From: Phillip Potts(63) (PHILLP)
To: ALL
Date:9/9/98 9:43 am

I found that I ended up going to the Universalist church a good bit while I was at LW. For me it was unique. Men sat on one side, women on the other. A very short service and then the men and women would break off into group discussions. We often had guests from other religions to speak or talk to.

But.. being that it was a bit different, we had a favorite prank. New Cadets, or ones that had never attended were told.

"Men sit on the left, Women on the right." Midway though the service, a basket is passed aorund with a snake. (Cobra was good). If you had faith, it would not bite you..:)

Yes, we could be cruel at times...:)

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From: Paul Tate (PAULTATE)
Date: 9/9/98 10:21 am
To: Phillip Potts(63) (PHILLP)

I understand now the reason the Academy staff decided to have services exclusively for LWMA cadets apart from the regular services. Until the new chapel was completed, the cadets marched to one of the three downtown churches (i.e., Universalist, Baptist, Methodist) at 8:00 a.m.

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From: Phillip Potts(63) (PHILLP)
To: Paul Tate (PAULTATE)
Date: 9/9/98 11:08 am

I was wondering if it was now only on campus or if they were still allowed to go downtown.

When did they start that?

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From: Phillip Potts(63) (PHILLP)
Date: 9/9/98 11:10 am
To: Paul Tate (PAULTATE)

"I understand now the reason the Academy staff decided to have services exclusively for LWMA cadets apart from the regular services."

You mean! We did it? Gee, I didn't think we had that much of an effect..:)

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From: Paul Tate (PAULTATE)
To: Phillip Potts(63) (PHILLP)
Date: 9/9/98 4:41 pm

I don't know when the change was made, but it surely had to be shortly after your class left, because in 1965-66, they had already begun to march to church. Those cadets who wished to remain for regular church were allowed to. Even today, I believe, the students who wish are allowed to go to regular chuch after cadet services in the chapel are over.

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From: Brian Brunner(64) (BVBRUNNER)
To: Paul Tate (PAULTATE)
Date: 9/10/98 11:53 am

Paul and Phil,

Paul,
The whole time I was there 59-64 the cadet corps, except for the Jewish and Catholic students, was marched to downtown and fell out to their "receptive churches". Some poor ranking cadet had to be sure his church group was "all present or accounted for" when the services were started. We were not in a separate service. I hope OUR conduct did not lead to that.:( Maybe our numbers just overloaded the churches.:)

I was a Methodist but our church only had services every other week. On the Sundays we had no service I had to go to either the Baptist or the Universalist church. The Universalist was always interesting because you never know what was going to be said. Sometimes it was a lecture on art or music or something else. The Baptist church was very popular because all the young high school girls went there. Anyway, I got a vary wide ranged religious education in Camp Hill Alabama!

I always kind of felt sorry for the Catholic boys because they had to ride with General Futch in his station wagon to church in Dadville. They had to behave at all times! I also wondered how many cigars the General smoked in the car going to and from Dadville. Phil, I don't remember the separate seating for the men and women, nor the "snake joke" bit. Neither did I know at the time that Dr. Lyman Ward was a Universalist minister, nor that the school on the hill ( SII / LWMA) came out of that church.

Phil,
Richard (my brother), said to remind you about a church problem you, Reinaldo Carrasquillo('60) and he had that made General Futch ask you if you thought you were "privileged characters"! :)