My Father and His College Newspaper
My parents kept these copies of The Shepherd College Picket from the time my father, Roger, attended Shepherd College in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. Looking through them now gives me another way to consider his life before he became my father. These pages preserve something of the community around him during his college years.
The issues date from November 1940 and January 1941. Their columns announce debates, theatrical productions, musical programs, student meetings, and examinations. These were the everyday concerns of the college he attended: preparing for classes, finding interests, and taking part in a community of students and teachers.
I cannot tell from these newspapers alone which events he attended or which organizations he joined. Still, the details help me picture the setting of his education. An examination schedule records the demands of the semester. Announcements about plays, art exhibits, and music show the opportunities available beyond the classroom. They give substance to a period of his life that I did not witness.
These papers also precede the letters documenting his military service in 1942. Placed alongside those letters, they help trace the movement from his college years into the responsibilities and uncertainty of wartime. Each piece adds something different to the record: the newspapers describe his surroundings, while his correspondence brings me closer to his personal experiences.
I do not know why my parents saved these particular issues. Perhaps there was something in them they wanted to remember, or perhaps they simply wanted to preserve a part of his college life. Whatever their reason, they kept them long enough for me to return to them many years later.
My father’s life began long before my own memories of him. These newspapers offer a small window into those earlier years, reminding me that the person I knew as Dad had once been a young student, building a life whose direction was still unfolding.
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