the past 62 years!

This picture is of the former students (and teachers) who were on the campus of MBC/ACC in the 1950s. You will observe that some individuals were also in the first picture. It was very difficult to get everyone in the picture and even then it was hard to get everyone to stop talking. You see, we were all having such a grand time together. I do think we all felt good to be alive and able to visit with one another. (Bill Beck was present, but not in this photograph.) Here is the entire graduating class of 1958 in the four year program of biblical studies at Alabama Christian College. From left to right are: ROGER DILL; TURNER PASEUR; DEAN WILLISTON AND RAYMOND ELLIOTT (a smile would have helped). Roger, Turner and I have been in ‘full time’ work in preaching since we graduated (Roger actually got a head start
on us but then he is older-yes, I am smiling as I type this).
On Saturday we met at the beautiful home of JESSE & PATRICIA RUSSELL in the Pike Road Community for breakfast and lunch. Several provided various items for all to enjoy eating.

There were some who remained until Sunday when we gathered at the Panama Street congregation in Montgomery for Bible classes and worship. I was privileged to speak during the first assembly and Roger Dill at the worship assembly. We also ate together in the fellowship
hall afterwards. We are thankful to the brethren of the Panama Street congregation in allowing us to speak and to use their facilities. Now it is time to say goodbye for the present.

God be with you till we meet again;

By His Counsels guide you, uphold you,

with His sheep securely fold you;
God be with you till we meet again
Till we meet till we meet,

Till we meet at Jesus’ feet
Till we meet, till we meet,
God be with you till we meet again.

~ W.G. Tomer

1943-1945 by Bethel Watts

2010-09-23T15:00:00.009-05:00

'43-'44
In the fall of 1943 my sister, Ruth and I traveled from our home in Birmingham to Montgomery in order to attend Montgomery Bible College. I had attended, Dasher Bible School in Dasher, Georgia the year before. W. O. Norton, the head of Dasher was moving to Montgomery to become the principal of the high school department of MBC. Montgomery was nearer my home and because I had a crush on Brother Norton's daughter. I decided to continue my education at MBC.

MBC had opened the year before with a few students. Willard Willis, Curtis Duke, Van Ingram and James Turner are the only ones I remember that was there the first year. All were faithful gospel preachers.

My first meeting with Rex Turner and Leonard Johnson was in a building at the corner of Highland Ave. and Panama St. They, along with Phillip Hunton, had a printing shop and were working on a religious paper that they continued to published for several years. The name of the paper was, “Sound Doctrine.”

Brother Hunton had been involved in the printing business and had taught a class at Dasher the year before.

Later I found that Brother Turner had been born near Warrior, Alabama. This is the same place my father was born and Brother Turner had attended school with one of my uncles.

My memory is vague as to the details of my first few days in Montgomery. I remember staying in the home of Herbert Dickey for a few days. He owned a barbershop and was a big supporter of the school. His daughter, Jean, attended MBC. After that Billy Murrell and I, along with Flavous L. and Nellie Rose, stayed in the two story building on Ann Street that would later serve as class rooms when school started. Ann Street was unpaved and could get mighty dusty or muddy, depending on the weather. The four of us had attended Dasher Bible School the year before. Flavous and Nellie were in their early thirties. Flavous was a tailor by trade. He had decided to go back to school and become a preacher. He was with me the year before when I tried to preach my first sermon in Chiefland, Fla. And it is a good thing because I ran out of anything to say after about five minutes. Flavous finished for me.

Just before school started, the school purchased a house near the south end of Ann Street near Fifth Avenue to be used as a dormitory for the boys. I think about eight of us moved in. One room had an outside door. Eulie Brannon and I picked that room. I had met Eulie at Dasher the year before. Hollis Donaldson, James Chastain, Billy Muriel, Carl Stuckey and Lester Starling were some of the other boys staying there. Thomas Weaver was the dorm keeper. This was before he and Bernice were married. She was in her last year at Harding College.

Sometime after we moved into the house, a small building was erected on the lot to serve as the kitchen and dining room. The first cook we had was Minnie Britt. She was replaced by Lafayette and Doris Chastain. Brother Chastain was attending MBC and preached in the surrounding towns when he had a chance.

There was no dorm for the girls and to my knowledge Ruth was the only girl from out of town to attend MBC that year. I checked with her and neither of us can remember how the arrangements were made for her to stay with the McDonald family. The McDonald’s lived on McQueen Street which crossed Ann Street about three blocks north of Highland Avenue. There were Mr. and Mrs. McDonald, Iris and John. Later on Jane was born into the family. Iris was Ruth’s age; John was a few years younger. Ruth and Iris became great friends and Ruth not only stayed with them that school year but also during the 1944-1945 school year. Brother McDonald was a great supporter of the school. Sister McDonald was Joe Greer’s sister.

My parents lived in Montgomery in 1947-1949. Some of the brethren started a congregation at the Starke Military School. The reason I mention it is that John McDonald and my Dad served as Elders together. Years later, John McDonald’s son John and I served as Elders together at the Timberlane church in Tallahassee, Fl. Small world.

Like so many of the other students I had a paper route. It was on Woodley Road and the area south of Woodley behind Huntington College. I got up at 3:30 am and delivered about 150 papers each morning riding my bicycle. I later checked the distance and found that I traveled about ten miles every day. Many of the students and even the teachers had paper routes. I doubt the school could have made it without the income from the paper routes. They all made a huge sacrifice in order to teach at MBC.

Sister Beulah Sessions taught Algebra and her class was the first class after lunch. Several times I remember sitting there with no air conditioning trying to stay awake and sometimes failing to do so. She was a kind hearted Christian woman that understood why we got sleepy.

On some Sundays Eulie and I would go to small rural churches near Montgomery and conduct the worship service. At times we would hold the service in someone’s home. Most of the time, we would have to do it all; lead singing, teach a class, lead the prayer, preach and serve the Lord's Supper. The majority of the group was always women and most of the time the men present would not participate in the worship service.

Most of the places we went were between Montgomery and Luverne; down dirt roads, off of Hwy. 331. We would get a ride with one of the teachers or older students who were going to places like Highland Home, Luverne, Opp and other places south of Montgomery to preach. Sometimes they picked us up on their way back to Montgomery. Several times we would have to hitch a ride back to town. One time we were stranded on Hwy. 231 late at night. I remember walking by a black church. They were singing. One song I remember was “Leaning On The Everlasting Arms.” They put their hearts into it and we enjoyed listening while waiting on a car to come by. We thought we might have to walk home but someone finally gave us a ride.

One of the first trips we made was to a family named Moore. Several Christians were meeting in their house on Sunday for worship. They lived down a dirt road, off of Hwy. 231, a few miles north of Highland Home. We caught a ride down to the dirt road. We walked about two miles to the house. As we approached it we saw a young girl standing on the front porch. Eulie said, "that is a mighty pretty girl." The girl's name was Merle Moore. We were at her grandparent’s house. A few months later Merle started attending MBC. Not too many years later, she and Eulie were married.

Brother Weaver played the guitar and he would often entertain us with his playing and singing. The McDonald family would invite all of us from the "dorm" to their house for games and snacks. Brother Weaver would play the popular songs and we would sing along with him.

