I was raised on a cattle ranch just north of Redding. When I graduated from high school in 1945, I joined the Army. I was in the 82nd airborne division, 508 Parachute Infantry Regiment, as part of the Occupation Army in Germany. I spent a couple of years there, then returned to the States and started using my GI bill. I went to Cal Poly first, did two quarters there, and then came to Shasta College. Without the GI Bill, I would not have been at Shasta College.
We formed Shasta College’s first club, the Shasta Aggies. The ag program had a little farm just south of Redding, and we would have our classes there. Both the ag teachers, Neldon Taylor and Ralph Matthews, were outstanding. Neldon Taylor made quite an impression on me and was the one who convinced me to keep going and get a teaching credential in vocational ag from Cal Poly.
I signed up for a public speaking class with Virginia Chappell, and it was one of the best things I have ever done. She was tough. I was selected from our Public Speaking Class to be a Commencement Speaker during our graduation ceremony and she coached me. There were 17 of us in that first graduating class.
From Cal Poly, I taught ag at King City, Tule Lake, and then Esparto. Because of contacts I had made in teaching a class on cooperatives, the Ag Council of California contacted me and offered me a job—the Director of Education. I was with them for a little over 30 years. When I retired, I got involved with the Agency for International Development, developing co-ops in other countries like Russia, Crimea, and Ukraine.
I’m very pleased to have been at Shasta College at the beginning. On behalf of the class of 1951, Congratulations, Shasta College, on your 75th anniversary!