Knapp and Storms Towers at ISU
It's official, you can now call me old! Today two of the four beloved Towers were imploded to the ground. Wilson and Knapp Halls were my home at Iowa State from 1969 to 1974. Back in the olden days, the four Towers dormitories were considered "state of the art!" Wilson Hall had just been built the year I moved in. Today, Knapp and Storms were reduced to rubble. Could I possibly be that old? After all, Friley Hall was ancient when I was a student on campus and it's still standing!
If my schedule would have allowed, I would have liked to have been in Ames today to witness this historic occasion. These four halls represented more than a place to sleep and live. The Towers was the place that I met Mark Flage. I was a shy, frightened freshman from a small town in Iowa and Mark invited me to a softball game with some other students. I later learned that Mark was a committed follower of Jesus Christ who was involved with a campus group called The Navigators. Mark became one of my best friends and helped me understand how to walk with God. I tell people that I liked Mark so well, that I decided to marry his sister!
The Towers was the place that I met with other young men for Bible study, learning to search the Scriptures for myself. It's where I learned how to share my faith. It's where I learned how to pray and trust God. It's where I asked God to take my life and use me any way He pleased. It's where I heard God's call to be a builder of men, leaving behind a childhood dream of becoming an architect.
The buildings are gone, but the memories and spiritual foundation that I built while living in the Towers remain. Today I've been reminded again, of the importance of living for what's eternal.
As he was leaving the temple, one of his disciples said to him, "Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!" "Do you see all these great buildings?" replied Jesus. "Not one stone here will be left on another: every one will be thrown down." Mark 13:1-2
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