1958 - Church away from home
The college students had just returned to Lexington for the fall term in 1958, and the Disciples Student Fellowship (DSF) was hard at work. Lead by Miss Shirley Martin, Miss Lee Mastin, and Miss Barbara Lawson, a number of UK and Transy students had made Woodland their church-away-from-home . The DSF created a group of friends who supported each other throughout their college years.
It was a politically tense time in the world as two “superpower” nations jockeyed for power. During this period of “Cold War,” spies were said to be everywhere. The “McCarthyism” that had swept the nation, attacked homosexuals and spread fear of Communist subversion. This ultimately led some families to begin building bomb shelters.
As parents understand, concerns naturally arise whenever children go off to college, or leave home for any distant place. Those concerns must have been magnified at the time. Will my daughter be safe? Will my son keep himself organized? Will they meet a good group of friends? Will they continue their Christian education?
The DSF provided comfort and support to many Christian families. Groups from Woodland, Central, and Arlington called on students in their dorms, and picnicked at the Cane Ridge Meeting House. Dick Betz led a class on the “Doctrine and Thought of the Disciples.” Mrs. Tommie Brouchard offered session on student self-exploration called, “The Stranger in my House.” The Newton Fowler family hosted a gathering where Minister of Education Don Scott led a discussion titled, “How to be a Christian on and off the campus.”
It was a politically tense time in the world as two “superpower” nations jockeyed for power. During this period of “Cold War,” spies were said to be everywhere. The “McCarthyism” that had swept the nation, attacked homosexuals and spread fear of Communist subversion. This ultimately led some families to begin building bomb shelters.
As parents understand, concerns naturally arise whenever children go off to college, or leave home for any distant place. Those concerns must have been magnified at the time. Will my daughter be safe? Will my son keep himself organized? Will they meet a good group of friends? Will they continue their Christian education?
The DSF provided comfort and support to many Christian families. Groups from Woodland, Central, and Arlington called on students in their dorms, and picnicked at the Cane Ridge Meeting House. Dick Betz led a class on the “Doctrine and Thought of the Disciples.” Mrs. Tommie Brouchard offered session on student self-exploration called, “The Stranger in my House.” The Newton Fowler family hosted a gathering where Minister of Education Don Scott led a discussion titled, “How to be a Christian on and off the campus.”