Inspire, Fall/Winter 2011

A group of us were sitting toward the back center section of the chapel in Alford, I believe, in assigned seats as was the practice. The speaker must have been less than inspiring that day as my friend Neal fell asleep during the service. During this era at Cedarville, falling asleep in chapel was a near-capital offense, so in order to protect Neal’s near-perfect conduct record, I decided to wake him up. I reached over and poked him in the side. I didn’t know Neal was ticklish, and what happened next is the stuff of legends. He shot up, arms flailing, and shouted as if he’d been overtaken with a southern-style camp meeting slaying of the Spirit. The look on his face, framed by red-faced embarrassment, was priceless. David Gregory ’69, Lake Ariel, Pennsylvania 60s Chapel met in Alford Auditorium, where some of us spent nights building theatre sets. The tiny entryways were always jammed with students crossing off their ID numbers at their assigned doors. We sat in squeaky old theatre seats in the overcrowded space with the faculty seated on stage, their absence or attention visible. The organ played Sweet Hour of Prayer as the signal to get quiet, and the lights dimmed. At least once, we had the fall Bible conference meetings in the gym. During the missionary conference, students had a contest to compose a theme song for the week. Paula (Prater) Priour ’73 and Jerry Grayson ’72 sang Bridge Over Troubled Water , suggesting that Simon and Garfunkel meant Jesus was the bridge, beginning a new era of having special music approved in advance. Faculty sometimes spoke, and Mr. Spencer got a laugh by apologizing for the glare off his bald head before he began. A young, visiting evangelist named Paul Dixon taught us to sing “I woke up this morning with my mind stayed on Jesus.” Old Doc Ketcham, nearly blind, preached a series on Psalm 23, telling us to “get your little old sheep nose down in the Scriptures.” Tiny Norma Nulph, a missionary in Cleveland, stood on a box behind the podium to be seen as she spoke of her work in the inner city. Judy Johnson ’73, Yellow Springs, Ohio I remember Dr. Dixon speaking on Proverbs 2 and David Jeremiah ’63, Jack Willets, Don Jennings, and Bill Rudd feeding us spiritual food so we could grow into maturity. What a great way to renew our minds and be equipped for service for His Kingdom! The funniest memory was when we returned for homecoming. Someone let a mouse loose in chapel, and it ran all over. We all tried to keep our feet up, but probably don’t remember the speaker’s message that day. Our class walked 20 miles to Springfield to raise money for the pews in the James T. Jeremiah Chapel. It was wonderful to be all together and lift our voices up in praise to the Lord! Sharon (Hopkins) Bowman ’77, Plainwell, Michigan 70s A L F O R D A U D I T O R I U M 1 9 6 2 –1 9 7 6 Freshmen wore their beanies in Alford Auditorium. Dr. James T. Jeremiah was a favorite speaker, both as president and as chancellor. Pastor Harold Green, known as “PG,” served as campus pastor from 1970–1995. CEDARVILLE UNIVERSITY 21