King Henry BYU 45th Ward

Ah, there's nothing really like a BYU student ward. As if the church itself didn't have enough idiosyncrasies, a BYU ward is even more novel. But within that structure, great good can be produced, and after all, it brought the two of us together. See the post earlier for details on our "Computer Date".

In the fall of 1981, I was fresh out of the mission field in Rome, and still in that post mission shock period which some missionaries experience. At times, I'd have rather been back in Rome, teaching, serving, helping....the dedicated and disciplined life of a Mormon missionary is nothing if not choreographed, and that direction was good for me.

Thank goodness for an older brother, Dave, who knew the ropes and the protocols of life at BYU. He arranged for me to room with him at King Henry Apartments, just off 9th East. King Henry was great for many reasons. One of our room ates was a guy named Robert Wanlass, aka "Toady". Toady was the social butterfly of the house, and actually proved handy as a scout in Kathy's and my early meeting. I recall him coming over shortly after the computer date arrangement, and sharing that "Kathy said she's looking forward to it".

In the apartment directly above us were housed Jim Herman, Lee Johnson, Scott Robinson, Steve Young and a couple other football players(Boy that place was loud sometimes!). This was the year before Steve made a national splash, so he was still somewhat obscure as a player in Provo. Lee Johnson went on to have a long career in the NFL as well, and Jim Herman played a year or two with the Dallas Cowboys.

Here are some excerpts from the 45th Ward Directory, including photos of Kathy, Steve Young(just to prove my story) and the old stuffed bear from my adolescence, which Toady "adopted" once Kathy and I met.