The new wing of the church, consisting of ten rooms for a Bible school and a nursery, was added two years ago and construction on the sanctuary extension was to start at the beginning of next spring. Hanging on the foyer walls were several of the original glass plate negatives showing the small church being built in certain stages back in 1884. Included with the plates was a fine copy of one of the original deeds to the church property signed by Glenard Lee Albright, Levi Holder, Jeffrey Childress, and Austin Collard. All four men were instrumental in establishing the town and its civil offices and government. Glenard Lee, Tommy’s great-great-granddad, was the first elder of the church. Jeffrey Childress, Sarah’s great-great-granddad, helped establish the school, becoming the first principal, then later the superintendent.
The sanctuary consisted of three sections of fifteen pews, each pew holding from ten to twelve people. At the front of the pews, a one-step platform of thick burgundy carpet spread out the width of the hall. A mixed choir, forty-two voices strong, sat on three rows of chairs behind a podium along with four wing chairs, two on each side of the podium. Pastors Raymond Brock and Mike Cregan, the youth minister and sometimes baseball coach, sat on one side of the podium. On the other side of the podium sat elder Celton Tartt and the music director, Clinton Brown.
The town was to celebrate its centennial at the end of July; the schools, city offices, businesses, and public service departments all planned special celebrations throughout the month. The First Baptist Church chose to recognize those who had dedicated their lives to law enforcement and public safety by inviting all those who were currently serving, or who had served in the past, to wear their uniforms to the services.
Sarah, Tommy, and Danny Lee arrived fifteen minutes after ten and spent the first five in the foyer. Tommy and Danny shook hands and spoke with the elders while Sarah complimented dresses and hair. Tommy’s uniform, as well as Sarah’s, was pressed with stiff creases. His light-gray felt hat rested forward and low on his head. The trousers and shirt, both dark brown with blue and red stripes on the sleeve and outer pant seam, were perfectly aligned. Sarah’s skirt and shirt were consistently and immaculately clean. The couple’s shoes, both as dark as ebony, shone brilliantly from freshly applied melted carnauba wax.
They all talked it over, waited for each other to graduate college, and in 1966, Tommy, Sarah, John, Jason, Ron, and Casey all joined the Texas Department of Public Safety. They all elected to train for, and aspired to become, Texas DPS Troopers. It was a perfect plan. What better way to ensure the security of their friendships and ties than for all to live in the same work area and have the same holidays?
Tommy and Sarah were the first to marry in June 1960, right after their high school graduation. In the fall of that year, both enrolled at the University of Texas where Tommy majored in political science and graduated with a 3.72. Sarah graduated fourth in her class with a degree in elementary education, a 3.96, and a dean’s List. They worked the weekends and drove to Austin every day.
John and Joey married that same June summer night in 1960 immediately after Tommy and Sarah’s wedding, followed by Ron and Holly in October, Jason and Monica in November, and Casey and Terri in December. John and Joey had broken up for a couple of months prior to graduation, but while attending the wedding of Tommy and Sarah as a bridesmaid and groomsmen, the two were so overcome with emotion that they came to realize that they truly loved each other.
At the reception, during a slow dance, John pulled away from Joey, crying, “I don’t ever want to be without you.”
“Oh, baby!” Joey cooed and stroked his cheek.
At that moment, the Spirit came over John and he got down on his knee in the middle of the dance floor to propose. She immediately said yes and leapt into his arms before he could even complete his proposal.
Not wanting to wait any longer, they asked Pastor Cregan to marry them right then and there in the dance hall after marrying Tommy and Sarah only hours earlier. The two asked Tommy and Sarah to be their maid of honor and best man. John didn’t have a ring at the moment, so Mrs. Wilke, John’s mother, with tears in her eyes, took off her ring, handed it to John, hugged him, and kissed Joey.
“Can’t have my new daughter come into the family with no ring!” she choked as she walked off the dance floor.
