PRAIRIE BIBLE INSTITUTE


 J-K Dormitory

If you have never been homesick, you won't understand, but if you have, then you know what it feels like.  In those first couple of days at Prairie Bible Institute, I was homesick, the only time in my life.  I had never been very far away from home before.  Forest Cliff Camp about 15 miles east of Sarnia, which was about 65 miles from Chatham, was the farthest that I had been away.  Now here I was, over 2,000 miles from home and I was going to be there for seven months.  Well, fortunately the homesickness didn't last long.  Once I began to meet fellow students and classes began, I was very much at home.

Strange that I felt homesick seeing that I arrived on a Monday and never wrote to my folks until I received a note from the school office on the Friday stating that my folks had sent a telegram to the school to see if I had arrived.  That was long before cell phones and personal computers.  Thereafter, I wrote them a letter at least every Sunday afternoon and received one from home.

 Reading a letter from home.  Sorry, forgot to make my bed.

I lived in J-K dormitory for my four student years.  My first two years my room number was K-218.  Interesting that Dan Jr., who attended thirty years after me, should be assigned the very same room when he was a student.  My junior and senior years I was in J-220.

Monday morning, September 26th classes began.  As I said previously, if I didn't like it at the school, then at least I would have had a trip out west.  Well, in spite of strict rules, I loved my four school years at Prairie Bible Institute.  The studies were informative and enjoyable and the fellowship and fun with students from around the world was exciting.  I met students from every walk of life and every kind of background.

I was into my junior year before I had a class with L. E. Maxwell, the man who was asked to come and teach seven students in 1922.  He was the principal and the preacher at the Sunday services and the man that put Prairie Bible Institute on the map.  We had what was called the search method study of the scripture.  We had a book of questions for each subject and had to find the answer, strictly through Bible study with no helps or commentaries.  The teacher would then call on a student to answer the question.  Would you believe that in that very first class with Mr. Maxwell I was called on to answer question number three.  I stood and read my answer.  I well remember his comment.  He said, "That's a good answer, but it doesn't answer the question."

Each junior class always prepared the program honoring the senior class, the graduates.  Each class would choose a class motto.  My junior class motto was Vessels Unto Honour.  As a class we went a step further.  In consultation with the faculty and staff, we prepared the school's first year book.  It was a hard copy and sold for $3.00.

In my senior year I was privileged to be the commentator, off stage, for the big Christmas production.  I have that entire program on an old reel to reel.  That was 65 years ago.  My senior message was given in chapel on Monday, December 29th, 1952.  My topic was The Tongue and my text was James chapter three.  I wish I could find those notes.  Yes, December 29th was the day, the first day of school following the Christmas break.  We only had one week of Christmas vacation.  Very few students went home for Christmas.  The school did not want you to drive more than 300 miles from the school.  I spent all four Christmases at PBI and the school provided lots of fun things for us.

I also got to phone my parents, collect, at Christmas.  I would place the call and the operator told me to come back in about a half hour.  So I placed the call from the one and only pay phone on campus.  Went back about thirty minutes later.  When the phone rang, I answered and the operator told me to stay on the line.  I then heard an operator in Calgary, then Regina, Winnipeg, Toronto and finally Chatham.  The operator would then ask my folks when they answered whether they would accept a collect call from Danny Goldsmith.  A little different than today with our cell phones.


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