College Years
Linda's College Years (1971-1976)
Dear Laura,
Let me tell you about my college years, a time that was both busy and full of growth, set against the backdrop of a changing world.
My first semester of college began in 1971 at San Jacinto Junior College in Pasadena, a suburb of Houston. I was living with your Aunt Pat and her family—her husband Morris, and their children Jay, Michelle, and Michael. It was a lively household, and I was grateful to have their support as I took my first steps into college life.
That same year, everything changed in the most wonderful way when Sam and I were married on Christmas Eve. We began our life together in a duplex at Scenic Village in Riverside. Soon after, I continued my education at Tarrant County Junior College’s Northeast campus. Those early years of marriage and college required a lot of balancing, but they were also filled with excitement as we built our future together.
During the summers, I chose not to take classes. Instead, I continued teaching swimming for a couple of years, something I truly enjoyed. Eventually, I transferred to Texas Wesleyan College because it offered a program in Elementary Education, which was exactly what I wanted to pursue. At the time, the University of Texas at Arlington did not offer that degree, and Texas Christian University was simply too expensive for us to consider.
By then, we were living in our home on Lazy Lane. I would carpool with a high school friend to Texas Wesleyan, attending classes in the mornings. In the afternoons, I worked at Little Tyke Day Care Center on Highway 26. It was owned by Mr. Little, and there was another Little Tyke location on Highway 10 that had a swimming pool. Occasionally, I would drive the children in the Little Tyke van to that location so they could swim.
One day, after spending time at that pool, my hair turned green from the chemicals! I remember wrapping a scarf around my head and heading to the drugstore, determined to “fix” my hair. It makes me smile now, especially since green hair has become something people choose on purpose these days.
Those years were incredibly full. I juggled classes, homework, cooking, cleaning, shopping, and working—all while building a home with your dad. I truly enjoyed college, even though it required a lot of hard work and discipline.
I also remember a moment at Texas Wesleyan when a young woman said to me, “Too bad you are married and can’t join the sorority.” I thought that was such a strange thing to say. To me, being married and building a life with your dad was far more meaningful than joining any sorority.
While all of this was happening in my personal life, the world around us was experiencing important changes. In 1971, the 26th Amendment was ratified, lowering the voting age to 18. That meant I was old enough to vote, even though the legal drinking age was still 21.
In 1972, President Nixon made a historic visit to China and met with Mao Zedong. I remember watching the news coverage on television—it was a very big deal at the time and something people talked about a lot.
Your dad was also busy during these years, attending night classes once a week as he worked toward his master’s degree. I remember evenings when I was home alone, watching television coverage of the growing Watergate scandal. I can still picture President Nixon saying, “I’m not a crook,” and thinking to myself that things must be very serious for him to say that.
In 1974, the situation came to a head when President Nixon resigned from office. Vice President Gerald Ford became president, and he served until 1977, when Jimmy Carter was inaugurated. It was a time when many people were paying close attention to politics and learning about trust and accountability in leadership.
Looking back, the years from 1971 to 1976 were full of change—not just in the world, but in my own life as well. I grew from a college student into a working woman, a wife, and someone preparing for a career in teaching. I enjoyed that phase of my life very much, but becoming a teacher was even more rewarding.
Love,
Mother
Sam's College, Career, and Cars
Dear Laura,
Let me tell you about the years before you were born and about your father’s “College, Career, Cars.”
When Sam and I met, he had already graduated from Texas Wesleyan College with a Bachelor of Science in Physical Education, a minor in History, and Secondary Education certification.
Before that, he had graduated from Haltom High School in 1963, where he was the starting guard on the Bi-District Championship basketball team. While still living at home, he drove daily to the University of North Texas and played on the freshman basketball team. I think he was probably more interested in basketball than in attending classes, but he did leave North Texas with twenty college hours completed.