Eulie and I read about someone; I believe it was Thomas Edison, who would sleep thirty or forty minutes at night. He would then get up and study for the same amount of time. He did this all night. This sounded like a good way to get our studying done so one night we tried it. One night was enough. I slept through Sister Sessions Algebra class the next day.

One morning I got up to work my paper route. I went into the bathroom and Hollis Donaldson was in the bathtub asleep. Hollis helped someone deliver papers so he, like the rest of us was sleepy most of the time. He had taken a bath and then just gone to sleep. Lucky for him it happened during warm weather.

Toward the end of the school year I purchased a used Cushman motor scooter. One day Eulie borrowed it. He and Billy Muriel were going some place when a car turned in front of them. Eulie was driving and he went over the handle bars and hit the car just behind the rear door. Billy slid off the back of the scooter and was not hurt. Eulie’s head made a big dent in the car and he had a slight concussion. It did more damage to the car than to Eulie.

'44-'45
When school started in the fall of 1944 my family was living in Lenoir City, Tenn. I worked in a drug store during the summer. Dad purchased me a 1932, 4 door Chevrolet sedan. Ruth and I loaded up and drove to Montgomery for our senior year at MBC. Ruth again stayed with the McDonald’s and Eulie and I moved back into the Dorm [house] on Ann Street. I went back to my paper route. Brother Rose had taken care of it during the summer. Even though I now had a car I still rode my bike to deliver papers.

Eulie and I now had transportation. We continued to go to small congregations and to private homes to preach on Sundays. The Chevy served me well but Dad replaced it after a few months with a 1936 Ford Coupe.

At that time Brother Turner was preaching in Alexander City. Sister Turner had wrecked their car and it was in the shop. [Can you imagine, the president of a college only having one car?] The next Sunday I volunteered to take him to Alexander City. Eulie went with us. After the morning service, Brother Turner came over to me and said, "I need you to perform a wedding". He explained that a young lady that had attended MBC the year before wanted to get married. The problem was her parents. They wanted her to marry the local banker’s son who was of the Catholic faith. She wanted to marry a young man she had met at church. He was a Christian, in the army, and about to be shipped out. Brother Turner told me if he performed the ceremony, some in the church might not like it. The young lady’s parents were members of that congregation. He said that I could perform it and would probably never see any of them again.

We ate lunch with a family from church and after lunch we were sitting in lawn chairs in the front yard. The young lady and her fiancé [I will not give her name] came up and I performed what was probably one of the shortest wedding ceremonies on record. I never saw the couple again but I asked Brother Turner several times over the years how they were doing and it appears their marriage has been a good one.

Now here is the rest of the story. A short time after the couple left, a Deputy Sheriff drove up. We were still sitting in the yard. The Deputy walked over to us and said that he wanted to warn us that the father of the girl that just got married was threatening to use his shotgun on the preacher that performed the ceremony. Brother Turner pointed to me and said that I was the one who had done it. Brother Turner was laughing so hard he was shaking all over. At the time it was not funny to me. I was a little concerned.

We went back to church that night and did not see any of the girl’s family.

"Who Can Find a Virtuous Wife?"

2010-07-14T10:01:00.003-05:00

It was on November 25, 1992 that Faulkner University honored the three men who were greatly involved in the beginning of the Montgomery Bible School which became Alabama Christian College and later Faulkner University. They were Leonard Johnson, Rex A. Turner, Sr. and Joe Ben Greer. I was in attendance on this memorable occasion and took pictures of these men. One picture that I took also included the wives of two of the gentlemen. They were Bernice Johnson and Opal Turner. Sister Winnie Bell Greer had died earlier. She and brother Greer were on their way to the Georgia Road congregation in Elmore County on Sunday, November 29, 1987 when they were involved in an automobile accident. Sister Greer died in the accident and brother Greer was injured.

It was my pleasure and privilege to have known these three Christian ladies. I first met sister Greer when I was in the 8th grade at the old Montgomery Bible School in 1948. She and brother Greer lived on their farm near where the Tallapoosa and Coosa Rivers combine to form the Alabama River. Brother Joe called his dear wife “Sweetie Face” and that really described this gentle and gracious lady. She was a homemaker and a wonderful mother and a lovely wife. She spent many of her years in the care of their oldest son ‘little Joe’ who demanded much of her time due to his physical infirmity. But this mother of love never complained but accepted the responsibility with grace. For some unknown reason to me sister Greer called me “Junior”. She was in full harmony with brother Greer in the support of Christian education and especially Montgomery Bible School/College/Alabama Christian College. Sister Greer influenced the lives of so many people with her Christ-like acts of kindness. She was 77 years old at the time of her death but her memory lingers in the hearts of those who knew her. During the funeral service for sister Greer her oldest Son, Beau, spoke these words, “She was an angel sent down to earth…” and that about summarizes the life of this good woman.

Sister Opal Turner sacrificed much in order to become qualified to teach on the college level. She also sacrificed in order for Montgomery Bible School/College, Alabama Christian College, Faulkner University to become a reality and to exist today. There are many ladies who were students of hers and learned much about ‘homemaking’ and being a worthy wife and mother. Sister Turner was the ‘wind beneath the wings’ of her college president/husband. She was very generous in her giving monetarily to the college she loved so dearly. Unless one could stand where she stood, we cannot know the heartaches and discouragement she endured during those years when money was in short supply for the small college on Ann Street and later on the new campus on the Atlanta Highway. She helped to make the Amridge University campus on Taylor Road possible by her liberal contribution. Her home was where the graduates and their families could come each year to a reception. Her hospitality was known far and wide. Sister Turner was indeed a very loveable person and a gracious lady. She and brother Turner suffered much in the loss of their oldest child, Jackie, in 1974. Brother and sister Turner had been married for sixty three years. Sister Turner died on July 24, 1995 while sitting on a couch in the den. Beside her was an open Bible. Her funeral was conducted on Wednesday, July 26, 1995. I was privileged to have been one of the speakers. One of the statements I made about this sweet lady was “Sister Turner was a loving wife, a godly mother, a devoted homemaker, educator, a loyal friend and a person of dignity.”

When I think of sister Bernice Johnson I am reminded of the passage of scripture found in the book of Ruth 1:16, 17 when Ruth said to Naomi, her mother-in-law: “Entreat me not to leave you, Or to turn back from following after you; For wherever you go, I will go…” Sister Johnson was married to a gospel preacher and an educator and where his profession determined his destiny, she was willing to go. Places like Montgomery, Chattanooga, Oklahoma City, Nigeria, Africa and Henderson, Tennessee were among some of the locations that found this family living while brother Johnson was busily engaged in teaching and preaching. She was a graduate of Harding University and in the beginning years of Montgomery Bible College she taught Home Economics. But, for the most part she remained a homemaker and cared for their five children. She also sacrificed much during the lean years while brother Johnson taught at Montgomery Bible College/Alabama Christian College. I remember well her sweet personality and I saw her often because I threw papers for brother Johnson and I was permitted to drive their 1951 Kaiser automobile on the route. Sister Johnson is now ninety-nine years old and lives with her daughter Marilyn Perry and husband in Moulton, Alabama. Her family would certainly “rise up and call her blessed” (Proverbs 31:28).

