One of my favorite Taylor spiritual memories was class prayer meetings. Kevin Butcher and I were class chaplains our freshmen and sophomore years. One night weekly we would meet in a dorm lobby for our class meeting. Around 30 from our class would gather to sing, pray, and share a devotional. Worshiping together was a very special time. Many nights after prayer meetings, or on weekends, we would pile into Mark Kratzer’s sedan and drive to Hartford City to Homestead Pizza. Mark was one of our only friends that had a car. Our record was 16 in the car at once! No mandatory seatbelt laws, so we were legal. Many of us did not date, but would do things in big groups. It was a lot of fun.
At that time, campus was very open since Rupp, Hermanson, the library, and bell tower were not yet built. When it was time to go to class in the winter, we would run as quick as we could with our books. The wind and snow would hit us horizontally, but most days we were so tickled when we got there, that we forgot how cold it was.
The greatest gift from my TU years is my roommate, which I met on the day we arrived on campus. Karen Neff and I looked like “Mutt and Jeff”, I was 5’10 and she was 5’2. Even though she taught in Taiwan for 30 years, it seems like we are as close as ever when we get together. 3 years ago my husband and I visited her at Morrison Academy in Taiwan. It was a dream come true.
God blessed me with four amazing years at TU and I will forever be grateful!
