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A rough draft of the spiritual autobiography of Joseph B Wilson. The history that lead to Toteg Tribe.
Copyright 2003 by Joseph B Wilson
The judge appointed the minister of the First Methodist Church as my additional probation officer.
That summer I attended (or dozed through) his services and saw him immediately afterwards.
None of my family attended with me.
I needed to get out more, so as I started my junior year of high school I tried out for the Junior Play
figuring that would get me out of the house at least for rehearsals. I got a part, and enjoyed it.
Wayne Hunt, another member of the cast invited me to attend church services with him. When I
explained why I couldn't he went with me to my probation officer and got permission for me to go to
his church. It was one of those Hellfire and Damnation Independent Fundamentalist Baptist
churches. The preacher, Henry Parish, D.D. was an animated speaker, fun to watch and listen to.
In many ways the teachings were similar to those of my Grandmother's church in Sabinsville. I
thought this was much better than what the judge told me I had to do! Especially since (after the
daily rehearsals for the play) if I attended Morning and Evening services on Sunday, Visitation on
Monday, Prayer Meeting on Wednesday, and Choir Practice on Thursday it was almost as though
I were not on probation at all. I didn't attend all of those things, but knowing I could made me feel
free.
I became deeply involved with that church, began taking bible correspondence courses, became a
Junior Boy's Sunday School teacher, a junior deacon, and led the Youth For Christ group on
Sunday evenings, and sometimes preached at the Rescue Mission in Lansing on Saturday nights.
I continued with the church even after my probation period was over.
So many things happened between the time I started attending services there and the time I left
home, it's hard to put them all together. Most of them are not of great spiritual importance, but did
have an influence on my attitude towards life. When I was still 15 I met Nancy Ketchum in church,
she became my first sexual partner, we broke up a little after my 16th birthday. I couldn't equate the
church's teaching that sex was wrong with my feelings, so that created a little conflict. My parents
hired a girl named Carol to cook, clean, and look after my brother and sister. Carol was also
sexually active and we had a fun physical, not emotional on either part, relationship. Later she
thought she was pregnant by her boyfriend (also named Joe) and made the mistake of thinking
she could talk to my mother about it and get some advice. Mother's response was to fire her. So
from the time I was 16-1/4 until I left home I had the tasks of cooking, cleaning, and rearing my
brother and sister. I don't think I did too good a job of that.
When I was 17 I started dating Daisy. She is Wayne's younger sister
Shortly after my 18th birthday I was ordained as a lay minister and was being groomed to attend a
seminary in Texas. I was supposed to start seminary in September of 1961. That was not to be.
Around then I began reading Sinclair Lewis. Elmer Gantry, though not a heavy philosophical work,
got me to thinking and analyzing that which I had been accepting unquestionably. I discussed
some of the philosophical ideas gleaned from it with some of my friends, and then with Dr. Parrish.
He said I should be reading the bible, not trash like that. To forget it and just accept his teachings
on faith. No help. I thought about becoming a Worker in my Grandmother's church and got some
mimeographed information about their doctrines, the way one becomes a Worker, and what is
expected. I read it through a couple of times, then went to talk to Dr. Parrish about it. His
response? "Great, let's see how we can tear this crap apart!" Interesting, two similar religious
philosophies, both of which insisted the adherents to the other one were wrong and going to hell!
And both of whom justified their personal racial bigotry on biblical sources. I figured they were both
wrong, but didn't quite know what to do.
My last semester in High School I was 18 and Daisy was 16. She was an itty bitty gal, 5-foot tall
and 95 pounds soaking wet. My father used to warn me, saying "It's easier to get a girl in bed with
you than to get her out of it." I should have listened to him! We became sexually active. Our birth
control methods consisted of the occasional use of condoms when I could get them legally, and
withdrawal when I could not. Then, at my Senior Prom, I asked her to marry me, and she said yes.
(This eliminated the possibility that I become a Worker for Grandma's church).
In early August of 1961 Daisy telephoned me and told me she was pregnant. We were married on
her 17th birthday. There I was, an unemployed 18-year-old in a recession, with a pregnant wife. My
Uncle Roy was an Air Force recruiter so In spite of my juvenile record, I managed to join the Air
Force so I could provide for my new family. In September of 1961, instead of starting seminary in
Dallas, Texas, I found myself at Lackland Air Force Base near San Antonio, Texas, going through
Air Force Basic Training. My Uncle Roy got in trouble because he helped me lie about my juvenile
record in order to enlist.