The following year, he transferred to Texas Wesleyan College. His friend Johnny, also a student there, worked at Montgomery Ward on 7th Street and told Sam that his mother handled hiring. Sam was hired as a “Hot Shot” on the seventh floor in the catalog department. The department was so large that employees wore roller skates to quickly retrieve merchandise. Sam attended classes from 8:00 a.m. until noon and then worked from 1:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m.
When I talked with Sam about the order of events in his life, he often remembered where he was working by remembering which car he drove at the time. During this period, he was driving a 1956 Ford. It had originally been pale blue, but Sam had it painted gold and replaced the plain cloth seats with black-and-white faux leather upholstery.
Sam graduated from Texas Wesleyan College in 1968, during the years of the active military draft. He was classified 1-A and expected to be drafted. Considering his options, he decided he would rather serve in the Air Force. He worked with an Air Force recruiter and expressed interest in Officer Candidate School. He completed the Air Force physical and was told to wait.
In the meantime, he had quit his job at Montgomery Ward and applied to teach in the Fort Worth ISD. He was hired as a teacher at Riverside Middle School. Six weeks later, he received the call from the Air Force, but by then, he had received a deferment because teaching was considered a “critical” profession. He decided not to enter military service. Although he did not serve, he has always been a strong supporter of those who did. At that time, he was driving a 1963 Chevrolet Impala.
Sam’s friend Mike asked him to share a two-bedroom apartment at Brentwood Stair Apartments in Meadowbrook. Sam lived there for a year until Mike married, after which Sam moved back in with his parents.
Sam continued to enjoy basketball and played on a church team with Del, a friend from high school who was one year younger. Del was ready to move out of his parents’ home and needed a roommate, so they rented an apartment together at Scenic Village Apartments in Fort Worth, conveniently located near Riverside Middle School, where Sam taught.
During this period, Sam owned a 1969 GTO, but he decided he really wanted a Corvette. He traded the GTO for a 1966 Marina Blue Corvette.
In the summer of 1969, Sam accepted a job at Dallas Love Field as a baggage handler. In a way, the experience helped him decide whether he wanted to remain in education. The hours were difficult. He rode his motorcycle to work around 2:00 in the afternoon and worked until midnight. His coworkers nicknamed him “School Marm.” During that summer, it seemed he did little besides work and sleep. He realized it would take years to gain enough seniority for better hours, so when school resumed in the fall, he returned to teaching.
He was driving the blue 1966 Corvette while we were dating. It had loud side pipes, and one time I burned my leg on one of them, but it truly was a beautiful car.
After we married on Christmas Eve in 1971, Sam decided he could not afford both the Corvette and a wife, so he sold the Corvette and bought a 1964 Volkswagen Beetle. A strange thing happened to that car later. It was stolen and abandoned in Benbrook Lake. The police recovered it, Sam had it repaired, and he drove it for another three years.
We lived in a two-bedroom duplex at Scenic Village. Since the apartment had two bedrooms, I used the extra room as my closet and dressing room. It has worked out well that we have never shared a closet.
Sam decided to continue his education by taking night and summer classes at the University of North Texas while teaching P.E. and coaching at Riverside Middle School. He began work on his master’s degree in 1972 and completed a Master’s Degree in Secondary School Supervision in 1974.
Determined to leave coaching and pursue school administration, he transferred to Como Middle School during the 1972–1973 school year, where he taught Texas History. The school population was entirely Black except for one white girl, the daughter of an Air Force officer. Sam later described that year as the best school experience he had enjoyed up to that point.
The following year, Como Middle School closed, and Sam transferred to McLean Middle School as a P.E. teacher and Intramural Coordinator. He started a gym hockey league, a bowling league, and a wrestling team. He also petitioned the school board for permission to take students to a neighbor’s swimming pool for swimming instruction. Sam had qualified as both a lifeguard and Water Safety Instructor while I was in school in Houston. His was the only middle school in Fort Worth ISD to include swimming as part of the physical education curriculum.
While coaching wrestling, he taught a blind student who appeared on the television program 4 Country Reporter as the area's only blind wrestler. Sam and the student were both interviewed for the feature story.
