Amarillo Junior College

Now 19 years old, Woodrow began attendance at Amarillo Junior College for his first two college years, graduating in l940. He had applied for, and received, one of the early scholarship programs offered at a Baptist School in Boston, Massachusetts. After further analysis of the arrangements and the financial aid offered, he determined he could not afford to live in Boston.  The scholarship only covered tuition and a very small living stipend.  No money for books plus the cost to move made it impossible.  So he stayed at home and attended school in Amarillo, supplementing his income and paying for his schooling by working in a clothing store; J. Levy Men’s Store. It was while working here that he became conscious of clothes as a style and as a luxury, not simply as a necessity of life.  He also acted as one of the two models for shows of the latest fashions held at the Rotary Club or in the store.

Here Woodrow learned to dress well, with impeccable taste, with just enough “flash” to add color,  but never ostentatiously.  Just as he has always felt a car is just transportation, his earlier upbringing formed his opinion that clothes were more functionally important than an adornment.  He did not compensate for the lack of finery in his youth by becoming overly obsessed with the acquisition of fine clothes.  But he was aware enough of wardrobe to change his regularly. And he continued to work at the drugstore in Amarillo during the summers.  Hard work and steady focus on his career were deeply embedded self-disciplines.

From his high school Dean of Women, Woodrow had a letter, on his behalf, to the chairman of the Secretarial Studies Department at the college about this "shorthand whiz.” Woodrow took another shorthand course at Amarillo College and again immediately became the teacher’s pet. The reader will perceive again and again this pattern of recognition and honor appearing in his life’s stream. This came not just from luck, as he would say, but from both his academic effort and a certain charm — a magnetic attraction which he manifested and still does to this day. This recognition meant that two years later, when he enrolled at the University of Oklahoma, the Amarillo College teacher wrote an unsolicited letter to the department chairman at Oklahoma about this shorthand whiz who would be attending Oklahoma University. The sequence of references that strongly influenced his college and ensuing career path, was not uncommon for this generation. He had come from an impoverished background but worked hard and had that little bit of luck that helped him get ahead and wasn’t wasted. A reference from high school benefitted him in junior college and a similar letter gave him a leg up in college while in later years those unsolicited references promoted him at UCLA and again at Simmons.

Other than the academic courses, Woodrow doesn’t have much to add about those junior college years except that they were not that spectacular. He remarks, "We were Depression kids, so we worked eight hours a day and couldn't join many clubs." Baldwin did become Vice President of the Northwest Texas Intercollegiate Student's Conference and attended the sessions of the organization at Texas Technological College. A newspaper article from the time reads: “Mr. Woodrow Baldwin of Amarillo College was awarded the 140 words-per-minute shorthand pin, which the arts and credentials department of the Gregg Publishing Company presents to those students who qualify for such awards. Mr. Baldwin took dictation on new congressional material for five minutes dictated at the rate of 140 words-per-minute, and then transcribed his notes at 96.86 accuracy — the highest of the award recipients.” This award places students in a class with expert shorthand writers. Unknown to him, the Gregg Publishing Company would later shift his life unexpectedly towards further academic success.

Woodrow was elected secretary of the freshman class. Although not president this time, he was still involved in the group of students that were picked as leaders. He was president of the YMCA-YWCA which was the largest club on campus. Woodrow was going through one of his religious kicks during his junior college years but didn't last beyond that. Until his retirement, he was unable to find a religious group which agreed with his open-minded attitude towards all human beings, regardless of race, religion, status, gender, or sexual orientation. Prejudice towards other bona fide card carrying humans, as he refers to our collective race, is not something he was able to accommodate despite wanting to be part of a religious environment. Being taught that love, compassion and brotherhood were the basic tenets of Christianity did not match with the bigotry and prejudice he was hearing from the pulpit.

Woodrow has no recollection of his grades, although he does remember being strongly influenced by a particular sociology professor. Baldwin did not like this teacher at the time, but in retrospect thinks he may have been the best professor he had in any college he attended because the professor taught the class to look at both sides of a question.  

