Odessa College-“Harvard on the Hill”

Written by Benjamin Franklin

 I attended “Harvard on the Hill” in 65 & 66. It was, a complete failure, to say the least. A repudiation, which I never forgot. The Dean of the college remarked on my behalf, that I “was not college material”. I was put on scholastic probation, wherein Vada Sykes, was dutifully notified, in the Spring of 66. It was a literal “kiss of death” by the Draft Board, that I had been inducted into the Army, and received my draft notice. Thank you Vada, because I knew that I would be going instead of George Bush, Jr. Now the Dean of Students was himself a graduate of Texas A&M, and the reason I know that, I saw his college ring, as he was picking his nose, in our interview. True Story.. In 1966, the USNavy had a program named “Choice not Chance”, where I enlisted into the Navy(instead of going into the Army and straight to VN) in August of 1966. The irony does not stop there. In 1968 I was due a change of billet, and was assigned as a field corpsman/medic in country Viet Nam, and spent the entire year of 1969 getting my ass shot at, and escaping w/ my life out of there in Jan 1970, when I was discharged from active duty.

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Odessa College and Mike Murphy

Written by Fariss Murphy

Mike  stayed home and attended Odessa College for a year, right after H.S. graduation.  He took the basic Freshman classes.  He also borrowed his brother, Bill’s, clubs and took Golf for P.E.! 

He returned the clubs at the end of the year and went 500 miles away, to Stephen F. Austin State College, in Nacogdoches to major in Forestry.   Thirty years later, he decided to actually get a set of clubs and start playing golf! 

 He was so appreciative that he had such good instruction of the basics, way back,  at Odessa College!  He encouraged me to play, and we really enjoyed playing at golf courses all over Texas and even some in Colorado, New Mexico, and Arkansas.   He even made a Hole-in-One on April 17, 2004!