What Comes Next?-snippet 127

I think writing about my life and progression through time calls on my memory to pull back those events and the detail of the time.  More than I ever realized, this process has brought greater understanding of the struggle I was going through as I sought the road I should be taking.  I have alluded to the strong commitment I had to family and the role I felt destine to play in operation of the ranch.  My involvement had increased markedly over the past few years as Grandpa felt I was capable.  This fed my confidence and feeling of self worth but with the counter effect of limiting my hope for continuing my education.  You can see this was a conflict in my life, similar to others I had faced and will be experienced as I travel through life.  This gives meaning to the title, "Which Road Should I Follow?"

What comes next?  Do I join Mary at the junior college and after two years see what kind of job I can find?  I might have to drop out a year or so and work to earn money to attend JC.  I was heading down the hall one day when Coach Racicot stopped me and asked if I would stop by to see him when I was free.  I said I had a class, but when it was over I had free time.  I wondered what he wanted to see me about.  Was there something else I needed to do before I graduated?

I entered coach’s office and slipped into a chair.  He was finishing an advising session with a student.  As the student left, coach turned to me and asked quizzically, “What do you have planned for next year?”  I reviewed my thinking about Junior College or the need to get a job.  “Do you want to go to college and are you thinking about a major?” he asked.  I responded that I wanted to go to college because there was so much to learn and I hadn’t been able to decide on what I would choose as a major yet.  I had thoughts about engineering, but that took more education than I could get at the Junior College. 

“Would you mind going away to college or are you needed on the ranch?’ he asked.  I was beginning to wonder what all the questions were about.  It must have shown in my face, for he quickly added, “I was just checking to see what planning you’ve done.  I have a basketball scholarship to my Ala mater that could be yours if you wanted to attend Eastern Washington College.  EWC is located in Cheney, Washington, a few miles from Spokane.

My heart was racing and thoughts were spinning through my head.  I finally found my voice. “I don’t know what to say.  I would love to play basketball in college, but do you think I would be good enough?  How much money would it cost?  When would I start?”  The questions came tumbling out.  The coach was smiling.  He could see his proposal had blown me away.

The next hour was spent in discussing the details.  I would need to go to Cheney and visit the college, talk to the coach there and get a feel for the offer.  The scholarship provided board and room on campus.  There was a text book allowance and I would be assigned a job helping to maintain facilities.  During the basketball season I would be assigned to the fireman squad.  My job was to check fire extinguishers once every month and attend a meeting or two.  Coach Racicot explained he had started college at Montana State University and then transferred to Eastern Washington College where he received his B. A. degree.  The basketball coach, Red Reese, had a good record in the Evergreen Conference and had excellent facilities to work with.  Other than that, it was up to me to access the opportunity while on the trip to the college.  Coach advised me to go over details with Mom and maybe Grandpa if I felt it was best.  He added, if I was interested in the opportunity the trip could be planned to coincide with the interscholastic meet at Missoula.  The high school bus would be taking students to participate in that event and I could ride along as far as Missoula and then catch the train to Cheney.  I would stay a day or two and then come back to Miles City on the train.

I thanked the coach and left his office amazed.  How could things change so greatly in just a few short hours?  I wondered what Mom would think, and what about Grandpa?  If he was thinking I would be back on the ranch full time after high school graduation, this was going to be a major shift for his thinking.  This was Friday and we would be going to the ranch the next day, so the situation needed to move rapidly toward decisions.  I was extremely excited about going to college on a scholarship.  I hurried home as quickly as I could to tell Mom.

Grandpa took it better than I thought he would.  Maybe I had been over valuing my role on the ranch.  I was pleased when Grandpa indicated he wanted me to make the most I could out of my life.  I gave them all as much information as I had and of course Grandma, Mom and my sisters were supportive.  I worked on the ranch as hard as I could that week end.  I wanted them to know I felt a part of the ranch.  As I looked around, recognizing the change that would be taking place, I seemed to see my life in slow motion.  I was happy, excited and apprehensive all at the same time.  Little did I know there were other surprises to come.  When I returned to school I let the coach know all had gone well and the family was supportive of the opportunity for me.  That meant I would be making the trip to Cheney in a few weeks. 

It was a warm Saturday morning as I worked on the grain drill we were planning to use to plant wheat.  I looked up from my task to see a car making its way slowly down our country road.  It wouldn’t be a local person driving that carefully, I thought.  As the car passed the shop I could see there was a man driving who didn’t look familiar.  He stopped at the house and went to the front door.  I couldn’t see what transpired, but he soon came back to his car, turning it around to head out.  To my surprise when he arrived at the shop he stopped, got out and headed my way.  He introduced himself and asked if I was Edwin Hill.  I assured him I was and asked what I could do for him.  He said he was an alumnus of Gonzaga University and had been asked to contact me on behalf of the University Athletic Department.  He lived in Bozeman and was making contact with several graduating seniors to see if they were interested in playing basketball for Gonzaga.  He indicated there was a scholarship available.

I couldn’t believe it.  Two offers in a week.  This must be the season for such contacts and the reason I was getting contacted was due to my height.  I invited him to sit down on a stool, and he proceeded to present the offer.  The University was a private school in the city of Spokane.  They had a good sized student body and offered liberal arts and technical studies.  They were a catholic school, but you didn’t have to be a catholic to attend.  Several religious classes were required.

I asked if they offered engineering and what the scholarship covered.  They did have engineering studies and the scholarship covered room and board during the school year.

I asked if there were funds for text books and he said not presently, but he felt he could work something out.  He acknowledged that books, particularly technical books were very expensive.  We talked further and then I told him I had accepted another offer.  He wasn’t pleased to hear that, but wanted me to look over the material he had given me and think it over.  He could be reached at a Miles City hotel until noon on Monday if I changed my mind.  With that we said goodbye and he headed his car back out our dusty country road.

I looked over the Gonzaga University material and talked to the family about the offer.  There was general agreement that I should pursue the first offer, the scholarship to Eastern Washington College.  I felt comfortable with our decision and started to adjust my tinking and planning toward the visit to Cheney.

*Taken from "Which Road Should I Follow?, Volume 1, Growing up in the country", an autobiography by Edwin K. Hill.