A Storied History

Lynelle Mason

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I arrived at Belton’s square boxed Greyhound Bus station in September of 1948-49 –a young girl over 1,000 miles from my home in Savannah, Georgia with a consuming desire to become a foreign missionary.

Plopping down in one of the vacant seats I scanned the premises looking for someone to take me and my bags to the MHB campus. As I waited Texas sized grasshoppers invaded my space. Although it seemed like forever it was really only several minutes before a campus boy arrived to escort me and my belongings to the Ely Pepper dormitory of Mary Hardin-Baylor College.

I was still unpacking my suitcase when a young girl with a Texas drawl and a smile as big as the sun approached me and accompanied me to Hardy Hall for dinner and later that same night to a sing along event. That Texas miss was none other than Pat Lockridge Shannon!

My days at MHB (1948-1953), while fulfilling and unforgettable for me personally, were devastating for our institution. I remember some forty of us as seniors bonding together and pledging to each other we would always be loyal to our college

Since that day my path led me to teach for one year in Savannah before attending Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, back to Georgia to become a Minister of Education/Youth in Macon, Georgia, marrying a minister and ultimately back to teaching for 30 years, primarily in the area of Special Education.

I can’t recall the exact year I began attending our class reunions at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor. What I do recall is marveling at the amazing changes that had transpired since my student days. The amazing changes were delightful. What hadn’t changed was the friendly spirit that still pervaded the campus. I continued attending the reunions on a regular basis until we the alumni of 1953 ceased to meet. Until this day I enjoy yearly giving a love gift to my alma mater.

I’ll be 89 on February 24, 2020, and my ninth book is in the process of being published by Nurturing Faith.

The sustaining gift MH-B faculty, staff and students bequeathed to me was to llight a fire in my inner being to never quit learning and to always seek to be God’s servant leader in a society brimming with problems. To this day I keep in touch with my forever best friends, Pat Lockridge Shannon, Chris Westbrook, Martha Rose and Glenna Stamps.

“Yes, we come from old Baylor, men and women great in power-- and proudly each one bears the memory for Baylor College we love you!”