He dated a gal whose fiancé was at Texas Tech at the time. The fiancé knew they were dating, and Woodrow guesses the fiancé was also dating on the side. It didn’t seem odd to either of them that this lady was dating them both.  They did remain in touch over the years and Woodrow saw them grow a fine family. He has never regretted not having children. During his high school and college years he did have several successful romantic encounters with women and still finds ladies excellent companions.  

Woodrow never distanced himself from his family. As he was leaving Amarillo at age 18 to attend Oklahoma University (only 280 miles east but still a significant change in lifestyle for the young man) all the siblings came for dinner. As children their mother's punishment when they fought had been to make them kiss — a terrible punishment because at that point they wanted to kill each other. His sister Leora, with whom he grew up, was the last in line. All the other siblings had bid him adieu with hugs and kisses. When it came her turn, she started crying and said, "This is the first time I've ever kissed you that I didn't have to."  

The deaths of his siblings in the later years were hard on Woodrow, harder than the passing of his parents. Both his parents were quite ill in their final years; frustrated and extremely unhappy as they slowly lost their independence. He felt it was for the best when they finally passed away, his mother in 1966 and his father in the following year while Woodrow was a Professor at Simmons. His siblings died of cancer, stroke and heart attack from 1983 to 1998, all of them after he had fully retired from academia. Woodrow has always been very adept at putting the past behind him and getting on with life, unsure even now whether that is a virtue or a handicap. He mourned them and went on with his life, but still thinks about all of them quite frequently.

University of Oklahoma — 1942

Following graduation from Amarillo Junior College in the spring of 1940, Woodrow attended the University of Oklahoma for two years starting in the fall semester. It was there at Oklahoma University that his name changed from Woodrow to Woody.  Not really sure how it came about, he says, “The other students just immediately tagged me with the name Woody, even the teachers, and soon I began to refer to myself by that name.” He received his two year Bachelor of Science degree in 1942. Woody was still only 20 when the first draft registration for World War II was held September 16, 1940 (for all men between 21 and 36 years of age). Woody barely missed being pulled into the war between high school and college. There were exemptions for those enrolled in school. If he had been caught in-between, he could have been caught in the early draft rolls.

When Baldwin entered high school, he thought he wanted to be a doctor. So in preparation he took 4 years of Latin and 4 years of science and absolutely hated both subjects. Then he began to seek his Business Administration Degree in earnest. He recalls that in the junior college almost everyone was in an engineering (he asserts he is not mechanically inclined) or business administration major. For him the Business Administration Degree was the lesser of the evils, having less to do with hard science and more to do with working with people.

At Oklahoma University, Professor Vernon Musselman, the Chairman of the Education Department ,was working on his doctorate and also taking a graduate course. The later course conflicted with the shorthand course he was teaching to undergraduates. Although Woody was only a junior in college at the time; Professor Musselman hired Baldwin to teach the shorthand course. He even gave him the responsibility of supervising six practice teachers. The Chairman came to influence his career more than just this one time. Later on, after the stint in the Army, when Woody was applying to UCLA for his graduate studies, Professor Musselman wrote a letter to the head of the Business Education Department at UCLA about this shorthand whiz who was coming there to do graduate study. That letter had as big an impact at UCLA as the background in teaching responsibilities. One can see, Woody benefitted often from an era when rules could be bent or one could be simply recommended to a position without having to file multiple applications and/or meet exact requirements.

Just as during his high school years, young Woody was working every job he could find. Among them was working and modeling for a men's store in Oklahoma City on Saturdays. Woody was also teaching a shorthand class for adults one evening a week; good practice as in later years he often found himself teaching teachers and adults, rather than simply teaching young students. One job was checking out playing cards, dominoes, etc. in the Student Union Building; another was washing pots and pans for the fraternity house; and he also worked for a Psychology Professor as secretary for his research papers. Woody writes, “Lucky again! It could have been engineering.” Not many college students in the early 1940s had the opportunity to be exposed (no pun intended) to a subject still very controversial in those days. The Psychology Professor was considered something of an authority on sexuality. Woody admits borrowing a book from his collection a time or two to read for his own pleasure, but personal sexual activities were never a topic of discussion; theirs was strictly a boss/secretary relationship.  

