RWR notes 11 25 2018 Roger’s life

1. I recall having 2 female classmates each year at Hayford.

2. When we first moved to farmhouse, we had no running water and no electricity. We had an outhouse and used Sears and JC Penney catalog paper to wipe our butts. we had a handpump at base of hill and had to haul all water by bucket to house. Philip Rochat came to visit and to dig a pipeline from the well to the house. We had a frigidaire--and dad had to haul blocks of ice once a week to keep contents cold. I don't believe we ever had a telephone at farmhouse. Dad allowed me to use a Troybilt Rototiller to till the field to the left of house and plant potatoes. I also had responsibility for rabbits (along with John when he was there). I also milked the cow and carried buckets of milk to kitchen where mom put it through a separator to produce cream--from which we made butter. I don't recall Marilyn milking other side of cow--but that doesn't mean she didn't!!

3. During the farmhouse years, Dad had severe back pain and was out of work for months. He also had sinus infections for which he had surgery.

4. I don't recall having peer friendships until I went to college. Darrell Tanner lived at some distance and i infrequently spent time at his place. In Wallace I recall one boy--Robert--who moved to CAlifornia. And in high school I had occasional friends: Chuck Rohrmann, Dick Potts (who would come to our home and play GO with me (Japanese game). But basically, I worked throughout, saved money, developed a sense of independence and self-confidence. I was also happier working [because of sense of being responsible, like an adult] than being under direct parental influence. And happier [more comfortable] working than taking the occasional trips to Spokane [or Walla Walla] for meeting.

5. [In our early life,] we were taught to [memorize] and rewarded for memorizing Bible verses. During my early years, Dad was tormented by conflicting spiritual beliefs--possibly, in part because his parents worshiped in different church groups--and had differing beliefs. Mom was absolutely committed to the way of worship of her father, leading to conflict between parents. Especially in Kennewick, I remember many loud arguments between them after bedtime. I don't recall the reasons.

6. In part because I did well in school, I developed a strong curiosity --for math, for languages, for study. And sometime while in Wallace, I 'knew'[or assumed] that I was going to become a doctor.

7. Do you have a copy of my high school valedictorian speech? [I don't have it, but I recall it has something about "reaching for the stars"]

8. I did not work for CDC in summer 1959. I came home to Kennewick and worked with Dad in a grain elevator. We worked 7 days a week,12_ hours/day. When I came home, I lay on the floor wheezing until I could eat dinner. On about the 13th day, one of the train cars came loose and was traveling down the track. I ran after it and jumped on the ladder to climb to top to put on handbrake. That was successful...but as I jumped, my left foot came under the train's wheel and popped my two largest toes open. that ended my work for that summer. I think I received some state relief funds. I learned that manual labor at that level was not for me. [During my first year of college, I had a girl friend in Kennewick with whom I corresponded frequently. Not sure I can remember her name! Karen?] I don't recall ever seeing her the summer I came home. End of communication!

9. My first year of college, I was a BS Chemistry major. I also obtained a job at the medical school with Dr. Edward F. Adolph (1895-1986), a physiologist. He was an absolute prince of a mentor. But I carried a heavy load of courses and did poorly [flunked] in Calculus. So I quit that job.

10. I participated in Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, an 'open' brethren gathering that Milligans attended, and occasionally traveled 65 miles to Lockport to the Christian home gathering associated with the Walla Walla assembly. I once bicycled there. An interesting and diverse groups of committed Christians. My first college roommate, Werner von Pein, grew up in Germany and always slept with his head under the pillow-because he remembered Americans bombing his city when he was a young boy. I made my first Jewish friends, African American friends and atheist friends--and those adjectives sometimes overlapped. But we were passionate students first and foremost. I studied German my first two years...and at the annual meeting with Vice President GM (as I had a GM Scholarship) I boldly asked if I could take the scholarship and study in Germany for a year. (I had learned that Wayne State University in Detroit offered a Year in Munich (or Freiburg) educational program. GM Veep and UR Dir Admissions agreed--and I was one of ca. 3 students from UR who went to Germany for a year. How that changed my life! Studying physical chemistry, comparative anatomy, European history, German drama and theater AND of course German--and all in German language! the scholarship paid for skis and camera and I spent several weeks skiing. I also hitchhiked south through Switzerland to France and as far south in Italy as Pompeii. Studied art, history, museums, cathedrals, etc. Visited Catholic and Evangelisch churches on Sundays. got rid of a few myths of childhood.