Many have been the times when brethren Greer, Johnson and Turner have been praised for their dedication and commitment in the field of Christian education but we should never forget these devoted women/wives who gave so much of themselves to the same worthy cause.

2010-04-09T23:50:00.003-05:00

TEACHER, STUDENT RELATIONSHIP
Because Alabama Christian College was small and the teachers were all Christians, the relationship between the faculty and the student body was usually very close. I believe it was in my sophomore year (1954-55) that I enrolled in a Greek class that was taught by JIM MASSEY. He also taught Bible courses. He was a graduate of Harding College and came to ACC to teach. He and another single teacher, Emmitt Mullins lived in the boy’s dormitory that was located on the backside of the campus. They became good friends. I know first hand how intelligent brother Massey was and that he was indeed a fine Christian gentleman. I considered him as a good friend. But there was another side to Jim (I will refer to him by his first name now that I am older). Believe it or not this brother had a mischievous side to his otherwise serious demeanor. He enjoyed a good laugh and he enjoyed making others laugh at some of his attics.

CREATION OR EVOLUTION?
I have a vivid picture in my mind of seeing Jim jump on a table and squat, stick out his bottom lip and turn his hands backward and then he would bounce around while making noises that reminded you of an animal that you might see in a zoo or in a movie of Tarzan and one of his pets. Also he would sometimes swing around a pole. I am not going to mention the specific animal but Jim was really ‘monkeying around’ at times. He was proving to us that our instructors were actually human after all. Virginia ’s sister, Ann, who attended Harding College knew Jim as a student and knew that he was known for this action there. Of course, at that time he did not have a wife to inform him not to act that way. She would come later.“A ROOM FULL OF ROSES” – HARDLY EVER
Because of the fellows in the dormitory who threw the Montgomery Advertiser, there was always an abundance of the papers to be found in the building. Well, would you believe that our Greek Professor got some of the students to take each sheet and wad it up and throw it in the room of his friend Emmitt Mullins? Those guys filled the room so full that Emmitt could not open the door wide enough to get into his room. Well when brother Coleman Boyd, who kept everything under control as the dorm keeper, heard about this stunt he had Jim and the students remove every sheet of paper and fold it up. No need to tell you but it was very late that night before these little angels got to bed, only to arise early the next morning to throw the Advertiser. Oh, the memories of dormitory life!

BLACK ON WHITE
When Emmitt got married, he and his new bride were going to leave Montgomery in a relatively new white automobile. Would you believe that the Greek Professor led two innocent college students astray by having them to write on that white car the words JUST MARRIED and a few more slogans? My, for some unknown reasons the wedding party was greatly upset. Emmitt and others tried various methods of cleaning the words off and they concluded that it could not be done. Rumors were going around that a lawsuit might be in the works. Those poor innocent young men who did that dastardly deed became frightened and trembled with fear. It was then that someone suggested soap and water and the black shoe polish disappeared. It is not mine to disclose the names of those two inexperienced country boys but I will say that Jesse Phillips and I have always had a real sense of sympathy for them.

SOWING AND REAPING
Well brother Jim Massey believed and taught it. I looked in the 1955 Sheaf to find a picture of him to place in ANN STREET MEMORIES and here it is. Read carefully what he taught at Alabama Christian College . I can almost hear him laugh as to how twisted fate can be, especially when the joke comes back to you.
WEDDING BELLS
There was this pretty coed that caught the eye of Jim and he fell in love with Joyce Brewer. They were married on November 21, 1954 in the East Tallassee church building where Jim preached. They were meant for one another and complimented each other in their labors of love in the kingdom of God . The small chorus from Alabama Christian College sang at their beautiful wedding.

Back Row, L-R: John David Parker, Bill Hall, Raymond Elliott, Charles Westbrooks
Front Row, L-R: Mary Turner Hargis, Patricia Holmes Russell, Virginia Slaughter Elliott, Harriet Haynes Parker

PERSONAL NOTE
Our dear friend and brother went home to be with the Lord on July 16, 1995. Jim and Joyce served the Lord faithfully for the 41 years they lived together as husband and wife. They were active in mission work as well as laboring with various congregations. Jim wrote material and books to be used and read by brethren. His influence will continue to be felt by those who knew him and those who read his material. It was a true joy to know this fine Christian gentleman. I still communicate with Joyce and esteem her highly as she continues to serve our Lord Jesus Christ.

2010-03-09T15:40:00.004-06:00

THE PARKMORE DRIVE-IN
You would have to have been a student at the Montgomery Bible School/College in the 1940s and early 1950s to remember this popular place where young people would gather, especially in the evenings and nights. Each night at 10:00 p.m. (as I recall) The Parkmore would broadcast on a local radio station and play popular music. I can remember that some individual would portray a ‘mechanical man’. Does someone else remember this? As a kid in Jr. High School I also remember riding in the back of a large truck along with other students and driving out to the Parkmore one night. Robert Tillery was the driver. This drive-in was on the Atlanta Highway where the Bama Lanes bowling alley is now located. Please note that on the bottom of the ad it is mentioned that the Parkmore was located at the City limits. How about that! This present business is now a long drive from the campus of Faulkner University . Back in the late 40s and early 50s there wasn’t much out the Atlanta Highway except some houses to be found in the Dalraida community and the VA Hospital on Perry Hill Road .

THE STUDENT CENTER
Lest someone might think that we were unfortunate students with no social life, it must be said that we did have a student center where we could gather and enjoy moments of fun and relaxation. Now mind you it wasn’t like the one that the university now has with pool tables (which would have been declared ‘worldly’ back in the 40s and 50s), along with basket ball courts, etc. Also it is when I enter the cafeteria at Faulkner University that I see the coffee shop to my right and I smile, thinking that drinking coffee was not even permitted on the old campus. It was strictly taboo. That reminds me of what Bill Huggins related to me some years ago when as a student he went to Ozark to preach one Sunday. He was invited to eat lunch (dinner) in the home of sister Ida Davis. This fine Christian widow asked Bill if he wanted a cup of coffee. Bill quickly answered that he did not drink coffee because he was a Christian. Sister Davis replied, “I am a Christian too but not a fool.” We would both laugh at this incident that occurred in the distant past. I have asked my wife to write her memories of the old student center.

