Moments in the Life of Charles Dailey
This page revised: 10/19/02

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AN ANCHOR FOR LIFE
Some family friends took me to a church each Sunday morning. This was in 1942. I didn't get much out of it that I can remember. It was not something that I looked forward to and I suspect those at the church did not look forward to me being there, either. I was in constant motion.

The sermons did not interest me, but one thing stuck. There was a plaque on the wall above the preacher's head. I memorized it because there was nothing else to do. It said, "Thy Word is Truth," taken from John 17:17. What powerful four words!

Years later, as I sat in secular college classes hearing the teacher contradict the Scriptures and even putting down what God says about life, the plaque came back to remind me of what really anchors life and the pursuit of knowledge.

It was about this same time that I heard missionary Dick Hillis of China Inland Mission speaking at a Bible Conference at Mission Springs, California. After he presented the need for men to preach Christ, I decided that would be how I would use my life. I stuck with the decision and God has blessed my life richly.

HIGH SCHOOL YEARS
After attending Stanford Junior High just a short while, Mother Dailey decided to move way north to Del Paso Heights. I think the reason was so I could attend Grant Union High School rather than McClatchy High.

Our house on Grand Ave.

We had a nice little, nearly new, house on Grand Avenue. The school was in walking distance. I did well at Grant Union. I joined the California Cadet Corp and went up through the ranks. Starting as a private, I moved up to Lt. Colonel, in charge of plans and training for the unit at our school.

On the way up through the ranks, I led the Grant Union High School Military Band. There must not have been any qualifications. I think that I was replaced by someone who knew what he was doing. I'm sure any replacement person was an upgrade for the job.

One thing that caught my attention at this time was rifle marksmanship. I took to it and was soon on the rifle team. There are still some pins around the house that I won in competition with other groups. I have used the skill very little since. Now the targets wobble in the gun sight, so I figure those days are past.

Being bored with high school, I was graciously allowed to attend Grant Technical College across the street. (Grant Tech eventually became American River College.) I received credits for high school and credits for college for the same college courses. My interest was in radio, and I took every class that I could find. Radio speech, radio technology and more.

Grant Union High

The unintended outcome of taking these classes for two years was that I graduated from Jr. College one night and from High School a couple of nights later. For some reason, I was asked to present a speech at the Grant Union High School graduation. It was one of the largest groups that I have ever addressed.

Because I hadn't planned on graduating from Grant Tech, I didn't have the right courses for a degree, but had enough credits to graduate anyway. The credit hours came in handy when I transferred them to San Jose Bible College as electives.

Looking back, I realize that this double credit bonus allowed me to graduate from High School with two years of accredited college on my transcript.

My success in the California Cadet Corp led to a major temptation to shift from my goal of preaching the gospel. Following graduation, I was offered some fine opportunities with the U.S. Army. As my rusty memory serves me, I was offered a slot at the Officers Candidate School at Ft. Benning, Georgia. The school was quite new then.

While I really wanted to go the military way and the lifestyle and discipline appealed to me, the answer had to be "no." I had told the Lord that I would preach the gospel and there was no turning back. Perhaps the lesson from Ward Booth played a part here. Also an intemperate harangue on the evils of war from Bertha Garrison kept me conscious of the Biblical side of the war question.

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