Jocko, Pinko and other professor characters

 

                                                "Jocko"  with  award  from  Elon University

        What is your first thought when you hear the words "college professor"? . . . stick in the mud ?; too serious and unapproachable? ; absent-minded ?; or . . .?  Being a History Prof from 1968-1983, I knew that no one description fit the wide variety of my colleagues' personalities. Some were sure enough stodgy, others bright and witty, etc.  Then there were several that were fun to be with and to call friends.  Many, no, most are now deceased.  First comes the tennis coach, very much  alive  Tom Parham.  While he knew my name, he always greeted me with "Pinko"

  It all started in 1968 when someone in our apartments offered tickets to a Hubert Humphrey Political rally in Charlotte.  When I expressed interest, the person told my new friend Tom that the bearded History professor must be a  Communist.  Tom thought that was  a hoot and began good-naturately calling me  "Pinko".  His being a Phys Ed teacher and the Varsity tennis coach, I  thought an appropriate  moniker for him would be "Jocko".  And so, over the years those were our greetings to each other.

   While my career as a History professor ended in 1983, Tom coached tennis at Atlantic Christian College (now Barton College) and Elon University for 19 years at each  school. Along the way, his teams won three NAIA National Championships and he was named "Coach of the Year" on four occasions.  He has been elected to eight (8 !) Halls of Fame.

   Over the years, our contacts have been infrequent; still I have good memories and great appreciation for that friendship from the past.  All this came to mind recently while doing an internet search for a different matter and happened to spot a referencee to some of his post-retirement writings. Jocko knows how to tell a good story, as attested by the  inscription on the plaque above.   It was a pleasure reconnecting last week.

     Our correspondence brought to mind some of the other interesting and colorful colleagues from that era.  Allow me  to introduce a few: Ed outwardly portrayed a curmudgeonly old batchelor. Behind his sardonic New England wit was a very kind man.  At the beginning of every Friday class, he would unfurl his small TGIF flag; Dr. Mildred Hartsock, the venerable Chair of the English Department, endured many graduation ceremonies by drawing an outline of the U.S. on her bulletin and filling in the state borders; Norbert was a 'colorful' (pun intended) Art professor. At a faculty picnic, he achieved the nearly impossible feat of throwing a double ringer ahead of me. Imagine our surprise when I topped his ringers with two of my own, thereby negating his miracle; Tom M. drove the Humane Society's Animalance, a converted hearse. As running buddies, we often noted the irony of two middle-age men jogging through the streets of a cemetery in pursuit of health; Bill and Roger taught in the Religion Department. Bill later became a Seminary Dean and Roger was  a member of the translation team for the Good News for Modern Man Bible version; "Doc" Sanford once played first base for the Washington Senators; Eddie claimed to have been a German soldier in World War Two. Dr. Marshall questioned him about his unit and being something of a history buff recognized the group as  part of the destruction of the Czech town of Lidice. The conversation topic change abruptly.

    Then there were others. Maybe for a later time. For the most part, "thanks for the memories".

     Did you have any interesting teachers/professors

         Satchel