Inspire, Fall 2005

Inspire 21 Bucky Shumate ’51 B ucky’s memories of Cedarville College life are filled with friends and sports. Many GIs were coming home from the war and attending college at that time, and Bucky found they were “nice fellas to hang out with.” He also enjoyed being captain of the basketball team his junior and senior years and captain of the baseball team in his senior year. After earning his education degree in 1951, Bucky put his athletics experience as well as his education to use by becoming a teacher, coach, and later a principal and superintendent in Ross County, Ohio. He also served a stint as the mayor of Frankfort, Ohio. Bucky said he enjoyed his Cedarville professors and had a lot of respect for them. He remarked that they helped prepare him for future leadership positions. “The faculty had patience with me,” Bucky explained, “and I needed that. I had to listen a lot, which helped develop the leadership skills that I needed later in life.” Wynona Geer Pierce ’68 M y dad, Delbert Geer ’57, was saved about a year before he joined the first classes at Cedarville’s Baptist Bible Institute. Studying, working full-time, and holding down family responsibilities, Dad completed the three-year degree in four years. Christian service has always been a major influence in developing the lives of Cedarville students. Dad’s street corner preaching, the jail ministry, and missions trips led to 25 years of missionary service before his retirement. Students were always welcome in our home — which was an upstairs apartment in downtown Cedarville. Many came for home-cooked meals. The fellowship my parents fostered led to lifelong friendships. Dad taught us to pray for the students. Their energy spent doing things with my brother and me will never be forgotten. Today many of these students are pastors, missionaries, and Cedarville professors. These heroes of my childhood are still on my prayer list as they continue to mold Cedarville University, preparing students for the work God has for their lives. The foundation of Cedarville was shaped by examples the early students set. These people and their continued support of Cedarville have made it the University it is today. The Lord called Dad home in 1991. He, along with other early heroes, will live in the hearts and history of Cedarville. Generations of Cedarville students have been blessed with a quality education and the awesome responsibility to be heroes for generations to come.