Reminiscence
J. Prescott Johnson, Ph.D.
Northwestern University
Professor Emeritus of Philosophy
Monmouth College (IL)
There were two factors that influenced the character of my life: the practical and the theoretical. The practical was governed by the fact that my life as a youth was characterized by the environment in which I lived. The family lived on a small farm two miles north of the little town of Rogue River, Oregon. A small and clear creek, Evans Creek, flowed from north to the south, and emptied into the Rogue river.
I am forced to recall a little bit of interesting history. In the early days there were no dams in the Rogue river. What later became the town of Rogue River was known by the early pioneers as “Tailholt.” The river flowed swiftly, hurling itself over large boulders in the river. Even today the ride over the river is exciting. The only way the people could manage the ride was to grab hold of the horse’s tail and be pulled along by the horse. That is the meaning of “Tailholt, Oregon. I have often thought that it would look good on my Vita if it included the reference to a place called “Tailholt.”
There soon came a time when I and my brother, Eric –a few years younger than I–decided to construct a small boat. Our father showed us how to make the boat by inserting pitch between the planks. Soon the task was completed and the boat was name in honor of John Paul Jones as “The Bon Homme Richard”
Our life by the creek was delightful. During summers we swam in the creek, rested on the sand and earned a nice tan, which was probably not a good thing to do. But we took no heed, and luxuriated in the sun.
We lived on a small farm two miles north of the Rogue river, by a clear creek called Evans Creek. We caught trout in the creek, and shot game in the surrounding fields, such as ducks, geese, grouse, and quail.
I remember one occasion when we went by horse-drawn wagon to hunt game. We came to a clear stream. Before we crossed the stream, we caught several trout. We then had a good supper, and soon fell asleep, We had cut fir branches on which to make our beds.
I worked with my father and Eric on our farm. We had a fine garden and canned fruit for use during the winter. We had an under-ground storage bin in which to keep the fruit.
My strictly intellectual and theoretical life began when at eighteen years of age I left my idyllic home and attended a liberal arts college located at Overland Park, Kansas. The college is still there and is now called “The Kansas Christian College.” The president is my good friend, Dr. Delbert Scott, the father of my room-mate when I attended the college during the yeas 1939-43.
During my residency at the college I studied Greek and Hebrew. In those days it made absolutely no difference whether the courses were or were not formally included in the curriculum. All that mattered was that the courses were taught. I was the only student in the Greek class. I sat on the back bench of the church by the side of my teacher and assumed the task of the translations.. Thus, I did, without question, learn Greek.
During my final year at the college, I studied Hebrew. I read the first half of the book of Hebrew. In my subsequent writing I refer to both the Greek and Hebrew languages.
I became the president of what was called “The Young Peoples Department” of the College. I had a very interesting book, written by John P. Brooks, entitled “The Divine Church.“ It is a discussion of the nature and mission of the Church. I wrote a series of articles that briefed the content of the book. They were published by the Church magazine.
At this time, the College was unaccredited. I was then the pastor of the church in Pittsburg, Kansas. I decided to enroll in the Collage and work toward accreditation. During my first year, I received the A.B. degree. The following year I received the M.A. degree. I then attended Northwestern University and received the Ph. D,
Over the subsequent years I have continued my writing and publishing. I have written books, articles, and poetry. I have decided to have a Web page made on which to have my writings accessible to the public.