Chapter 10: Collegians

“Dad…dad….dad…”

I lifted my head in slow response to Jaedin’s incessant tapping on my shoulder.

“Hmm?” I mumbled, looking at him through half-closed eyes.

He pointed at my forehead and laughed, having forgotten what he wanted to ask me.

As I had lapsed out of consciousness the previous night, the “S” Book had apparently become a makeshift pillow; the embossed compass on the cover had left a mirror image on my forehead.

Jaedin pointed to the yearbook. “Is that about the Titanic?” he asked as I went to the bathroom mirror and rubbed my forehead. I splashed some water on my face to help snap me out of my time warp.

“No,” I finally answered, “but I’ll bet if you were to dig deeply enough, you’d find these people’s stories just as interesting.”

I pointed out the yearbook photographs of Homer, Hampton, Gordon, and Rulon, and I proceeded to tell him what little I knew about each of them; once I started rambling, though, it became more than Jaedin’s interest level could bear. He suddenly remembered what he had been after in the first place: breakfast! I let it rest and went to the kitchen to make him some eggs.

Later that night, I went back online to find out what I could about the post-graduation lives of these four classmates. I harvested anything I could gather from web searches and published biographies; luckily Hamp had started a new journal after graduation – and actually managed to hang on to it this time – so for this next era I was also armed with a daily logbook.

Once again, the search took me late into the night. I yawned as I flipped through Hamp’s journal and with glazed eyes tried to match his handwritten dates to the online information I was compiling. Jaedin had come back into my office earlier but had fallen asleep leaning on my shoulder – hoping I’d get distracted enough from my web searching for him to check Lego prices on eBay. I finally carried him to bed, and he barely stirred when I tucked him in. I thought about calling it quits for the night as well, but soon found myself back at the computer instead.

This routine continued night after night as I traced the individual collegiate paths of the four friends. The sleep deprivation was killing me, but every time I dove back in, without fail I’d find some astonishing piece of trivia about their intertwined stories that would keep me going for a few minutes more. More often than not, I’d eventually find myself dozing off at the computer; and once again, the characters on paper would come to life in my head.

Barely able to keep my eyes open, I kept finding myself transported to the past with each new photograph and biography I ran across. Though not necessarily the most effective approach, the nature of my late-night research – with the accompanying elimination of boundaries between dreams, facts, and imagination – certainly helped bring the eighty-year old scenes to life.

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After sleeping off the party, the graduates of the Class of 1928 find that reality has set in. Within just a few days they begin to part ways to pursue their summer jobs. On top of his paper route, Hamp works as a “truck heaver” from noon until midnight every day; it is a rough time spent with a rough crowd. One of his fellow heavers even convinces Hamp to get a tattoo, and he reluctantly agrees. “Why, I never knew,” he later laments in his journal.

Homer and Gordon spend their dog days working at Deseret Gymnasium. With the exception of the administrative office, it is the only building on the L.D.S. campus that doesn’t lock its doors during the summer, since it serves double duty as a community gymnasium. Bryant Hinckley is the gymnasium’s general manager, and although he had borne a great deal of influence in getting Homer and Gordon employed there, he gives them no special consideration in dishing out dirty duties – which include scrubbing toilets, washing down the showers, and laundering sweaty towels.

R.J likewise works on campus over the summer, though in a completely different, albeit no less sweaty, environment. Norma Bryan, who had been dubbed the “absent-minded administrator” in the yearbook, had run behind in trying to manage the school’s finances during the academic year. She had amassed quite a stack of outstanding paperwork by the time summer started, including an alarming number of un-reconciled line items in the accounts payable and accounts receivable ledgers.

Having proved himself capable of greater duties through his extraordinary job as the student body treasurer, R.J has now been asked by President Fox himself to help Mrs. Bryan catch up – a task R.J attacks with his familiar tenacity. The many scraps of paper that require sorting, stapling, and filing make it impossible to use fans that otherwise might have offset the discomfort of the summer heat wave in the administrative office.

As the four former classmates sweat away the summer – in stark contrast to their carefree high school days – they each make a separate commitment to themselves to further their own education and buy their way out of a life of menial labor.

