My Early Years
by Harley Pinon
Getting my degree
Early is like a lot of other relative expressions. When you are almost 69 years old, 17 seems like pretty early. That's not to say I don't remember when I was five, because I do, but for my purpose here, I will start basically with the age of 17. I graduated from Carlsbad (New Mexico) High School in 1956. In September, I had a little over a hundred dollars to start to college. I had a wonderful math teacher named Wayne Hill who had encouraged me to apply for a scholarship, but I never did and so now I faced college without much money, so I started in the local junior college which was housed in the high school building. After two years of going to the local junior college and taking some course from Abilene Christian College by correspondence, I went to Abilene Christian College for six weeks. By special arrangement with Dean Adams, I was able to get nine hours of credit in six weeks. Well, one of my instructors bent the agreement a little also, but at any rate, that’s what happened.
Then it was back to Carlsbad where I worked for my dad in a service station. Dad let me bring my books to work, and when we had no customers, I could work on my lessons. At the end of my third year, I decided it was time to go to ACC full time because I needed to finish the advanced courses and get the rest of my hours in Bible. One year later, I had completed 55 college hours, and graduated from Abilene Christian College with my degree in Bible.
So now I was ready to preach, right? Well, I thought so at least, but seemingly no one else did. I drove many miles looking for a church that needed a preacher, and I found many. When I asked about preaching for them, I’ll never forget the first question, “Are you married?” Oops! Taking 55 hours in twelve months (remember only 124 hours are required for graduation), didn’t leave too much time for dating and I graduated without a wife.
Needing a wife--Needing a plan
Well, majoring in Bible and taking other courses for preaching didn’t put you next to many young ladies in class either, so there I was with a degree in Bible, but no wife. But matters get worse. I had managed to have a few dates while in college, and I had either dated or been turned down by the few girls that I thought were interesting, so I needed a plan.
I wished for a catalog where I could just look up the girl I wanted to marry. I’d need their picture and a brief description so I could pick out the girl I wanted and go meet her. Well, in 1960, there was no on-line dating—there was no internet! There was no such catalog—but wait a minute! I kinda had one. I had the Prickly Pear which was the annual for ACC, and I had a Hello book. The Hello book was a wonderful book. It told the dorm in which everyone lived. It gave their hometown, their classification, and their major. Now all I had to do was pick out what I needed.
Deciding which Girl to Call First
Well, looks were important, and as I looked at each face, I asked the question, do you think the woman that belongs to this face could love children and change a dirty diaper? Then there was their classification. They had to be a junior or senior because I was tired of being single. I didn’t like eating breakfast alone, and I didn’t like not being able to preach because I was single. How about their hometown? Well, I have forgotten how many miles they could live from Abilene, but I didn’t want a girl from Illinois or Ohio—that was too far. I'm a bit confused now, but I'm thinking the limit was 200 or 300 miles from Carlsbad or Abilene. After all, I knew they would want to see their parents at least once or twice a year, and I didn't want to have to travel too far. How about a major? Somehow I felt I could relate to a home economics major or an education major, so there you have it?
Now the list! You know, you’ve got to have a list, so the search began. The seniors got the most attention because they were about to graduate. I turned through the pages to find all the girls who met all the above criteria. There were 15 on the list, but which one do you call first, and how? Well, I narrowed it down to three, but you cannot call three girls at one time, so this is where my sister, Lila comes in who is a student at ACC. I’m teaching math in Cisco, just 45 miles away form Abilene. I make a trip to Abilene to see my sister, Lila and to have her check my list. She knows all three of my top three picks! This is unbelievable. Okay, next question: which one! “Carolyn Wallace!” “Are you sure?” “Yes! Absolutely! Carolyn is the one you want to call!”
Making the Call to the Girl I'd Marry
Now what kind of call is this? You’re calling a girl you’ve never met, so how does this go? I found your picture in the Prickly Pear and you met all my criteria, so I want to meet you? Nah! that won’t work, so the introduction is: "I am Lila’s brother and she recommend you as a great young lady that I should get to know, so could we meet at the grill for a soft drink?" “Sorry, but I’m cleaning my room.” What an excuse! Girl, if you weren’t number one and highly recommended by Lila, I’d be calling girl number two on the list, but all that considered, here’s the second plan: How about if I pick you up for a drink at the grill before church on Wednesday. If it’s okay, we’ll go to church together. She agreed, but didn’t understand that there was an out clause. She thought it was a date for church. That was our first date on February 1st, Valentine’s Day we started going steady. Then toward the end of March or the first of April, Carolyn went on a tour with the A Cappella Chorus to Hollywood to make a record with Pat Boone. It was terrible being without Carolyn. Shortly after her return, on April 7, I proposed marriage, and she accepted. August the 4th, 1961, we were married in the Pleasant Grove Church of Christ in Dallas.
Our Family
We now have three wonderful sons who have three wonderful wives, and we have four grandchildren that are grand. Well, guess what! A young seventeen year old named Becky Rene, decided to adopt us as her grand-parents because she had none. If you don't believe that, here's a link to her webpage and story. Becky's Family. Of course, you've probably seen Becky's picture on our home page, and here's a link to Becky's Articles on this site. I have been preaching most of those 46 years and even before our marriage. Most of the time it has been part time with teaching being my full time work.
I retired after 33 years of teaching and now I work with our two younger sons in a home building business, Jonathan Mark Homes, Inc. I am also the preacher for the Venus Church of Christ in Venus where we live in one of the homes we built. We have been so blessed by God in so many ways, and thank Him for His blessings.