Despite the work and academics, like any good college student, Woody managed somehow to have a satisfactory social life. He says in those days they changed roommates every semester but, “I won't bore you (and others) with describing them.” He dated a fair amount, and one of the encounters actually brought him close to marriage.  The first serious discussion of marriage was rebuffed by Woody saying he “didn’t believe in marriage before military service as he might not survive the war. “ The lady would not accept this gallant first excuse so Woody had to clarify the other issue, that he also enjoyed the company of men.  That seemed to work.  They wrote for a time while he was in the service, but she married before he received his honorable discharge in 1945..

Woody claims his life at Oklahoma University was “not spectacular to say the least.” He did, however, belong to Delta Chi Fraternity, which was better than life in the dorm room and was not much more expensive. He became the secretary of the fraternity the second year, probably because he knew shorthand, but as he was only there two years he didn’t develop any long-standing friendships. Woody is still an avid Oklahoma University and UCLA fan. Yes, he dated (had to being in a fraternity) but is reluctant to discuss his college romances. He does recall he never saw an Oklahoma University sporting event as he worked on Saturdays. Baldwin looks back and wonders how he did all the things he had to do academically with such a heavy work schedule. Baldwin says, “I was young and ambitious; I guess that explains a lot of things.” And he adds, “Because I knew shorthand, I became secretary of everything I joined until I finally put my foot down and refused.”

Woody in the Army — 1942-1945

Baldwin “stepped out of my cap and gown and right into an Army uniform for the next three years.” Private Baldwin served as an enlisted man in the Army from 1942 until he was honorably discharged in 1945. He joined the armed forces around the same time that a young girl in Holland, on her 13th birthday, made the first entry in a diary which was later renamed and published as “The Diary of Anne Frank.” The Japanese naval advance in the Pacific was halted at the battle of Midway about this same time. General Patton was commander of the newly activated First Armored Corps and was assigned to Operation Torch; the invasion of North Africa.  

Due to an error on someone's part, Private Baldwin was sent from the induction center directly into the assembly arena for General Patton's army. This error meant he missed basic training. After the assembling for Operation Torch, Private Woodrow W. Baldwin went to the port of embarkation at Camp Kilmer, New Jersey. While there, it was discovered that Baldwin had not had basic training and therefore could not be sent overseas. There was also an Army regulation that once you got to a Port of Embarkation, you could NOT be sent back for further training, so Baldwin found himself in a Catch 22 situation.  

Woody was reticent to speak much about this frustrating period of his life because, while his friends and “brothers in arms” were truly fighting the War, he was stuck stateside. “I am very embittered about my Army experience and don't even like to talk about it,” he commented early in the interviews regarding this period. It was one of the very few times the author of this sketch found Woody embittered about anything. He went in with expectations of going to Officer Candidate School and becoming a commissioned officer. Because of the assignment error, he never got basic training so he had no chance of becoming an officer, even though he had a bachelor's degree by that time, and neither could he go overseas. Woody said; “I could not get any kind of promotion for the first 20 months. I was in the replacement pool because there was no place I could go without basic training.”

Eventually Private Baldwin did get assigned to the station hospital and he served as secretary to the head of psychiatry there. When the head of psychiatry was promoted to head of the entire medical branch of the hospital, Baldwin followed him along. The upside of the situation was, in Woody’s terms, “he was a gem.” The hospital and barracks were just an hour out of New York City. Private Baldwin worked 9 to 5 Monday thru Friday so he spent his weekends in NYC. He did get assigned permanently to the hospital, but by this time their "table of organization" was full. Again, this meant no promotion was possible. After the army regulations that no one from the replacement pool could be assigned to a station complement were lifted, Private Baldwin was finally promoted to Technician 1st Grade; that was somewhere between private first class and corporal, but he was now addressed as "Corporal".