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The first day of the new school year happens to coincide with briskly lower morning temperatures; autumn seems to have arrived overnight. The incoming junior college students file into the auditorium of the Joseph F. Smith Memorial Building for orientation. R.J is forced to swim upstream through the crowd as he arrives for work.

“Funny to see you here, R.J” remarks Hamp as he literally bumps into him, “and with a briefcase, no less!”

“Hi Hamp! By the way, I’m going by Rulon now that I’m reporting for my first day of duty as a permanent staff member.” Rulon smiles with contentment. “Can you help spread the word?”

“Sure thing. I guess congratulations are in order,” says Hamp, “but I have to admit you look a little too young to be a staff member.”

“So much for my efforts, then. I thought my new briefcase would do the trick to help me pass.”

“I guess it does set you apart from the students. So are they just keeping you on staff until you get the financial mess sorted out?”

“Actually, President Fox asked me to stay on permanently as the Assistant Treasurer,” brags Rulon.

“And who’s the Treasurer you’ll be assisting?” asks Hamp.

“Well that’s the funny thing,” continues Rulon, lowering his voice, “don’t tell any of the tenured teachers, but I’m really the treasurer, not just an assistant. Mrs. Bryan has so many other duties that she doesn’t even have time to oversee my work. But a fresh high school graduate needs assistant in his title to avoid upsetting those with more seniority. So that’s me! How about you? You’ve decided to come back to the good ol’ L.D.S. for junior college?” asks Rulon.

“Yes sir,” says Hamp, his eyes wandering. Rulon turns around to follow Hamp’s gaze; Dot emerges from the streaming crowd.

“There you are, my dear,” she says, stopping to take Hamp by the arm.

“Well now I see why what brought you back to the campus!” remarks Rulon.

“That’s for sure,” says Hamp, giving Dot a peck on the cheek. Both adults now, they have managed to wrangle Mrs. Saville’s reluctant acceptance of their status as a couple and are not shy about showing it off. The trio have now formed a bit of a barrier on the sidewalk, forcing the passing crowd to split around them.

“Hey, what’s the big idea?” says Homer, stopping to greet them.

“Well, if it isn’t Bull Durham!” says Rulon, giving Homer a handshake, “Where’s Gordon?”

“Despite my best efforts, he left us for the U,” interjects Hamp, “but you might catch him working in the gym in the evenings.”

In their correspondence over the summer, Hamp had managed to talk Homer into enrolling in the junior college at L.D.S. as well, but Gordon couldn’t be swayed. Not satisfied with the caliber of the English department at L.D.S., Gordon had decided to enroll as a freshman at the University of Utah to embark on his career path in journalism.

“Oh come on,” Rulon says, “what have they got at the U that we don’t have?”

Homer lowers his voice. “Don’t tell Miss Stewart he said this – I mean, she’s a great teacher and all – but he’s intent on becoming a journalist, and he thinks she’s far too young to carry much clout when it comes to career placement.”

“Who does he want to be, Mark Twain?” says Hamp with a laugh, “you know, if I remember right from Miss Stewart’s literature class, Mr. Clements started his career in journalism, too.”

“Well, nobody yet ever read anything that a kid from East Millcreek wrote,” says Rulon, “but if he ever does get famous, maybe Gordon can set the record straight on Salt Lake. If you go by Twain’s so-called journalism work, you’d think we’re all still a bunch of polygamists.”

An awkward silence arises, despite the ambient noise. “Well, missing out on another year at L.D.S. will have to be his loss then,” Hamp nervously adds.

“Sorry fellows,” says Rulon, “I have to run; after all, I don’t want to be late on my first day!” With a wave of his briefcase, he marches off dutifully toward the administration building. Homer scurries along to the orientation; Hamp and Dot wander in behind, arm in arm. Though the venue hasn’t changed since the previous year’s orientation, this time they feel all grown up. They look around at the entering sophomore class members who are heading to their own orientation; as yet another school year kicks off, they are stunned at how young and naïve the newcomers seem to be.

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The rest of the 1928-1929 school year proceeds in familiar fashion; it is like high school all over again for the junior college students, who are actually allowed to participate in most of the high school functions, including sports, thanks to a new ruling by the Utah state senate.

