On This Day in Family History - May 9

 On 09 May 1976 I graduated from Harding College, in Searcy, Arkansas

I don't have any still pictures of my graduation day. We have a video that my dad made on a camcorder, but I have yet to get around to having it converted to digital so I can extract some screenshots from it. (The video is a long compilation of all our old home movies, most of which were recorded on 8mm film.)

My yearbook pictures

The old administration building is still there. The lily pond has been completely remodeled since then. 

Cathcart Hall was my dorm the first 2 years. We had a 10:00 curfew. (10:30 for the boys, so they could be gentlemanly and walk their girls home before returning to their own dorm on the other side of campus. No boys were allowed in the girls' dorms, and vice versa.) Cathcart was a dorm for freshman and sophomore women.

Nancy McGee ("Maggie") was my roommate 2nd year.

Debbie Almand was my roommate 3rd year, in the American Heritage dorm for junior and senior women. (That's me sitting on the sign.)

The music building, where I spent most of my time.

We had chapel every day after lunch. They took roll, and you were only allowed 3 absences per semester. It was like a mini church service (or a "devo" as we called them back then) -- a few announcements, brief inspirational message, and some great hymn singing. Harding had a motto back then -- "At Harding We Sing". We sure did !!

Harding College A Capella Chorus

We traveled all over the county, singing at Churches of Christ. There was usually a pot-luck dinner before our concert, and then we stayed overnight in the homes of the church members. The summer after my graduation we went on a 6-week tour of Europe -- Germany, France, and Spain. That was quite an adventure.

Our choir director, Dr. Kenneth Davis, Jr. (we called him Uncle Bud)

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There has been a lot of turmoil in my family over me going to Harding College -- both before and since. But I am extremely thankful for those four years. Extremely thankful.