Everyone clapped and had a good laugh. Joey stood for an awkward moment with no ring to give John. Sarah leaned back to look at Tommy and nodded her head toward Joey. Tommy then took off his wedding band and handed it to Joey. Looking at John, Tommy said, “Better not lose it!” The young couple stumbled through their vows and kissed. The rest of the reception went great.
Tommy and Sarah were the first to have a child, Danny Lee, in July 1968. By the early fall of 1970, all five couples had one child, and all were boys. Terri and Casey’s boy, Billy, was the last and the smallest. Born eight weeks premature, his lungs hadn’t fully developed and so had to stay in the pediatric ward of the hospital for an additional five weeks to put on weight.
Ron and Holly were the first interracially mixed couple in town. Ron’s parents moved from Corpus Christi when he was entering first grade and almost immediately became Tommy’s best friend. Tommy and Ron met long before Casey’s, John’s, and Jason’s parents moved into the area. Ron was one of only a handful of black children who grew up in town. His and Holly’s boy, Bobby, had beautiful olive skin, was smart, athletic, and full of energy. With Ron being a DPS Trooper and Holly the being the first female high school principal, not too many remarks were made about Bobby’s mixed blood.
Upon entering the sanctuary, Tommy, Sarah, and Danny saw that their friends were already there. All the boys rushed from their seats to greet Danny, who then turned to Tommy for approval to be dismissed. With a nod, all five young men quickly scurried to the front of the pews for the prayer offering with Pastor Cregan. The men tipped their hats to one another with smiles and winks, looking each other over in their dress uniforms. The girls huddled at the end of one pew to firm up the plans for the ladies’ Bible study at Monica’s house. The guest house would rotate every Monday night for the ladies and every Tuesday the men would do the same.
Jason, not the most socially gracious of the bunch, called across the room, “Tuesday night at my place guys…second Corinthians. Read up!”
Tommy, Ron, John, and Casey needed not to look around to see who was speaking. They just knew.
Pastor Brock approached the podium and requested, “Could we please get all the children to come join Pastor Cregan and myself for morning prayer?”
A swarm of children rushed the stage to see who would sit closest to Pastor Cregan. Mike Cregan, tall and thin with tan skin, blond hair, green eyes, straight teeth, and simple words, sat upon the steps with the children.
“All right! What do we have here today?” he asked. “Hoowee! I see some buckles have been shined up! I see some pretty new dresses; some new boots.” The parents smiled and laughed as some of the smaller children stood up to show off their nice clothes.
At that very moment, the doors of the sanctuary opened wide as Mr. and Mrs. Holder attempted to quietly take their seats. Jessica was close behind but did not join her mother and father. She darted to the front of the stage and tried to squeeze her way in-between Danny and Daryl.
“Maybe someone needs to get a new clock or watch?” Mike said jokingly to the children. Both he and the congregation laughed as Danny softly nudged Jessica, who nudged back. “Okay now, how ’bout we all join hands and, Billy, will you lead us in a prayer?” The congregation then stood and extended their hands across the aisles as all the children did the same. Billy looked to Mike for when to speak, and after a moment, he was given a wink and nod to begin.
“Dear God,” the boy began, “thank you for this day, thank you for our mommies and daddies and our teachers. Thanks for our horses and our daddies’ work. Thank you for letting me hit the ball yesterday and letting us win.” It was all that anyone could do to not burst out laughing with joy at
the simple prayer, but Billy continued. “Thank you, Lord, for your Son Jesus Christ.”
The entire church resonated with a strong, “Amen!”
The children then scrambled to their respective lines for Sunday school. Once in line, some children waved to their parents as their teachers led them out into the hall of the new wing of classrooms. Clinton Brown rose from his chair and motioned for the choir to stand. They, and the congregation, belted out “How Great Thou Art” as the children marched out of the sanctuary and into the hall.
“Man, am I glad we don’t have to stay in there the whole time. My mom can’t sing a lick!” Jessica stated thankfully as she, Danny, and Daryl entered the hallway.