During this period, Sam drove a silver 1972 Corvette. He coached football, basketball, and soccer. During one soccer match, he became frustrated with poor officiating and wrote a letter to the Director of HPER expressing concern that students needed to feel they were being treated fairly. Sam later believed this letter led to his next opportunity.
Following the 1975–1976 school year, he was promoted to Project Director for Title IX, a federally funded one-year project designed to implement coeducational physical education programs. Prior to that time, P.E. classes had been strictly divided by gender. Title IX marked the beginning of equal athletic opportunity for girls and women and eventually had far-reaching effects throughout American society. This assignment became Sam’s first administrative position and his first experience working at the central office.
Around this same time, we purchased our first house on Lazy Lane in North Richland Hills, directly behind my parents’ home. We shared the same backyard fence. I often climbed over the fence to swim and visit with them.
After the one-year project ended, Sam returned to McLean. Near the end of the 1977–1978 school year, the principal at Wedgwood Middle School suffered a heart attack. Needing additional administrators, the district asked Sam to complete the year as vice principal at Wedgwood. Among other things, this experience helped him become very proficient as the school’s textbook custodian.
The following year, 1978–1979, Sam became vice principal at Stripling Middle School. He continued taking graduate courses at North Texas, applying his administrative leadership hours toward a doctorate degree. By this time, he was driving a silver 1977 Ford Pinto Panel Wagon with black-and-red racing stripes.
After three years at Stripling, Sam was assigned in 1981 to become vice principal at Arlington Heights High School. Just before that assignment, after attending college continuously since 1963 — eighteen years altogether — he completed his dissertation and earned a Doctorate in Educational Administration from the University of North Texas.
During his years at Arlington Heights, Sam purchased the most beautiful white pearlescent 1976 Corvette with a Hawaiian beach scene painted behind the side window. He also added another 1967 Marina Blue Corvette to his collection, reminding him of the blue Corvette he owned when we first met.
From 1981 to 1984, Sam served as vice principal at Arlington Heights. During those years, although he owned several special cars, his daily driver was a 1969 Buick Riviera.
These were especially busy years for us. In 1980, my parents decided to fill in their swimming pool. That same summer was one of the hottest on record, with over 100 days above 100 degrees. At the same time, our roof needed to be replaced. With help from his father and a friend, Sam spent many scorching days reroofing the house.
The following year, 1981, we built our first swimming pool. It was supposed to take six weeks to build, but ended up taking six months. We have video of you swimming a few feet before you could walk.
During the Arlington Heights years, Fort Worth ISD planned to implement a new pay scale for vice principals, equalizing the salaries of assistant principals at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. Sam wrote a twelve-page letter explaining why secondary assistant principals should receive higher pay because their duties included evening events and potentially more dangerous situations. He pointed out that elementary administrators could generally manage students physically, if necessary, whereas high school students were often physically equal to adults, increasing the risk factor. His letter achieved the desired result, and high school vice principals were paid on a higher pay scale. Sam believed that the letter contributed to his next promotion.
For the 1984–1985 school year, Sam was selected as Assistant Director of High Schools, his second assignment to the central administration office. At the time, he was driving a 1978 Silver Anniversary Corvette.
Before you were born, my “Car Guy” and I spent many Sunday afternoons driving around looking at houses because we dreamed of owning a larger home someday. Our wish list kept growing until we realized we would need to build our own house to get exactly what we wanted.
In Parkridge Estates, a neighborhood of about eighty-five homes, only a handful of lots remained available. We purchased the largest lot in the neighborhood, along with a second lot to sell later. The larger lot cost $25,000 — more than our first house had cost. We decided to pay off the lot before beginning construction.
We drew plans for our dream home on graph paper and hired an architect. It took a full year to sell our house on Lazy Lane. You were one year old when we moved into a duplex on Northeast Loop 820 while the new house was under construction. Building the house took another year, and you were two years old when we finally moved into our new home in July 1988. We celebrated your third birthday in our new home on August 10 with family gathered around us.