Not to be caught in bouts of self pity, Baldwin comments that the upside of the experience was the interesting job as secretary to the head of the Psychiatric division of the hospital. Later when his boss was promoted, Corporal Baldwin was exposed to all parts of the medical non-surgical program. It was enlightening for him as he knew nothing about medical procedures. Since Baldwin was the only male secretary, he got very interesting assignments which the others didn't experience. He did all the autopsy testimony reports since it was “too gruesome” for women and attended at the sodium amytal (truth serum) sessions as, when on the drugs, guys were not conscious of what they were saying and their language was too gross for the delicate (so they thought in those days) women. Baldwin took down the questions and answers and then transcribed them as a part of the patient's record. The psychiatrist conducted the sessions. The truth serum sessions were conducted on those patients with whom, the psychiatrist felt, it was important to know what experiences the soldier had that might be a cause of his mental condition. Corporal Baldwin’s job was purely clerical. Other times, when they had a serious medical case that needed a specialist from New York City, Baldwin would be called in the middle of the night to take the doctor’s testimony. The civilian doctors were so busy during the day with their private practices it was the only time they were available. Baldwin, in typical “look on the bright side” outlook, said that he never resented that duty as it was so educational.

Life in the barracks was nothing particularly memorable.  30-40 bunks to a barracks and more rules than one could remember.  Baldwin thought it was funny that revelry was called so early that it was usually dark and the guys would end up stumbling out to the ramp for roll call half-asleep, half dressed, in their underwear, or even naked.  It was so dark nobody could see. On another noted weekend, when they were all confined to base for some reason, some fellows had snuck in enough liquor that they all got so smashed that the majority of them awoke half clothed and sleeping on the floor where they had passed out. As for his weekends in New York, they are described as “wonderful.” New York City was noted during the war as the friendliest city to servicemen. If one walked into a bar in uniform you could not buy a drink. The civilians vied for the opportunity to pay for the servicemen’s drinks. Baldwin says he did not abuse the privilege, but the few times he ate in regular restaurants, some stranger always picked up the check.  

Baldwin’s pay was $21 a month for the first 2 years. It cost Corporal Baldwin $1 round trip to get from the post (Camp Kilmer, NJ) to New York by train. After getting there, he could eat free at the canteens and paid only 50 cents a night to stay at the Henry Hudson Hotel where they fashioned a dormitory for servicemen. He could shower and change to civilian clothes there. Servicemen in New York City could go to the theatre, ballet, symphony, etc. for free. So New York was very inexpensive. Otherwise, Baldwin would not have been able to go almost every weekend. He saw most all of the biggest Broadway hits such as “Oklahoma.” There were also lots of fun wartime lighthearted musicals like "Something For The Boys" with Ethel Merman, and "Follow the Girls" with Jackie Gleason. The Stage Door Canteen was where servicemen got food and drink and the stage celebrities danced with them. The USO (United Service Organization) arranged social activities. Then too, there were lots of private parties for GIs, again posted on the board at USO: "Party tonight at 225 West 86th St., Apt. 509, no need to call, just come." 

For a poor kid from the farms, this exposure to city life and culture was a privilege which he never forgot nor took for granted. The opportunities to see Broadway productions strongly contributed to his love of the theater which he has to this day; although, in his later years he’s had to give it up because of poor hearing. Baldwin thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to see opera (also when stationed in the NYC area) but never developed a real love of that art form. This was also his first experience with ballet and that is still an art he can enjoy in retirement.

Although there was plenty of opportunity for romantic encounters in the cocktail lounges and bars, Woody did that very seldom. It was a mark of distinction that civilians bragged about; picking up a serviceman and taking him home. But Woody does not seem to have been very interested in being a “mark of distinction.” During the war Woody recalls no sense of oppression towards alternate lifestyle sexual activities.  Everybody was very aware they might be sent overseas any day and life could end very quickly for young men. The bars and police and many peers turned a blind eye to such “side line” activity, as long as it was not overt or too public.  The Astor Hotel had a bar which was very friendly towards having men gather there and a few of the Greenwich Village bars were also.  Although there were exclusively gay bars, those were rather seedy and Private Baldwin avoided them.

Across from the barracks in New jersey was a Johnson and Johnson plant.  An Army Sergeant who lived in New jersey was working part time there and he and Woody crossed paths and this led to a short-term close friendship.  Private Woody was working another part time job as a bartender for the non-commissioned officers club and also selling tickets at the base movie theater. Woody recalls this more for the embarrassment at that Christmas than for the strength of the friendship. This fellow came from a wealthy local family and as Woody was away from home for the first time at Christmas the family invited him over.  Their Christmas tradition was very simple.  They just gave each other an envelope with money in it.  Private Baldwin’s family had gone overboard sending him presents from all the brothers and sisters and nieces and nephews, since he was away from home.  Poor Woody had to sit in his host’s house and open all these dozens of presents, feeling pretty much alone as the host’s family “oohed and aahed” at his simple gifts.

