Fifty years ago, Ray Gardner, then 19, was headed to Pasadena to talk to Herbert W. Armstrong about attending Ambassador College, which was opening that fall.
However, Ray never made it to the Pasadena campus. He got cold feet in Bakersfield, California, and returned to his native Arkansas, not to see California again until he came to Pasadena for the new pastors intensive training June 30 to July 5.
Ray began listening to Mr. Armstrong on the radio in 1945 while living in Marmaduke, Arkansas. Ray's brother Laverne was already receiving the PT. Both the magazine and the broadcast contained plans of Mr. Armstrong starting a college.
In January 1947 Ray drove to Hanford, in California's San Joaquin Valley, with his parents, Luther and Virgie. In July his sister's child got sick, and Ray's parents took the train home to Arkansas. Ray stayed and worked at a cannery in Hanford, and Laverne came out to stay with Ray for about six weeks and then drive back to Arkansas with him.
When the canning season ended, Laverne insisted that Ray drive to Pasadena and inquire about the college.
"I really wanted to, but I got cold feet in Bakersfield, and we turned left and went back to Arkansas," Ray said.
Ray continued to read the literature and sometimes listened to Mr. Armstrong before he became a WCG member in 1970. His mother, brother, sister and niece became members too.
Ray is now a nonsalaried pastor in Jonesboro, Arkansas, which meets on Sunday for more effective evangelism. Attendance is about 45. In 1954 Ray married Amy Hass, whom he had known in high school. Amy is a member of St. Paul United Methodist Church in Jonesboro. They have a son, Tim, and two grandsons, Kyle, 14, and Andrew, 10.
July 22, 1997, WN, page 3
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