(pictured above: unknown; Virginia Thomley McCrory; George Pennock; Blois Clifton; Ann Whittle Sasser; unknown; Mavis Grace, and; Margaret Laird Wilson)

MY MEMORIES OF THE STUDENT CENTER
By Virginia Slaughter Elliott (1953-55)

The Student Center was located in the basement on the left side underneath the main classroom building. It was the ‘hub meeting place’. You could buy refreshments, pay on your bill at the window opening to Blois Clifton’s office, pick up your mail, and buy any school supplies or books needed, make change, or just meet your friends. My job during 1954-1955 was to open the student center each morning at 7 or 7:30 am. Since breakfast was at 6:30 am in the cafeteria, many would pop in and pick up ‘Price’s Donuts’ (2 in a bag for 5¢, fresh, just delivered that morning) and a coke or carton of milk. Many missed breakfast so they could get a few more minutes of sleep. At noon when classes dismissed for lunch, it would quickly fill up with students checking to see if they had received that longed-for letter from home, etc. and then most would disappear from there heading for the cafeteria to have lunch. Some of the ‘day students’ would hang around, eat their sack lunches, or snack on knick knacks until time for the next class. Betty Puckett was the manager of the student center that year. Betty & Carroll lived in a trailer parked up by the boys’ dormitory, and were dear friends of so many. On the warmer days, we would fix up some good ‘coke floats’ or ‘7-up floats’ for our clientele. At night, the Student Center stayed open until 8:30 or 9 pm, depending on the schedule of the night classes. Many nights about 8 pm or later, when most of us girls would already be in our night clothes, someone would suddenly decide they needed a snack or a drink. We’d appoint one or two to take ‘orders’ and collect money, and send them off into the night to the student center to make the purchases before it closed. Often the ‘elected one to go’ would slip their long winter coat on over their pajamas, button it all the way up, put on shoes, and head out. And, just as many times, we’d see boys with long jackets on also there and their pajama covered legs sticking out, doing the same thing. In the late afternoon and evenings many young couples did their courting over a table in the student center. Also, one time, a ping pong table was moved in and some good games of ping pong went on for lengthy periods of time.

2010-02-16T09:45:00.008-06:00

COLEMAN BOYD
Virginia and I attended the funeral service for brother Boyd this afternoon, February 15, 2010. He was 90 years old at the time of his death on Wednesday, February 10. Virginia knew him before I did when she was a student at the Mt. Dora Bible School in Mt. Dora , Florida . She thinks that he and his wife came there during the year of 1945 or 1946. He and his family later moved to Montgomery in the early 1950s to work at Alabama Christian College . When you talk about the old campus you have to speak of Coleman Boyd. He was a person of strong convictions. You never had to guess where he was on any issue. But he was one person you could depend on when he said he would do something for you. He helped various persons during his life in one way or the other. He was a contractor by trade and he was also a gospel preacher who preached for several congregations in Montgomery County and adjacent counties. I have many memories of him and brother JAMES TURNER when I was a student at ACC both in high school and in college. They were both overseers of various building projects and the upkeep of the campus.

THERE WAS NO CHILD LABOR LAW
At least not on the old campus when I was about 15 years old and they took me out of school for a week to help dig the foundation for a new building that was to become the new boys dormitory. This was the last building on the right near the back of the property on Ann Street . To my knowledge I had never used a pick and a shovel but after five days of hard labor I became an expert. When you were a working student you worked where you were needed at that time. At least I began at the top of my profession and then worked my way downward.

HOEING IN THE MUD
No, I am not talking about playing in a mud hole. I am talking about ‘feeding’ block layers during the construction of a new building with ‘mud’ and 4 inch and 8 inch concrete blocks. You mixed a combination of sand, mortar mix and water together in a box with a hoe that had a hole in it until you got the right mixture. Then you would carry the ‘mud’ in buckets and in some cases you would fill a wheel barrel and with someone helping you by pulling the wheel barrel using a steel rod that was bent and hooked around the front end of the wheel barrel and there we would go up a ramp to the second floor and silently pray that you did not lose your footing. If that happened you would have been encased with the ‘mud’ and soon you would have become a living statue to be admired by other students.

A BLOODY SACRIFICE?
I believe it was the summer between my freshman and sophomore year in college that I remained on campus to work in order to pay for room, board and tuition for the following school term.

Brother James Turner instructed Pat Kirkland and me to paint the dormitory rooms in the new boys’ dormitory. He and brother Boyd would buy supplies at the H&R Point in west Montgomery where they found the cheapest prices. One color we used was ‘blood red’.
One day I was using that color in painting a room and a new foreign student walked it and said that he liked this color and the room. In my ignorance I thought him to be Jewish and I quickly and smartly replied, “So you can offer up a bloody sacrifice?” This fellow did not smile one bit and I began to think I might be the first one he would sacrifice. Not good that I used bad humor with him because he was from Jordon and not Israel . Later I became a friend with Fasial Ashour.

A DETERMINED DISCIPLINARIAN
Brother Boyd was the dormitory keeper and he demanded that students adhere to his set of rules or else. And I mean else. When the violation was of a serious matter you had the choice of digging up a stump on the campus and in some cases you packed your suitcase and headed for home. In those early years it was thought by some that ball games were not exactly a spiritual matter but belonged to the world and we were ‘in the world’ but not ‘of the world’. Brother Boyd had strong convictions along these lines. But when Robert E. Lee High School opened on Ann Street the students began to play Sidney Lanier in football in Cramton Bowl in downtown Montgomery and it was just too much of a temptation for several of us boys who had played high school football and/or loved sports to miss out on the game. During the 1950s supporters of both high schools would fill the stadium. Well late on that Friday evening 15 of us boys signed out and simply wrote down our destination – ‘GONE TO TOWN’. Well, we saw a good football game and we caught the last bus back to Ann Street . We had to walk up Ann Street hill and as we were walking across the campus to the dormitory, the thought crossed my mind that brother Boyd would know where we had been that night; so, when we got in front of the classroom building I quietly left the group and began walking behind the house where brother Baker lived and then behind the dormitory to where my room was located on the first floor. I always kept my screen unfastened just in case I needed to get out of my room because of the possibility of a fire. J I quietly took the screen away from the window and crawled into my room and lay down on my bunk. About that time I heard the other fellows coming into the foyer when all of a sudden I heard brother Boyd’s booming voice asking, “Where have you boys been?” He really let them ‘have it’ like I knew he would do. But I was happy that I was not in that crowd. A couple of days later I confessed to him that I also had gone to see Lanier and Lee play in that football game. However it was in a much quieter voice that he ‘got on to me.’

HISTORIC LETTER
Brooks Booth, Jr sent me a letter addressed to his father Brooks Booth, Sr. that was written on January 11, 1943, 67 years ago. This was the second year of the new Montgomery Bible School . Read carefully the signatures and see how many you can recognize.

Please click on photograph of letter to enlarge.

2009-12-08T18:46:00.000-06:00

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.

