Never Look Back

Never look back.

We spent last week in West Texas, completing the last project started during our time at Western Texas College, where I served as president from 2007-2012. Back during the centennial anniversary (2011) of the death of Quanah Parker, a sculpture was commissioned of his likeness to be installed in front of the campus in Snyder, Texas.

I found the chief’s life to be a fitting metaphor for what community colleges do best….give people a chance for change.

I loved the project and actually put together the deal for a foundation to pay for it. The sculptor was picked, the base of the cast iron piece was constructed and we even buried wire for the lighting. But a couple of funny things happened. First, I took a job in Southern Illinois. Second, the sculptor had a hiccup or two. So I didn’t get to see the project to fruition.

In fact, I don’t believe anyone thought the sculpture would ever be dedicated. That’s because the years just seemed to roll by.

2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2016….and into late 2017. No Quanah. No closure. The project became a joke. Every once in a while, someone would don a tomahawk and climb up onto the base where they’d pose for a picture which would get e-mailed to me. Dreith’s Folly. The Great Disappearing Native American.

I even actually showed up at the sculptor’s house in 2016 to try and intimidate him. That didn’t work.

What did finally work was some maneuvering by the foundation bankrolling the project. They finally got Quanah through a foundry and erected on the very same (well aged) rock base in front of the campus.

Parker guided his braves into Fort Sill, Oklahoma in the late 1800s when it became obvious to him that warfare was a lost cause. He transformed himself into an astute businessman and became influential with folk like Teddy Roosevelt. He changed his way of thinking and led two distinct and highly successful lives.

I identified. I was once a broadcaster, then an educator. My wife was once an assistant in HR who decided to become an Occupational Therapist. We both give community colleges the credit.

Quanah will inspire students at Western Texas College for the next hundred years, or until someone thinks his image is offensive and attempts to rip him down. I think he is safe for the time-being.

The whole trip was an incredible blessing for us. We shed a few tears and a few laughs with dozens of the people who we grew to love in Snyder. Texas is a state of mind. We grew to love it and, honestly, things haven’t been the same since.

But looking in the mirror is not a safe way to drive. Glance backwards, feel deep appreciation for your time in the sun…then move on..and..grow where you are planted.

We will always have Snyder, Texas….where the wind blows, the cotton grows and the oil flows.

Drive on…

You never know what’s around the next corner…