My “Car Guy” especially loved having a three-car garage and carport — more room for more cars. I particularly loved the dressing room Sam had designed for me. Whenever we were away, you would say, “I want to go to my happy home.”
In 1985, Sam was named principal of Carter-Riverside High School. You had just been born that same month, August 1985. He was fortunate to receive the assignment because Carter-Riverside was the closest school in the district to our home. His commute was only 12 to 15 minutes instead of the usual 30 to 40.
At first, Sam drove a brand-new 1985 Buick Regal Grand National. At the time, Road & Track magazine described the turbocharged V-6 as the fastest production car made in America.
One memorable car story occurred during his years at Carter-Riverside. Drug dogs routinely visited campuses to search lockers, gyms, and parking lots for drugs and weapons. During one sweep, the dogs suddenly alerted on a white 1981 Corvette parked in the employee lot.
The handlers, administrators, and campus monitors gathered around while the dogs barked excitedly. The campus monitors, who knew the car belonged to the principal, were laughing so hard they could barely stand upright. Sam was asked to unlock the car. The handlers removed the cigarette lighter and passed it in front of the dogs, who reacted immediately. The handlers explained that the lighter apparently carried residue from marijuana cigarettes. Sam explained that he had only recently purchased the Corvette and had no knowledge of the previous owner’s habits. Fortunately, everyone accepted his explanation, although the story quickly spread throughout the administration building and caused a great deal of laughter.
During his years at Carter-Riverside, Sam received several honors. He was nominated for Principal of the Year by the Texas Association of Secondary School Principals and was also nominated as a Distinguished Alumnus of Texas Wesleyan University. Although others ultimately received the honors, he felt privileged simply to be considered.
Later, I began driving the 1985 Grand National after Sam purchased only his second brand-new car — a 1993 Chevrolet Camaro Indy Pace Car. Only 633 were manufactured. It featured a white lower body, black top, removable T-tops, and colorful pace-car streamer striping down the sides.
It may seem unusual to organize your father’s career around the cars he owned, but Sam has always been a true “Car Guy.” He worked hard throughout his career, and his special cars became a hobby and reward he thoroughly enjoyed.
To bring the story up to date, Sam has now owned more than thirty cars. His current one is a red 2008 Corvette convertible — his ninth Corvette.
I still remember something sweet my mother once said: “Sam is a good role model for young boys. They see his Corvette and decide to stay in school and work hard so they can someday buy their own Corvette.”
Sam advanced rapidly through the school administration ranks and was considered by many to be a future key administrator in Fort Worth ISD. In 1998, however, he decided his priority needed to be helping you with your schoolwork. Many evenings were spent around our breakfast nook table, working through algebra and other assignments together. Because of that commitment to family, he retired from full-time work at Carter-Riverside in 1998.
Even after retirement, the district frequently called him back to work. He completed a school year as interim principal at Arlington Heights High School when the principal became unable to continue. Later, he directed Project Success, a program designed to help high school students at risk of falling behind on credits. Afterward, he continued to do substitute administrative work for another ten years, serving as principal or vice principal as needed. These assignments gave him the flexibility to work while still being available to you.
In 2008, a couple of years after you had moved. Sam and I took a Carnival cruise during Hurricane Ike. We had been assured the ship was faster than the storm and that we would remain safe. We were safe, but our white Dodge Caravan parked at the cruise terminal was not. We lost the van in the hurricane.
The cruise itself turned into quite an adventure. During the extended voyage, passengers were given the opportunity to be in a talent show, and Sam sang Elvis’s songs on the ship’s main stage. That was fun, and passengers would say,” Hi, Elvis” after his performance. We ended up spending four extra days at sea.
When we finally returned, Galveston was devastated. Fallen trees lined the roads, and mountains of debris covered the streets. The Port of Galveston was unusable; additional dredging allowed our ship to dock in Houston instead. My aunt and uncle kindly loaned us their truck so we could drive home.