I Remember

2009-12-08T17:48:00.001-06:00

The Ann Street Memories blog about the lecture programs reminded me of the men you mentioned and others - H. Leo Boles, Brother Dunn (John?), Brother Ezell, B.C. Goodpasture, and many others. I think of all the good teachers we had in our daily Bible classes - Edd Holt, Leonard Johnson, James Turner, Lynn Headrick, others. Although I didn't always pay close attention, my mind absorbed the scriptures we studied and the application of them. Much that I learned then has remained somewhere in the recesses of my mind and is recalled today. I think of the daily chapel programs; Brother Turner and Brother Johnson sharing experiences of their early lives; (Brother Turner's journal telling how he worked for 50 cents a day or something like that. I remember Brother Johnson's comments on Proverbs 21:9 "Better to dwell in a corner of a housetop, Than in a house shared with a contentious woman." I think of Brother Brannan's and Brother Johnson's admonition to the young ladies regarding their behavior when on a date. I was greatly influenced by these admonitions. How blessed we were to have the opportunity to learn from godly men who lived what they taught. ~ Patricia Holmes Russell

2009-11-12T15:39:00.005-06:00

SUNDAY DINNER
I am not talking about the meal that occurs at noon but the products from the company by that name. Older students know exactly of the two products of which I am speaking, namely peanut butter and syrup. You would find them placed on the tables in the dining hall at just about every meal. When there was not anything else you could eat there was peanut butter and syrup. At least it was something that would stick to your ribs. We did not realize it then but these two items were very nutritious containing protein and iron, etc., but we looked at these products that kept us from starving to death. How sad that they no longer make peanut butter with the label of Sunday Dinner!
OUR SUNDAY MEALS
To be fair about matters, I suppose our dinner was good, however, things really changed for the evening meal. Before you left the dining hall after the noon meal you were given two baloney sandwiches to carry with you to your dormitory room to feast upon when those hungry pangs would strike you later that day. When times were so bad and funds were so low the report is that brother Rex Turner would weep because he did not have enough money to buy food for the students in the dormitories. Brother Joe Greer, who was a farmer, would regularly bring eggs and vegetables for us to eat. Eating reminds me that I ate in the dining hall for a total of 5 years, 3 in high school and 2 in college so that should qualify me as a connoisseur of sorts. I developed a philosophy during those years: ‘Where there is free food there is Elliott’ - in homes of friends and brethren.

GEORGE’S PLACE
Who can forget this greasy spoon that offered a delicious hamburger steak with piles of French fries for $1.25? And then there was some of the most delicious fried chicken you could ever eat – if you had the money. The café was located at the corner of Highland Avenue and Panama Street and was right on the way to the Panama Street church building. I can still see George coming out to talk with some of the customers while wearing his dirty apron. Often we would walk from the campus on Ann Street to attend the Sunday afternoon assemblies at the Panama Street congregation and we had to walk right by George’s Place. You could smell that chicken cooking and having eaten only your baloney sandwiches you would nearly starve to death. We usually had a singing/training class an hour before the evening worship assembly that most of the students attended. If some of the students received money from home and could afford to eat at George’s Place they would eat there late Sunday afternoon. We would be sitting in the theatre seats in the auditorium and singing. When those students would enter the building you could smell them because they smelled like George’s Place and it was pure torment thinking about fried chicken and trying to keep your mind on singing.

PLACES OF WORSHIP
In those early years at MBC students were required to attend worship assemblies at the Panama Street congregation and perhaps the Chisholm church where brother Ed Holt preached. Brother Rex Turner was the preacher at Panama Street and was for about 25 years. I was overwhelmed with his advanced knowledge of the Scriptures and his use of the English language. Most of what he said would generally go right over my head. Maybe some of that knowledge finally found its place in my heart. I felt loved and accepted at this congregation. I made my first talk in the training class that brethren Turner and Greer conducted. Well, it wasn’t a talk. I had to memorize the first chapter of I John which consisted of 10 verses. The Sunday that I was scheduled to speak for some unknown reason I got ‘deathly sick’ and could not attend the class. However I finally got up the courage to stand before the group and quote those 10 verses. But I was so nervous that a cloud of fog filled my eyes that I could not see anyone even on the first row. There is no way to estimate the good that training class did for young men and boys over the years. The Panama Street congregation will always have a special place in the hearts of men and women, boys and girls who regularly attended the Bible classes and worship assemblies over a half a century ago while students at the Montgomery Bible School/College. I cherish those memories of times when we were young and students who attended the Panama Street congregation.

Panama Street church building, 1949

Included in picture, L to R: ____ , Martha McCoy (Catrett), Jackie Turner (Long), Conway Skinner, Mary Turner (Hargis); On steps: ____ , Byron Laird, Marvin Wiser, Felix Catrett, Laverne Wiser (Leonard); bottom of steps behind Mary: _____ , Opal Turner, _____ , Rex A. Turner, ____ , ____ .

PEPSI STOP
No I did not say ‘pit stop’ but Pepsi Stop. You see the Holmes family lived in the apartments at the foot of Ann Street hill. Brother Holmes sold snacks and drinks in the State Buildings and he always had soft drinks available and scores of the students knew this fact. I was one of them and I took advantage of my friendship with Patricia and Barbara and many were the times when I invited myself into their home. We still laugh when reminiscing about the good times we enjoyed during those visits.

THE LECTURESHIPS
During the 1940s and early 1950s while I was a student, the annual lectureship was conducted in the Panama Street church building. Usually we would ride in a school bus but several individuals who had automobiles would drive over to the building. I had the privilege of hearing some of the outstanding preachers in our brotherhood at that time. One occasion that stands out in my mind was hearing brethren John T. Lewis of Birmingham and Gus Nichols of Jasper speaking on a subject on which they had strong disagreement. Yet when the two of them departed the church building they left as close friends. Someone has said that ‘big’ men can have difference and still be friends. It is the ‘small’ men that you should be a matter of concern. The noon meal during the lectureship was held in the dining hall on the Ann Street campus. The ladies of the various congregations in Montgomery would provide the food. I remember that L.E. Wishum and James Watkins would almost race in their cars to see which one would get there first.

2009-10-27T16:48:00.003-05:00

‘PREACHER BOYS’
I have written previously about ‘paper boys’ and now I want to write about the ‘preacher boys’, as they were called back in the 1940s and the early 1950s at the old Montgomery Bible School/College. Actually they should be referred to as ‘preacher men’ because most of those enrolled in the college were older in age than most students. Several were veterans of WWII and were attending classes with monetary support from their G.I. Bill. Of course many of the men had to support themselves and their families without the aid of financial help from anyone or any organization. These men came to school for one reason and that was to learn more of the Word of God with the intention of preaching the gospel of Christ. It was a time of tremendous sacrifice for these men in their pursuit of a Christian education. Several men gave their lives to preaching the gospel as ‘full time’ preachers while others worked secularly and preached ‘part time’ for smaller congregations. The percentage of men who attended the school/college on Ann Street who began to teach and preach the gospel of Christ was very high. Even now in their advanced age, some are still proclaiming the Word of God. In later life, when brother Rex A. Turner would become discouraged, he would speak of going back to Corner (his home town), I would encourage him by saying that he would never, in his life time, know the amount of good that he had accomplished in the teaching and training of men to become gospel preachers. It was during my early life as a student in Jr. High School that I was greatly influenced to consider becoming a preacher. As I look at the following picture which was taken in the spring of 1949 and reflect back to that day, I am overwhelmed with the kindness and patience these ‘preacher men’ and the photographer had with a kid in the 8th grade by allowing him to stand with these older brethren. You can see how the students and faculty members were dressed in suits while there I stood wearing a windbreaker. How richly blessed I have been by being associated with some or the greatest preachers in the brotherhood. 1st Row, L to R: Leonard Johnson, James Turner, Thomas Weaver, James Dawson, Horace Huggins, Harold Garmon, Houston Alexander, Art Thomas, L.E. Wishum, Wendell Winkler, Bill Huggins, Roy Balkcom, Raymond McLeroy, Raymond Elliott, Truman Boyd, Rex. A. Turner, Sr., R. A. Baker. 2nd Row: Edd Holt, Earl Moore, Lamar Thornton, Olen Willingham, Curtis Landrum, Brooks Williams, Felix Catrett, James W. Watkins, Charles Stidham, Robert Flowers, John Paul Jackson, Jack Howard, Curtis Duke. Two of the ‘preacher men’ who have influenced and encouraged me for over a half of a century are James Watkins and L. E. Wishum. Many of you know that James and I are from the same congregation ( South Commerce Street ) in Summerville , Georgia , and that I rode with him and Foye down to Montgomery in the fall of 1948 where I entered the 8th grade. James used to say that “Raymond and I went to school together” which inferred that I was his age. I finally got it across to him that, “Yes, you and I went to school together but you were in college and I was in Jr. High School.” James is actually nine years older than me and at the age of 83 he is still preaching weekly on television and in gospel meetings. L. E. Wishum was the ‘dorm keeper’ when I was in Jr. High School. I went with him and Betty to his home in the ‘piney woods’ somewhere near Albany , Georgia during that time. I remember that he pointed to a pond along side a sandy road and saying, “There are alligators in there.” Also I remember that for Sunday dinner his mother had fried chicken and it was the first time in my life that I saw chicken feet that she had cooked along with the rest of that hen. Brother Turner would say of L.E. that when he came to school the only thing he knew how to do was to “slop the hogs.” But this South Georgia young man later became a teacher for brother Turner and a very influential gospel preacher. He and Betty live in Gulf Breeze, Florida and in spite of ill health he continues to teach and train others and preach some at his home congregation. A person who surrounds himself/herself with great and godly men and women is indeed wise and blessed. I thank God I have had that privilege.

