School Daze

After my four years in the Air Force I attempted several short term jobs without a great deal of success. Then I decided to return to school. This was a momentous decision for me because I had “fooled around” at the University of Minnesota long enough to have earned a negative grade point average. I attended Lakewood Community College (now Century) for one year including both summer sessions and was able to finish two years, get an Associate in Arts degree with a 3.68 GPA, while forming a Vet’s Club and doing some very serious partying. This was the time where ‘free love” ruled, and I must admit being an older student on campus was a tremendous advantage…it proved the old adage “Age and experience…”


While at Lakewood my fellow Vets and I absolutely terrorized the campus. I got the College President to be our adviser. He was a former Navy Captain and provided all the cover we needed to run our escapades. We threw parties that rivaled Animal House. Most were at a bar in Wisconsin called Archie’s. There were a few reasons for selecting that venue…the first being 18-year old drinking, the second being that Archie would close the place down except for us. The other place where we had great parties was that Rathskeller at Hamm’s Brewery. My charm, coupled the Brewery’s desire to capture a lot of new beer drinkers enabled us to consume as many kegs of free beer as we could
(they even provided all the snacks and sandwiches). Never underestimate the value of Bullshit!!


After Lakewood, I was recruited as part of a Transfer Program by Hamline University. They wanted me to set-up a Veteran’s Affairs Office and campus and in turn because of my grades and the endorsements of my instructors, I got a “free ride” in turn. I married my first wife (the mother of all three of my children) before starting Hamline. I enjoyed my time at Hamline immensely and thrived in a small private college atmosphere and was maintaining a 3.75 GPA in a college which had much higher academic standards. I left without my BA and that is one of the few regrets I have in life.


More in my next post…