“You think you got it bad? My dad thinks he’s Frankie Valli and tries to sing everything high like mom!” Daryl added.
The children peeled off into their classrooms, and for the next hour Danny, Daryl, Jessica, Jimmy, Billy, and Bobby would listen to Pastor Mike Cregan teach them the Word of God.
As the children entered their room, Pastor Mike was waiting at the front of the class, next to the podium and chalkboard. He wore a plastic helmet with horns sticking out the sides, a breastplate, and was armed with a plastic shield and spear. The children began to jump and scream at the sight of Mike dressed up like a warrior, crowding to touch and investigate his weaponry. He even had a red cape. Danny and Jimmy started to chant, “Evil Knievel! Evil Knievel!” and the lot joined in.
Pastor Brock, who more closely resembled a young, stocky version of Sigmund Freud, once again stood at the podium in the sanctuary. With a quick glance about the room and a strong voice, he stated, “Thank you, Clinton, and thank you, members of the choir, for the uplifting song. And we want to thank you for coming to worship the Lord with us this morning as we near the day of celebration for our town’s centennial. We’re also giving thanks and praise today to those who serve and sacrifice themselves, their time, and their lives to ensure our community remains a haven where we can openly and earnestly pursue our faith. To express our love for God, free from persecution.
“If you have your Bible with you this morning and would like to read along,” Pastor Brock continued, “we will be reading the word of God from the book of Ephesians, chapter six…Ephesians, chapter six…and will begin with verse eleven.”
The turning pages of the congregation’s Bibles broke the stillness in the sanctuary. Casey fumbled through his Bible two times and still couldn’t seem to find the chapter, even though the pages were clearly tabbed with abbreviations.
Terri, frustrated at having to watch and listen to her disoriented husband flip back and forth, grabbed the large Bible and turned almost immediately to the page. “Men’s Bible class!” she mumbled under her breath, smirking, and finished with, “Can’t even say Bible!”
Pastor Brock and Pastor Cregan typically planned their Sunday sermons and lessons each week to mirror one another so that parents could discuss with their children what was talked about in their class and follow up with the lesson throughout the next week.
Mike, after convincing the children to sit down, turned to the chalkboard and asked, “How do we know when we’re being tempted to do something wrong? Or when our faith is being tested?” All was quiet behind him as he continued writing. “How do we protect ourselves from temptation and be not led away from God and His love?” he asked as he wrote the word “Ephesians.” The children looked at him with almost no expression of interest in the lesson, but more in amazement at the costume.
“Because the devil is mean!” said little April Patterson.
“Well, that’s the start of it,” Mike answered.
Back in the church, Pastor Brock asked, “How do the servants in our community stay spiritually sharp? To not get pulled into depression, drugs, and drinking with all that they encounter? How do they hold steadfast in their faith?” He addressed one side of the congregation, then the other, constantly moving his eyes from one person to the next, smiling.
“You know, sometimes it’s hard to know when we’re being tempted,” Mike said to the restless pod. “In Ephesians chapter six, we’re encouraged to ‘put on the whole armor of God.’” He slowly spun in a circle, showing all of his armor. “The whole armor of God,” he repeated. “What does that mean to ya’ll? Jessica, does that mean you need to wear a helmet every day to school?”
The children turned to Jessica and laughed, pointing and holding their hands to their mouths.
“Danny?” Mike asked with more volume. “Do you need to carry a shield to baseball practice?”
Bobby and Jimmy poked and pinched Danny.
“Daryl, when you ride your horse, do you carry a spear?” Mike tried to stop smiling as he asked.
“Yeah!” Billy jokingly blurted out. “Like Geronimo!”
“We are told to ‘put on the whole armor of God,’” Pastor Brock quoted, paused, then continued. “‘That ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil…for we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities…against powers…against the rulers of the darkness of this world…against spiritual wickedness in high places (Eph. 6:11, KJV).’” He had memorized the verse and paced his words as he slowly walked about the stage, testifying.
“Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God,” Mike read aloud from his Bible. Before class, Mike wrote the verse on a big, flip-over tablet that he mounted on an easel by the chalkboard. “C’mon, ya’ll. Say it with me louder,” he urged.
Slowly, with some fumbling around, the children began to read aloud. “That ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”
“Stand therefore,” the congregation chanted to Pastor Brock, “having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace…”
Mike stood with a pointer, slowly underlining each word so that no one would get lost as they learned the word of God. “Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked…”
Sarah and Tommy squeezed their intertwined fingers as they read with their friends in the pews. “And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”
With the verses now over, the church grew silent—waiting. Pastor Brock, with a shine in his eyes and love in his heart, returned to the podium. The shepherd of the church looked to his sheep and repeated, “The whole armor of God, ladies and gentlemen, to protect our hearts, our minds, our spirits and our souls…so as to better serve the Lord.”
The services ended promptly at eleven thirty and at eleven precisely thirty-one, the side doors to the new wing were blown off their hinges as the young boys and girls flooded out onto the covered circular driveway, screaming as they rushed to meet their parents or race their way to the new playground. Complete with slides, swings, a jungle gym, rope bridges, and tire ladders, the ability to dilute the restlessness in the children after class was an idea embraced by almost all parishioners. The proud parents of the most recent crop of newborns, however, followed moments later, coming out into the blinding late-morning July sun, only to find themselves immediately consumed by friends and grandparents, desiring nothing else than to hold, kiss, and pat the tiny ones.
While Tommy and Sarah shook hands and mingled with the hoard, some men and women peeled off to either side of the covered porch to smoke. The women stuck close to the courtyard, standing in the shade, and fanned themselves with their bulletins, while the men stood out in the sun near the parking blocks, puffing their pipes and cigars, talking about their workweek and their crops. The mix of DPS, police, fire, and emergency personnel interspersed within the crowd made the whole event look like some type of political rally or major emergency—minus, of course, the sirens.
Down near the front slope of the church property, Danny and Jessica approached the pond of rain runoff. The two walked silently for a moment at the edge of the clear water before D
anny stopped to pick up a rock and skip it across the pond.
“That was a great hit you made yesterday!” Jessica shyly admitted, trying not to let Danny see her smile.
“Thanks,” he said, quietly. “Dad and Granddad been practicing wit’ me at night after chores.”
“I think you’re the best one on your team!” she again complimented. Jessica was wearing her new white-linen, sleeveless summer dress that Mrs. Holder made, complete with a ruffled print of tiny bluebonnets on the shoulder straps, neck, and hemlines. She wore white sandals and had her hair pulled back in a tight ponytail, held in place with ribbons of white and dark blue. Her tan skin and sun-bleached hair paired perfectly with her eyes. Danny strut about like Apollo in his pressed Wranglers and yellow button up; his white, wide-brimmed straw hat barely covered his curly blond hair.
Like Gary Cooper to Grace Kelly, Danny asked, “You goin’ to the dance Friday at the VFW?” not at all looking at Jessica as she crouched in the long grass at the edge of the pond.
“Yeah,” she answered, her eyes fixed on the reflection of the clouds on the water. “I think my mom and dad wanna go for a while.” From the top of the hill Mr. Holder blasted a short, high-pitched whistle. The starry-eyed youngsters stopped and turned to look up the hill at Mr. and Mrs. Holder waving Jessica in. “I guess I gotta go,” she mourned, shrugging her shoulders as she kicked at the grass.
Danny stood silent for a moment with his hands on his hips before adding, “I think were gonna go to the dance, too!”
Jessica lowered her head down to the side and brightly smiled to herself at the idea of Danny being at the dance. The young sprite suddenly turned and darted across the grassy hill. Just like the night before at the baseball game, and many times prior, she paused to look at Danny once more before skipping away on the clouds to her waiting parents.
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