Late to Bed, Early to Rise

2009-10-12T21:15:00.004-05:00

…makes a student late, hungry and sleepy. It was a time when everyone connected with Montgomery Bible School/College had very little money. The teachers would often go without being paid for their work because of the lack of funds. They would supplement their sparse income by having paper routes. This was also true with many of the students. At one time I thought there were two authorities, The Bible (in religious matters) and The Montgomery Advertiser (in secular ones). I have since learned better about the latter. There was a time when I was in high school that every student in the men’s dormitory got up about four o’clock in the morning to throw papers with the exception of two – Don McKee and Mike McCrickard. I thought they were lazy but now I can see that they may have been the smart ones. I was only thirteen when I began throwing the Advertiser with brother Marvin Wiser. The routes were in West End and Maxwell Field. I was responsible for throwing 230 papers. He would ‘spot’ the papers at various locations where I would pick them up and put them in my paper bags. Because of the number of papers I had to have two paper bags hanging around my neck, one on each side. One morning when the papers were ‘heavy’ (thick), I had the two bags full and as I was walking and throwing the papers I began to feel dizzy. I soon realized I was cutting the oxygen off from my head so I had to remove of one of the bags. I learned my route on Maxwell Field in the dark. When I went with brother Wiser to help him collect payment for the paper I was lost as I could be because in the daylight every residence looked the same. I only recognized the places in the dark. One morning while I was waiting for brother Wiser to pick me up I was sitting on the curb near some businesses on Bell Street and I found a five dollar bill. I thought I was rich.
I also threw papers for Charles Stidham, Leonard Johnson, Owen Calvert, Frank Faircloth, Thomas Weaver and perhaps some others. One route was near Huntington College and as I walked down College Street I thought how beautiful the campus was in sharp contrast to the block buildings where I attended. There were many exciting, funny and sometimes scary experiences I had while throwing papers in the pre-dawn hours. I will mention that brother Weaver often entertained me while we were traveling to our route that was off Court Street. I would be trying to sleep and he would often ask me what I thought of this song and he would begin singing, “Give Me Some Men Who Are Stout-Hearted Men…” Brother Leonard Johnson had a new 1951 Kaiser that had a ‘hot’ motor in it. Sometimes the other carrier and I would be intentionally late finishing our routes when throwing papers for Frank Faircloth because his lovely wife would then cook breakfast for us with real eggs and not powered eggs like we had to eat in the dining hall. Staying awake during classes was a real problem for us. We would do pretty good during the morning hours but after the noon meal it was a different ball game. With stomachs full it was a challenge to stay awake during afternoon sessions. If you fell asleep during brother Ed Holt’s class he would wake you by calling your name and quoting from Ephesians 5:14: “Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.” We would often hold a pencil in one hand and if it fell to the floor we knew that we had fallen asleep. One quarter I had a teacher the first class after lunch that had a monotone voice and the course was American History. I slept too much and I made a D and that woke me up so I made a B under him the next quarter.There was an art to throwing papers. Most of us had to walk the routes. We would remove the papers from the bag as we walked on the sidewalks or in the streets and roll the paper and bend it near one end and throw it with gusto. I remember breaking a pane out of a bay window at one house. The gentleman was kind when reporting it to brother Johnson and his only regret was that it didn’t make it all the way to his bedroom. Of course I had to pay for the window pane. Oh, I have almost forgotten to tell you how much a mere paper boy made each morning. It was usually a dollar per day and sometimes you might even make a dollar and a quarter from a generous brother. On Thursday and Sunday mornings the newspaper would be ‘heavy’ and you could not roll them so you learned to fold them and having done that you would have to get nearer the porch in order to throw them ‘underhanded’. When I threw papers for brother Weaver he taught me how to fold the newspaper in a different way. You would fold the paper into a triangle and throw it with a twist of your wrist and it would go sailing through the air. You can’t tell the story of life on the old campus without mentioning those ‘paper throwing days’. It is a part of the history of the old Montgomery Bible School/College.

A PERSONAL NOTE ~
Now before I add the following contribution to Ann Street Memories I should tell you that I lived with Van and Gloria Ingram and children the summer before Virginia and I married on August 19, 1955. I was traveling with the college quartet (Paul Brown, Bill Hall, Charles Westbrook and myself). The Ingram children were Tommy, Rebecca and Patsy, who was the new baby. Gloria will often remind me that I would not permit Patsy to cry very long before I would pick her up and hold her. Rebecca was a pretty little girl that was at an age when she was very impressionable. I told her that I would be embarrassed to include her remembrance of me on this blog but she insisted that I do so. In the school year of 1954-55, Virginia and I were awarded the titles of Mr. A.C.C. and Miss A.C.C. but that is not what they called the men’s award back then. Like other colleges the male was referred to as the ‘Bachelor of Ugliness’ (The Sheaf, 1955). That title was changed the next school year to Mr. A.C.C. Now for you younger people, that is a part of the ancient history of the old campus years.

