~Wtt&1 - - Hoover Library

all sorts of odd jobs such as peddling vanilla,custodian work and acting as general handy,man for the president of the school.Mter graduating from the preparatoryschool, he entered college where he remainedfor two years and then applied for and receivedappointment as minister of a church.During the early years of his ministry, myfather continued to take courses in theology.I was ten when the general depressionswept the country, These were the dayswhen many were without jobs, and thoselucky enough to have a job were very uncertainas to the amount of their salary. Minlstersfell in the latter category. Many weeksthere wasn't enough money to buy sufficientfood for the six of us. It became necessaryto cash in my father's life insurance policyin order to provide the bare necessities oflife. The real hurt came, however, when myyounger sister at the age of ten developedan illness which has continued to baffledoctors to the present day,Despite all of these hardships my parentsnever once considered forgetting their dreamof sending us to college. Rather, the nnttc,ipation of accompltshtng this goal whichthey had set for themselves seemed to keeptheir spirits buoyed.At last the long awaited year arrived. Myolder sister graduated from high school andthe folloWing fall began her freshman yearin college. My father soon realized that itwould be necessary for him to supplementhis salary and applied for and received ajob as school bus driver.The same June that my sister completedher first year in college I was graduatedfrom high school. In spite of the ministerialdiscount, my sister's student employmentduring the year, and my father's additionaljob, it had not been possible for my parentsto complete payments for that first year ofher college education. However, the immediateproblem as of that June was not howto finish paying for my sister's first year butwhere to find ten dollars with which to paymy matriculation fee. I used money I receivedas graduation gifts and by fall wewere both off to college. We always hadstudent employment and each summer weworked as waitresses.The spring I graduated from high schoolmy father was transferred to another townwhich meant that the school bus job wasno longer possible. With the consent of theparishioners, my father and mother begantaking in roomers. This proved to be a wonderfulidea since they soon found that itwas possible to rent all the rooms they couldspare. For many weeks my parents and mysister and brother still living at home slepton the floor in my father's small study,The summer before my sister was a seniorshe became quite disturbed because the billfor her first three years was not completelypaid. My mother realized she should be freefrom this worry as her senior year approachedand thought of every possible wayto obtain the necessary amount. It was Bnallydecided to refinance our secondhand car.That fall it was very evident that wewould each need a small loan, so my fatherwrote to the presiding bishop of our areaand asked if he would intercede for us. Verywillingly the bishop not only did this butsent a personal check to help us along. Avery dear aunt who was also rooting veryhard for us signed each of our notes.As my sister entered for her senior yearand I for my junior we felt that everythingwas well in hand, and it seemed to us thatwe had surmounted our greatest difficulties.Little did we dream what lay ahead. Whenmy father was on his way to the college to:~~gth~S v~~::e o~o: ~~::ili~a:u;:~~~~~ a~~cident which was fatal for him. We all knewthat it was more necessary than ever tofulfill his dream.At this time my younger sister was stillin high school and my brother was but nine.How to provide for the younger ones andkeep my older sister and me in college wasthe problem Mother now faced, It seemedalmost an act of Cod that a few monthsprior to my father's accident the new policyof the church required that all ministerscarry a small life insurance.Graduation day finally arrived for my sister,but she realized this was only the beginningof the dream. With diploma in handshe set out to become the new financial supportof our family. Most fortunately for us,she was successful in finding a teachingposition for the follOWing fall.The year sped by, and almost before werealized it my graduation was upon us. ByBarbara Zimmerman Cressman graduated in 1942, one of seoerai from her family to attend Western Marylowl College. Mrs. Cres smallwas a home economics maior at the College.page ten