Growing up in Fulton, I was surrounded by institutions that helped define our community: Fulton State Hospital, the Missouri School for the Deaf, William Woods College (now University), and Westminster College. Interestingly, Fulton State Hospital, the Missouri School for the Deaf and Westminster were essentially founded in 1851.
As a child, I didn’t appreciate how much these institutions shaped the community. I simply knew they were part of everyday life.
During the 1960s and 1970s, William Woods and Westminster had the greatest influence on me. We lived across the street from William Woods, and its campus became my playground. I spent countless hours riding my bicycle with my cocker spaniel, Goldie, happily sitting in the basket on my handlebars. The young women at William Woods always smiled and waved as we rode by.
Every morning on my walk to school, I passed the construction site of the Winston Churchill Memorial — now America’s National Churchill Museum. I watched the stones from Sir Christopher Wren’s Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Aldermanbury, being reassembled on Westminster’s campus. It fascinated me. At the time, I had no idea Westminster would one day become such an important part of my own story.
My father and I had a difficult relationship while I was growing up. We loved each other, but we didn’t always understand one another. When I was in the fifth grade, my school counselor, Mrs. Jalie Boulware, asked if I would be interested in joining the Big Brother program. I eagerly said yes.
A few weeks later, she called me back to her office.
I walked in carrying my trombone case, an instrument that seemed almost as big as I was, and met a Westminster student named George Walker Hall III, a history major from Tucson, Arizona, and a member of the Kappa Alpha Order, Class of 1973.
We connected almost immediately.
The program was supposed to have Walker spend a couple of hours each week with me.
Instead, he became part of our family.
He often showed up around supper time, and I suspect my mother’s country cooking had something to do with that. He went camping with us, fished and shot skeet with my dad, and quickly became someone we all looked forward to seeing.
During the school year, Walker frequently picked me up after school. We would go hiking, ride our bikes, or stop at A&W, Dairy Queen, or The Spot for a snack. One year he took me to Six Flags St. Louis, my very first amusement park, for my birthday. Later, when he was student teaching in Kansas City, I spent weekends with him while the rest of my family visited relatives nearby.
After earning his master’s degree from Columbia University, Walker accepted a teaching position in Joplin, Missouri. Before moving there, he returned to New York City to pack up his apartment and invited me to go with him.
For a seventh grader from Fulton, Missouri, that was the adventure of a lifetime.
During that trip we visited the Statue of Liberty, the United Nations, Rockefeller Plaza, Grant’s Tomb, Radio City Music Hall, The Cloisters and several wonderful restaurants.
What I remember most, though, were the Broadway shows.
We saw The Magic Show, starring Doug Henning, Candide and Thieves, starring Marlo Thomas. Those performances opened my eyes to a world I never knew existed.
Later, Walker accepted a teaching position on Long Island, and I continued visiting him over the years. Since that first trip, I’ve seen eight Broadway productions and traveled throughout the country because one Westminster student took the time to invest in a kid from Fulton.
But there’s one more chapter to the story.
Walker met my mother’s youngest sister, Pam, who happened to be about his age. I jokingly introduced her by saying, “This is my Aunt Pam, and I want you to marry her.”
To everyone’s surprise … they did.
Nearly 50 years later, they are still married.
Walker didn’t just become my mentor.
He became my Uncle Walker.
Looking back, it’s remarkable how much one Westminster student influenced the course of my life. He gave me confidence, exposed me to experiences I never would have imagined, broadened my understanding of the world and ultimately became family.
Every August, a new class of Westminster students arrives in Fulton to begin the next chapter of their lives. Most are thinking about earning a degree, making friends and preparing for a career. They probably don’t realize they also have the opportunity to make a lasting difference in someone else’s life.
I doubt Walker ever imagined that volunteering as a Big Brother would lead to a lifelong friendship, marriage into my family and a relationship that has lasted for more than five decades. He simply volunteered a few hours of his time, and it changed my life.
To me, that’s the real strength of the relationship between Westminster College and Fulton. It’s built not only on history and tradition, but on people caring about one another. Sometimes the most important lessons aren’t learned in a classroom. They are learned through kindness, friendship and taking the time to make a difference.
Westminster has produced distinguished alumni, hosted historic speeches and built an impressive academic reputation. Those achievements deserve to be celebrated.
But for me, Westminster’s greatest legacy will always be much more personal.
It was where I met the person who helped shape my future.
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