Ruth and Cline Barkey

Our parents, Ruth and Cline Barkey, parents of David, Richard, Stanley and Paul Barkey, met in Chicago at Moody Bible Institute in 1934.   Ruth King was from Indianapolis and had attended the Indiana Central University (now the University of Indianapolis) for one year before attending Moody.  When they met she had graduated Moody and had taken a job at the school as a secretary.   Cline was from rural northeast Colorado and had attended Colorado A&M College (now Colorado State University) for a year after high school.  Before beginning his studies in Chicago he was working on the family farm near Haxtun, Colorado when his uncle, Rev. Edward Barkey suggested he consider attending Moody.

Dad arrived in Chicago in January 1932.  It was a stark change from small town rural Colorado to the big city.  The Moody Bible Institute (click to learn about Moody) program was three years of study and Dad and Mom met on a blind date in the summer of 1934 just before his final year. 

Dad was ordained a Baptist minister and over the next four decades they served in churches in California, Illinois, Colorado, Minnesota, Nebraska, South Dakota and North Dakota.   Dad earned his B.A. degree from Greenville College during the six years he served as pastor of Cottage Hills Baptist Church near Alton, Illinois.  While serving in churches our parents worked hard to provide for our family.   Mom was a superior typist and organizer so she worked in law offices, a TB Sanitorium, and for the U.S. Department of Agriculture.  While they were serving in North Dakota, Mom took on a job to help fund their trip to Argentina where Dave and his wife Marge were missionaries. Here’s the long list of jobs that Dad did to put food on the table:  butcher, milk truck driver, corn picker, insurance sales, farm labor, real estate sales, mail carrier, short order cook, rescue mission assistant, roofer, custodian, construction, hospital chaplain.   Our family never had much but we always had a home and food and we always felt loved and cared for.

Over the years I remember hearing a lot about the school our parents attended in Chicago.   Stanley attended Moody and he also met his wife Stephany in Chicago where she was a nursing student.  The school was established in the 1870’s by Dwight L. Moody, a widely known preacher in the late 1800’s.   Somewhat like Billy Graham, D.L. Moody held crusades all over the U.S. and Europe.  His events often included the song “Great is Thy Faithfulness”(click to listen) that became a theme at the school.  It is a song of gratitude and encouragement that often plays in my head.  The song is a great reflection on our parents.

• Read Cline Barkey’s narrative at:  http://www.barkey-us.org/wordpress/FamilyTree/616.htm
• Read about Ruth Eleanor King and King family ancestry at: Ancestors of Ruth Eleanor King (barkey-us.org)