My college years spanned from 1968 to 1973. I had a fifth year for my teaching credential and student teaching.
For my first year of college I went away about 60 miles east of my home to the University of Redlands.
My college roommate was Violet (Violeta). Her major was Spanish. After my first year I decided to move back home and commute to Cal-State Los Angeles to finish my college years.
Back in the Los Angeles area Heidi’s family and mine attended Bethany Baptist Russian Church in L.A. and we became the best of friends. This friendship continues to this day. In fact, all these friendships that I show here are still intact.
We went on an a trip together in the summer of 1970 to Michigan and New Jersey with side trips to Buffalo (Niagara Falls), New York City, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Washington D.C. This was the first time I flew in an airplane.
These are my and Heidi’s Russian friends from Buffalo, New York and San Francisco. None of us went to Stanford although I did apply to go there but was not accepted. The photo above was taken on the day of the Rose Parade in Pasadena. Stanford was playing someone in the Rose Bowl Game. This was either January 1st, 1971 or 1972.
While in college Jeaneen and I met in our Home Economics classes and a new friendship was started. I introduced Jeaneen to my cousin Jim and they ended up getting married. We’ve had many great times together through the years. After marriage the four of us continued our friendship. We both had homes in Huntington Beach and we attended the same church while we lived in H.B.
I met Dear in my college years in 1972. My friend Heidi auditioned for the Christian singing group that Dear was part of and I met him at the concerts that I’d attend with Heidi. After a summer tour in England the group needed an alto so I auditioned for the group. That fall Dear and I started dating and September 6th of 1973 he asked my father for my hand in marriage.
While in college at Cal-State L.A. I had a part-time job at Montgomery Ward in their parts department. I paid my own way through college but I lived at home so my parents fed me and never charged me rent.
I graduated from Cal-State with a degree in Home Economics and earned my teaching certificate. The photo above is myself and Dear and my brother and me. Besides Fred and me graduating at this time my cousin Jim and my friend Jeaneen and another friend from my Russian Baptist church, Alex, graduated with us.
Some significant things that happened while I was in college besides what I shared already:
My sister Vera got married in November of 1969.
During Summer quarter in 1970 I came down with a terrible sore throat one week before finals. Then I broke out in a rash all over my body. When I went to the doctor they had me come in the back door and straight to an examination room. The doctor diagnosed Scarlet Fever and sent me home on bed rest with medications. While in the doctors office the doctor kept bringing in all the nursing staff there to see what Scarlet Fever looked like. OYE. I was flat on my back in bed and very sick for a couple of weeks. My sister Kathy was planning a trip to England with her best friend so the doctor put her on antibiotics (precautionary). My poor sister ended up being allergic to the antibiotic and broke out in hives all over her body on the day of my cousin Alex’s wedding. She was quite upset but went to the wedding anyway. I missed all my finals and had to take them the beginning of Fall quarter. Needless to say that wasn’t a great quarter for my grade average!
My brother Fred got married in April of 1972.
There was a gasoline shortage in 1973 where there was rationing and we could only buy gas on odd or even days depending on our license plate ending number.
Lynden B. Johnson (63-69) and Richard M. Nixon (69-74) were the Presidents of the United States during my college years.
My next post will be about post college years with my engagement and wedding.
My youngest brother and older sister both commented on my Hume Lake post that I forgot to mention another epic thing that happened in 1963, the year I was saved. How could I ever forget the fact that my mother delivered twins at the end of July that summer? A little girl and a little boy born and my parents now had four boys and four girls under their roof! My father had no idea my mother was having twins and only found out when he got home from work. (no cell phones and my father worked at remote sites with no phones) My little brother Tim ran out to the car to greet him when he pulled into the driveway from work and said, “Pop, not one baby, two babies!” My poor father was in shock!
I leave you with this sweet photo of our little twins Cvetlana (Lana) and Leonard from 1963! They are the icing on the cake for our family.
People! I’m seeing sunshine outside my window and blue skies and very few clouds. This is cause for a celebration here in the Pacific Northwest! We have had rain, rain and more rain for a nice long stretch now and what a welcome sight the blue skies are this morning.
My dear old Pop turned 94 years old on Thursday. This photo is from last year when he was 93 at his great granddaughter’s birthday party. Vera and I drove to Kathy’s yesterday to wish him a happy birthday and to have dinner with him and Kathy’s family. Before dinner we all prayed individually to our God to bless our dear Pop in his final days on this earth with peace and joy.
This is my pop and me in 1973 and 2017. We both have aged a bit. I’ve put on weight and he’s lost a lot of weight and muscle.
Last year he got cherry pie which he really enjoys.
This year Vera and I baked my mom’s signature nut roll called Roolyet. My pop talked about the fact that my mom’s Roolyet was the best. He said no one made roolyet like mom. We were hoping ours would measure up.
We put the candle in his birthday roolyet and he enjoyed blowing it out. He did say, “I’m 94 why only 1 candle?”
Pop loved our attempt and he teared up because it brought back good memories of his bride. He told us to make it again on Saturday when we have another party on the books. I’ll be posting the recipe on Mennonite Girls Can Cook on May 31st.
This is my sister Kathy’s family minus their son-in-law Ryan who is busy wrapping up his teaching year. Vera and me are flanking our pop with Avery. Pop got calls from his other kids and even got a call from our younger sister who is vacationing in Iceland to wish him a happy birthday. After dinner and all the excitement of the day he sat down to watch Jeopardy and then excused himself and retired to his room to read his Bible and pray for all of us like he does every night. Vera and I hit the four freeways we needed to take to get back home. There are a lot of freeways in Southern California!