I REMEMBER ~
“My grandparents, Van and Bessie Ingram and my family lived on Ann Street across from the Montgomery Bible College campus in the early fifties. After we moved away for my dad Van B. Ingram, Jr. to preach for the church in East Point , Georgia , I would visit "Mom Emy" and go to the dining hall with her to "help" her cook for the students. Those were good times, but this memory comes from much earlier during my preschool years. I thought Raymond Elliott was the handsomest man I had ever seen! I think he lived with us for a little while and I just loved to look at him. One day I overheard the grown-ups talking about him being named bachelor of ugliness at the college and I was crushed! It made no sense to me how anyone could think my beautiful Raymond was ugly! What was wrong with those people, and what would they consider handsome?! I remember feeling appalled (although I didn't know the name for that emotion then), confused, and a bit angry, and the funny thing was no one else seemed sad about it. Probably I never discussed it with anyone, nor did I change my opinion--guess Virginia agreed with me!” ~ Rebecca Ingram Click

Working For Your Education

2009-10-01T20:15:00.002-05:00

Brother Rex Turner , Sr. and the officials of the old school had the policy that if you could work you could obtain an education at the Montgomery Bible School/College. I came from a poor family and my parents did not have the extra money to send me to a private Christian school so, like so many other students, I had to work in order to pay for my schooling. My first job was being a ‘maintenance engineer’ (janitor). My equipment included a broom, dust pan, sweeping compound and a dust rag. I believe my pay was about thirty-five cents an hour. I remember cleaning the classrooms in the dining hall building and the rooms in the administration building. I dreaded cleaning the office of brother Turner. My overseer, Roy Balkcom, had put the fear of the Lord in my heart because he informed me that brother Turner did not like to find dust in his office and that the floor must be perfectly clean.While cleaning brother Turner’s office one afternoon, the telephone rang. Now today that sounds like a simple and regular occurrence. However you must understand that as a lad of thirteen and coming from a family that had never had a telephone this was a new experience for me. Why I answered the telephone I will never know, but I did. This nice Christian lady asked for brother Turner and I answered that he was not in his office. She then asked where he might be and I told her that I saw him walking across the campus toward his house. She inquired, “Do you know his telephone number?” I replied with what I thought was an intelligent answer by saying, “I don’t know but you can look it up in the dictionary.” I was surprised that she hung up so quickly. The following morning after the occurrence, brother Turner got up in our daily chapel service and began to speak with great fervor that the one thing that we didn't need on campus were ‘smart alec’ boys who tell Christian ladies to look up telephone numbers in an encyclopedia. Well, I thought within myself how correct he was and I silently said ‘amen’. It appears that I knew very little difference between a dictionary, a telephone directory and an encyclopedia. I was a grown man when it occurred to me that brother Turner was talking about me in that fiery chapel talk!

During the first lectureship held in the new Rotunda building on the Atlanta Highway during the mid 1960s the committee selected several alumni who were preachers to speak during the lectureship. I was one of them. I remember that brother Turner and brother R.A. Baker were sitting on the front row. Before I began my lecture I related this story and I thought brother Turner was going to fall out of his seat laughing at my ignorance and confession. Brother Tuner would often relate how he would find ‘unlearned’ young men and make preachers out of them. He would mention L.E. Wishum from the piney woods of South Georgia who knew only how to feed the hogs and some illiterate fellows from the hills of north Georgia (including James Watkins) and then he would say, “Raymond, you stand up and tell them how ignorant you were.” It seems that everyone would enjoy a good laugh at my expense. I shall always feel indebted to brother Turner and others who gave me the opportunity to work my way through three years (1948-1951) in high school because it was then that I decided to give my life to preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ because of the godly influence of the men and women connected with the old Montgomery Bible School/college.

My First Impression ~

2009-09-01T12:38:00.003-05:00

I rode down to Montgomery from Summerville , Georgia in the back seat of a 1946 Ford driven by James W. Watkins. He and his new bride, Foye, were from my home congregation in Summerville. (They were married the first part of that year of 1948.) I had never been so far from home as a lad of thirteen. I remember how ‘homesick’ I felt when we stopped in Sylacauga for gas and something to eat.

It was late when we arrived at the campus on Ann Street and I was surprised to learn that Ann Street was a dirt road in front of the campus. I was further surprised when I discovered an unfinished dormitory. The stairwell was not even completed. We had to use a ‘gang plank’ at the end of the building to ascend to the second floor. Not only that, the bathrooms were not ready for use and we had to use the bathroom in the Administration building and there wasn’t any electricity.

That first night a college student with red hair came to my room and asked if I had a flashlight and I said I did. He asked to borrow it in order to write his sweetheart a letter. This tall Texan in overalls took my flashlight and hung it up so it would shine down on his stationary while he was writing his love letter. I learned later that his name was Wendell Winkler and his girl friend’s name was Betty. Until he died I always reminded Wendell that he owed me two batteries. We always had a good laugh about those early years at Montgomery Bible School/College.

The next day I got my first look at the campus and was I ever surprised. When you came up Ann Street hill and turned into the driveway by brother Turner’s house you saw a two story building on the right, which was called the Home Ec building. It also served as the girl’s dormitory. There was a laundry room behind the Home Ec building. Also, there was a dwelling straight ahead which housed a faculty member and family. Behind that building was the dining hall, which was a long white building that also contained some classrooms including the chemistry room. Looking further east was a barn where brother Turner kept some cows. There was a pasture where the cows could feed and live. There was a pond located in the lower part of that pasture. Looking south across an unkempt campus you could see the Administration building, which was the only brick building on the entire campus and then there was the unfinished men’s dormitory. A university campus it was not.

Somewhere in my youth I saw pictures of college campuses that had two story brick buildings with ivy growing up the sides of them. An aerial photograph was made of the campus in the early 1960s but this was not the way the older campus appeared in the late 1940s. Oh, I was about to leave out at least one very important site on the campus and that was the red dirt basketball court. There, many games were played by students and faculty members. I don’t think any of them ever made it to the pros. And lest you think that we were not modern in the athletic department, I must mention that there was a volleyball court next to the Home Ec building.
When men/boys wanted to bathe, you had to ‘tote’ hot water from the dining hall and use the bathroom in the Administration building. Using the ‘gang plank’ from the second story of the boy’s dormitory was at least humbling for the college fellows. I had never lived ‘upstairs’ in my life. Eventually the stairs were completed, as were the two bathrooms upstairs. We did get electricity soon where we could find our way around without the use of a flashlight. We slept on army bunks that had been purchased at the H & R Point. You made every effort to obtain a couple of mattresses to make it more comfortable on which to sleep. I must say that I nearly died with a disease called ‘homesickness’, and I wanted to go home but my mother said that I should stick it out until Thanksgiving. And I did. Those were the days my friends.

I Remember ~

2009-08-20T17:46:00.002-05:00

PATRICIA HOLMES RUSSELL (1948 - )
There are wonderful memories of our days on the "old campus" and of the friendships made in those years. Many of those friendships continue to this day, and they are indeed precious to us. Raymond is among my friends from those early years at MBC. James and Foye Watkins brought him there from Summerville , Ga. I also remember meeting his sweet mother.

How times have changed! My dear friend, Sally Greer ( Wadsworth ), and I would sometimes walk across the campus holding hands (junior high age). This was perfectly alright and did not raise any eyebrows. We remain friends until this day.

The tuition was $10.00 a month for students living in town who attended classes in the Jr. and Sr. school. It did not come easy for my daddy. I didn't properly appreciate his sacrifice then, but I am so thankful he saw the value of a Christian education. My life could have turned out quite differently had I not had the privilege of attending MBC/ACC. The influence of godly Christian teachers and friends is priceless. I will write more another time.