Homer remains involved in the glee club and the opera; he also adds a new-found interest to his slate of activities by serving as a cub reporter for the school newspaper – an interest developed largely thanks to Gordon’s influence. Hamp plays basketball, runs track, and joins the golf team. On the side, he tries his best to help restore the reputation of the Dilettante Club.

Like a water boy who would rather be on the scrimmage line, Rulon finds it difficult to watch Jerry walk away with top honors at the Grant Oration. Full-time employment certainly has its financial benefits, but standing on the sidelines of the speech and debate contests makes him sorely miss his days as a student.

Gordon does get a chance to mingle with the students of the L.D.S. in social activities – thanks to his job at the gym and to Bryant’s continued involvement with the school. Gordon thoroughly enjoys catching up with his former classmates anytime he has the chance, and quite a few familiar faces roam the campus, including Betty and Jerry. Though he is now part of the junior college, Jerry has taken over Rex’s former role as student body president, while Betty serves as the junior college vice president. The social calendar is packed full, thanks largely to Betty and Jerry’s zealous knack for planning ambitious activities.

The “Get-Acquainted” dance is followed all too soon by the Spring Formal, which, in turn, is followed even sooner again by the commencement ceremony marking the end of the school year. The commencement program includes the familiar fanfare and awards, with a few added surprises: Due to her active participation in so many school activities, her high scholarship marks, and her unequalled popularity, the school administrators comes up with a brand new, customized Grant award for Betty as the Representative L.D.S. Girl.

Betty has yet one more accolade to top off her highly decorated year: When Logan native John Gilbert – Valentino’s successor as Hollywood’s leading man – is sent the whole stack of the school’s class photographs, sure enough, he is mesmerized by Betty’s wide eyes and picks her photo as the beauty contest winner. Gilbert certainly knew his leading ladies, having been paired with Greta Garbo – the most beautiful woman who ever lived, according to Guinness – and others in the Hollywood elite. He is, in fact, in the midst of having his career sabotaged by Louis Mayer – the latter “M” of MGM Studios – after having slugged him for making an inappropriate remark about Garbo. Though Gilbert’s own star is noticeably waning, thanks to his keen eye, hundreds of students open their freshly printed yearbooks to find their very own, glamorous, full-page montage of Betty.

The 1929 yearbook has a scriptural theme, thanks in large part to Rulon; in his spare time, he had served on the yearbook committee and had managed to exert quite an influence on its contents. A staunch fan and student of the Book of Mormon, he had been a key advocate of selecting a Book of Mormon motif for the yearbook, leaving his personal touch in print for future generations. Within the lithographed, Mayan-inspired page borders, familiar couples grace the pages of class photographs, Jerry and Betty topping the Junior College list as the school’s favorite couple.

Though they had avoided pairing up in previous yearbooks in deference to Mrs. Saville’s fears, Hamp and Dot had finally decided to be pictured next to each other as well – comfortable with their newfound status as a couple.

The yearbook itself is dedicated to Mrs. Harold Farnes Silver, formerly known as Miss Madelyn Stewart. When Miss Stewart retires in anticipation of starting a family – crushing more than a few schoolboy crushes – her influence is sorely missed by many, but by none so much as Master Printer Bentine. Without her accolades for Paragon’s previous work, the newly appointed rookie faculty sponsor had relied strictly on the bottom line bids, and – with a large, new printing press in their arsenal – the Deseret News Press had dramatically underbid Paragon to win the contract to print the yearbooks.

Jim Owens – still stuck in his menial job a few blocks from campus – manages to secure a copy of the 1929 yearbook from one of the graduates. He brings it back to Bentine so they can assess the competition.

“Well, sir, what do you think?” he asks.

Bentine throws back his arms in dismay when he opens the cover to find Deseret’s full-page advertisement right at the front of the book, accompanied by a wide-angle photograph of the Deseret News Building. He sees it as an attempt to rub in their ties to the Church. “This is the Place,” reads the advertisement, “where the ‘S’ Book was printed.”

Deseret is certainly on its way to becoming a premiere printing facility in the West, and the days of competitively bidding Church jobs are numbered for Bentine, whose hopes continue to sink with his business as time goes on. If Deseret’s eventual hiring of a young staffer named Tommy Monson is of any indication, Bentine’s chances of getting his foot back in the door are surely evaporating.