One week after losing the van, we bought a silver Mustang convertible — my very first convertible car. Shortly afterward, Johnny arrived on a new Honda motorcycle, and before long, Sam bought one too. We both enjoyed riding together.
After Sam later underwent back surgery, I worried about balancing on a two-wheel motorcycle, so I suggested we purchase a Harley-Davidson trike instead. We have truly enjoyed being part of the Harley-Davidson family, with all of their rides, gatherings, and special events.
Your father’s early years were devoted to preparing himself for a successful career in education. Every year seemed to present a new challenge, and he always worked hard to stay one step ahead. Over time, he moved from being the younger man learning from experienced administrators to becoming a respected leader himself.
His later years have focused on helping you whenever needed, being a good provider and husband, and enjoying hobbies like golf, classic cars, and motorcycles. Your father and I have shared many wonderful rides and memories together.
As I write this, Sam is a handsome eighty years young, I am seventy-three, and your most recent birthday marked “goodbye to thirty-nine.” All in all, we have had a very good life together, and we hope there are still many good times ahead.
We also hope your future will hold many happy times as well.
Love,
Mother
50th Golden Reunion Celebration - Texas Wesleyan University
One woman shared that she had grown up on campus as the daughter of professors and now taught there herself. Another, Paula, told us about celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary with a Disney cruise for the entire family. We, in turn, shared memories from our own 50th anniversary celebration—how I introduced each guest with stories and humor, and how your dad sang Elvis songs and we danced.
After Sam and I were married on Christmas Eve 1971, my parents wrote a check each semester to cover my tuition and books at Tarrant County Junior College. It was nearby and economical.
After the banquet, your father and I walked and drove around the campus, taking it all in. The Rosedale Street was looking good. We saw that Mama’s Pizza had been replaced by another pizza joint. Attending the reunion was meaningful- one filled with reflection, connection, and gratitude.
I answered that after classes, I didn’t spend much time on campus since I worked at Little Tyke Day Care in the afternoons, but I did remember going to the student union once and seeing veterans play ping-pong, and they were very good! I grew up with a ping pong table and Sam, and I still have one. I heard students talk about the best pizza at Mama’s Pizza right across the street from the college. Friends asked me to go there, and I did one time, and they were right, it was the best pizza ever!
I answered that I always thought that beauty sleep was important, so I did not pull an all-nighter. I studied daily.
I answered that all I really remember was bell-bottom jeans.
Linda said that she did wear short dresses, but made sure they were not shorter than her hand could reach.
I explained that when I was teaching swimming, I decided I wanted to be a teacher, and when I was working at the day care, I realized the five-year-olds were my favorite and that I wanted to teach kindergarten.
I did not, I don’t think that I was even aware of any at T.W.C. Although, I do remember going to see comedian George Carlin and Mentalist The Amazing Kreskin at T.C.J.C.
Linda said that she did go to some great concerts on campus, Jim Croce and Badfinger.
I answered that the hardest semester was when I was doing my student teaching, because I had so much going on, I felt like I had four jobs- the student teaching, classes, working at the day care, and all the at-home chores, shopping, cleaning, laundry, cooking, and the dishes. I always liked cooking, but I was so tired of doing dishes. We did not have a dishwasher, and there was no room for a dishwasher in our home on Lazy Lane. Later, we bought a single unit that combined a dishwasher, stove, and oven. The agreement with Sam was that I would do all the work inside, and he would do the outside work, and I have not helped with the lawn work or pool cleaning. Balancing teaching, classes, work, and home responsibilities felt overwhelming at times. Yet even in those challenging moments, I was building the life that would eventually include you.
I remember seeing on TV the long lines at the gas stations and about gas rationing, but I was not affected. I never had a long line at the gas pump.
Looking back now, I realize how each decision, each friendship, each challenge shaped the path that led to our family. I loved college, but I loved teaching even more—and being home with you most of all.
Mother