Danna Myers Cofer, Searcy, Arkansas
I started elementary school in 1956 when I in first grade and continued in school on the Ann Street campus until we moved to the new campus when I was in the tenth grade. I went on to graduate there in 1968. I have so many memories of that campus from the first grade, when my friend Nancy and I got to go out and swing because we were the only ones not crying, to listening to the radio tell of the assassination of JFK while on the old red clay volley ball court. I remember going out to play with our dolls we brought to school on the field across from the high school building. I could go on and on, but I will wait for another time.

I Remember ~

2009-08-17T19:20:00.003-05:00

Edith I. Bagwell Balkcom
I arrived on the campus of MBS on September 13, 1947 and was in the girl’s dormitory which was the two story dwelling next to Brother Rex Turner’s house. Other girl’s came in that day also (one of which was Florence Sellers). Roy Balkcom lived in the boy’s dorm next to James Turner’s house and close to Brother Baker’s store. Roy and Harvey Jones came to the dorm and asked us to come over to the window so they could see us. There were eight of us girls in the dorm and Martha McCoy was our dorm mother. Two clubs, Philosophian and Zetalethian were on campus and I was a member of the Philosophians.

At the back of the dormitory, between the dormitory and kitchen and biology room, lived Bernice and Thomas Weaver. Sister Weaver was our music teacher. She was a wonderful teacher, who had the chorus and quartet, who were also wonderful.

Frankie Mason was in charge of the kitchen and I worked there my first year to pay my way through college. The second and third year I was in charge of the laundry, which was downstairs in the girl’s dorm.

The administration building was where Brother Turner and Brother Johnson had their offices. Truman Boyd was the Bursar who taught accounting; Eulie Brannon was the Dean and taught high school social studies. The administration building also held the library and two class rooms. Brother Curtis Duke taught classes in the administration building as well as the biology lab next to the kitchen. I loved all the classes – Bible, typing, accounting, biology, English, history and many more.

Brother Ed Holt was a Bible teacher and he and his family lived on Ann Street across from the Administration building. Sister Holt taught college girl’s home economics. Sister Johnson & Sister Turner taught home economics for the other girls.

The boy’s dormitory had two stories. The boy’s lived upstairs and was supervised by L.E. Wishum. The married couples lived downstairs. Later, when the kindergarten through junior high school began, their building was across the clay road and further down the boy’s dormitory and offices were built by Coleman Boyd. This building became apartments to be rented when the Faulkner University moved to the Atlanta Highway .

Down the hill in back of the dining room was the barn. Animals were in the field and a little pond. Roy Balkcom milked the cow, which gave us milk for breakfast.

I began working for Brother Elmer Tallant in the automobile and fire insurance companies. This was my job for three years until Roy and I moved to Birmingham where he worked as a conscientious objector for two years and preached on Sundays.

2009-08-11T19:39:00.005-05:00

The Beginning ~
In the April 25, 1942 edition of SOUND DOCTRINE the announcement was made on the back page concerning the beginning of the Montgomery Bible School. I have been told that at the time of the announcement the property on Ann Street had not yet been secured. You will observe the address given was Post Office Box 962. Talk about faith!!! The grandson of brother and sister Rex Turner, Sr. and a dear friend of mine, Jesse Long, Jr., gave me this framed announcement (which had been given to him by his grandfather) when he was leaving his position with Southern Christian University and as a co-worker with me at the Prattville church of Christ. I have cherished its possession since August, 1993. The three men who were instrumental in the establishment of MBC were Rex A. Turner, Sr., Leonard Johnson and Joe B. Greer. Of course there were others who make up the Board, like John McDonald who contributed financially to the young school. I believe the first total amount given was $235.00. The picture of brethren Turner, Johnson and Greer was taken after a special occasion at Faulkner University honoring these men. These godly men have gone to be with their Lord and so have sister Greer and sister Turner. Only sister Johnson remains at the age of ninety-eight.

Later an additional year of college classes were added and MBS became Montgomery Bible College. The students in the picture below are Ervin Curtis and Jane McDonald. Ervin was a roommate of mine at one time and a good friend. Jane was a daughter of brother and sister John McDonald. She married Clifford Yeldell. Jane died several years ago.

In 1953 the name of the college became known as Alabama Christian College. The young lady in this picture was Virginia Slaughter who has had the same husband for the past 54 years (August 19, 2009, fortunate for me).

I Remember ~

2009-08-08T14:57:00.003-05:00

Don Brannan
"In the early 50’s some of the high school boys were playing on the Masonic Home property, which was directly behind the classroom building. One day they applied lipstick and other makeup to their faces in order to look like Indians. They went to chapel with the makeup on. Brother Baker, who was the principal at the time, got up in chapel and said that he noticed a new tribe of Indians in the audience. He said that he was going to ignore it that time but that he didn’t want to see them again."

David Wheeler
"I attended MBC/ACC on the Ann Street campus from 1955-58, if I remember correctly.
One memory was my cooking breakfast in the cafetorium. The smell of those scorched eggs continues ever with me."

The Location

2009-07-23T19:55:00.004-05:00

Virginia and I were having lunch at Country’s Barbecue located on 2610 Zelda Road in Montgomery when I asked the young lady who was our server if she knew that there had been a college on this very location in years past. Of course her answer was “no”. She was very surprised to learn that many years ago this present acreage was occupied by Montgomery Bible School/College that became Alabama Christian College. Country’s Barbecue is actually bordered by Zelda Road, Ann Street and East Ann Street. The administration building almost stood where this business in now located. Except for former students and people who saw and knew the exact location of the old MBC and ACC, present day citizens cannot imagine how the campus appeared during those years, 1942-1965. There are two original buildings remaining where the old campus was on East Ann Street. They are the classroom building for the college and high school students and the elementary school building. I helped to dig the foundation for the classroom building and I remember when the large concrete trucks came and began to deposit all that concrete and we had to keep it moving in the trenches with our shovels. Several years ago a gentleman bought the classroom building and renovated it for an apartment complex.

(Elementary school building on old campus)

(Old buildings that were ACC classroom buildings)

I have a couple of books that were given to me from Roy Balkcom when I was in the 8th or 9th grade. The address written in both books was 914 Ann Street. Later the address for the college became 1469 Ann Street. East of Ann Street was only pastures. Of course there was Dalraida out the Atlanta Highway and some residents out Carter Hill Road along with the Masonic Home, but generally speaking Ann Street was the outer limits in east Montgomery. While I will be writing my memories that began when I was only thirteen years old back in 1948, I am opening this blog for all alumni of the school/college who attended classes during the years 1942-1965.

You can email me at raymondelliott@knology.net or better still, b.rayelliott@gmail.com and I will include your memories. While this blog will not deal specifically with the history of the college, our memories compiled will become a history of happenings on the old campus. Do not make your memory too long because you can send another one from time to time. Be sure to give your memory a title and include your name and the year(s) you attended MBC/ACC on the Ann Street campus. Also spread the word about Ann Street Memories to others. It will be good for us ‘old folk’ to keep in touch with one another. Let me hear from you. You should become a ‘Follower’ of this blog so you can send in your comments. I will appreciate it very much.