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After graduation from junior college, Hamp’s path diverges a bit further from the others; he is the only one of the foursome to leave Salt Lake, taking a mechanic’s position that Chick had lined up for him with the National Park Service’s coach lines in Zion’s Canyon. Being away from Dot makes the surroundings seem especially solitary, but Hamp fills the void by working on his outdoorsmanship skills, earning himself just enough merit badges to fulfill the requirements for the Eagle Scout rank – and please President Grant in the process.

The scenery is certainly beautiful and enveloping, but it is not quite enough to quell his homesickness. The seven-page sermon Dot had written in his yearbook keeps him company in the silence of his cabin until her letters begin to arrive. One letter in particular tugs him back to Salt Lake: Dot lets him know that she has decided to enroll at the University of Utah. Hamp immediately follows suit; he writes Dot back an enthusiastic letter, sends in his admission materials, and begins counting the days until Labor Day.

Homer likewise transfers to the U and joins Gordon in the journalism program. The thought of attending a school without his father on the faculty feels especially intimidating to Homer, but this time Gordon gets to return the favor as the incumbent and show him the ropes.

As the 1929-1930 school year gets off to a fleet start, the big fish from the small pond find it a bit overwhelming to adjust to the larger lake. The new junior college graduates adapt remarkably quickly to university life, however, and they busily dive into a wide range of extracurricular activities, thoroughly enjoying their first few university days.

As their courses and activities fall into a steady routine, they feel increasingly secure and confident in the future; life certainly looks positive and upbeat. Along with their other fellow students at the U, they are quite pleased to find their optimism matched by the Ute football team’s weekly march to victory. School spirit reaches a climax during the week preceding the Holy War – the annual, mid-season matchup against archrival BYU.

The week begins with a Monday morning pep rally that is covered along with every angle of the upcoming line-up in the Tuesday student paper. As they read the write-up, the students are so excited about the rivalry that they hardly notice the shocking descent of the Dow Jones being broadcast across the airwaves that very same day. With Ute banners and feather-emblem flags flying from dormitories, laboratories, and every other campus window, October 29, 1929 – forever to be known as Black Tuesday in the history books – is markedly red across the U campus.

Billions upon billions of dollars of global wealth have simply evaporated; it is unprecedented and far too large in scale for most people to comprehend. On the east coast, the Rockefellers buy up stock in a vain attempt to re-instill a shred of investor confidence; they and the other industrial moguls of the day use all of their press connections to maximize the publicity of these efforts, but at the end of the dreariest financial week on record, local editors decide that the Utes’ ultimate decimation of BYU bears more front-page relevance to their readership in the twin valleys of the Wasatch Front.

As homes are readied for the holidays over the following weeks, the dire financial news eventually does sink in and manages to penetrate even the remotest Utah outposts; hopes for a quick rebound in the stock market begin to fade, but student life at the U is still dominated by hope – the hope for a second straight undefeated football season for the Utes.

Only the Aggies, led by Dick Romney – whose brother Mitt has just finished an outstanding career as the Chicago Bears’ quarterback – potentially stand in the way. The season-ending Thanksgiving Day bout deals a crushing defeat to Romney’s squad, and spontaneous victory celebrations erupt across the U campus.

As the school year resumes in 1930 after the holiday break, tuition money has become tight for even the most well-to-do students. The delayed reaction to curbing the school’s operating budget manages to dampen the impact on campus activities somewhat, and from all outside appearances, it continues to look like business as usual at the U. Even months after Wall Street’s crash, the prevailing attitude conveyed by the students is a hope to just ride things out for the short term – with the assumption that better times are bound to return soon.

Rulon, the only one of the foursome to have forestalled his university education, had opted to stay for another year as “Assistant” Treasurer at the L.D.S.; having felt much older and more alone seeing the incoming classes diluting the ranks of his former friends, he now devotes an increasing amount of his time to studying the financial news. With his finger on the pulse of the larger fiscal picture, he recognizes the signs that any purported recovery is only likely to follow a slow and painful struggle. History will prove him right as each of his former classmates is permanently and personally affected by the global catastrophe.