He had his first significant romantic interest while he was in the service. Early on in his New York exposure, Woody met a sailor (a chief) in the Navy with whom he had a glorious affair. They were very close and spent most of their weekends together, his first long-term relationship. They met in a bar where a civilian bought Woody a drink and then ended up introducing him to Russ Jenter who was from Los Angeles. Russ was extremely handsome, well dressed in uniform or “civvies,” a charmer, and an accomplished piano player. Chief Jenter made the first move by writing Woody a note inviting him out for an evening. Russ was stationed in Philadelphia so their time together was spent more south of where Woody was stationed, in New Jersey, rather than north towards New York. Russ was eventually shipped out and was stationed in the Pacific. Woody was discharged before Russ was, and as you’ll soon read, went to Los Angeles. Russ joined him there shortly thereafter, and they lived together for some time.

After Russ was transferred to the west coast, Baldwin admits he was the most promiscuous he has ever been. It seems the fires of youth had been fully ignited. Having lost his primary outlet, within the significant relationship, both men allowed that the other was free to play the field while they were separated due to the war, but they had also vowed, when the war was over, they would return to their romance. The separation was a hardship on the young men but they seem to have adapted to the situation in a way that was comfortable for both of them. He says that on Long Island was a nude beach (divided by gay and straight) and during the summer he went there many times and to both sides of the beach. In summary, Woody closed on this subject by saying; “New York was very exciting to a young ‘hick’ from Amarillo, Texas.”

Woody’s other best Army buddy was Private Brockbank, coincidently also from Los Angeles. He was working in the same physical proximity as Woody although not in the same barracks. They shared meals occasionally at the hospital staff dinning room and would sneak out for a 5 cent hamburger on Tuesday evenings when the hospital always served spinach and beans. The spinach was never well-cleaned and often had rocks in it.  Hamburgers without rocks were a much better arrangement. They never palled around outside the Army, but when they were in the service, Woody says, “He was always there if I needed him.” Brockbank, his first name is lost to memory, taught Woody a lot about living life as a homosexual. Woody was very naïve when he entered the service. For instance, Brockbank told him how to recognize a gay man in a group. “A gay man's eyes are always roaming,” he said, “where a hetero will look straight ahead not scanning the room like a gay man.” Another thing he taught Woody was never to take a “pick up” home; always go to his place because if he is up to killing queers, he won't do it on his own property. Brockbank and Baldwin were best friends and Brockbank, being older, was considered by Woody as a mentor whom he looked up to. They were close but never slept together. He dazzled Woody with his stories of gay life in Los Angeles and this somewhat rakish romantic life style instilled a desire in Woody to move to the West Coast when he got out of the service. Since Brockbank turned 38 while they were in the service in New Jersey, and Woody was still a mere 24 years old, Brockbank was discharged earlier. Woody saw, and later on lived near his friend, on Brockbank's lady-friend’s property, during his stay in Los Angeles.

As mentioned earlier, when Baldwin was at Oklahoma University, the department chairman Professor Musselman and he had became good friends. Musselman was now a commissioned officer in the Navy while Baldwin was stuck as a non-com in the Army. They kept in touch while they were both in the service, and spent a few weekends together, with Musselman and his wife, when they were stationed in New Jersey. As he neared discharge, Officer Musselman happened (in another odd coincidence) to be stationed in California. Corporal Baldwin wrote and told Musselman he wanted to get a master’s degree and asked if he should apply to UCLA, Southern Cal, Cal Berkeley or Stanford? Musselman requested a month to consider and then wrote back. He thought in the field of Business Education, it was UCLA head and shoulders above the others. As part of Woody’s long range planning was to live in California; that was where Woody thought he, as a homosexual man, should be. Based on his army buddy’s tales and Musselman’s advice, Woody sought admission at UCLA. The two stayed in touch for many years and Woody only recently learned that Musselman passed away in 1970, at the age of 56.  Too young by Baldwin’s reckoning.