Introduction

It''s late January, 1967 and Ron Petrich of Tacoma, Washington, 22 years old and a mid-year graduate of Seattle University, has accepted an English teaching position at Lebanon Union High School in Lebanon, Oregon. Such a nondescript, Willamette Valley lumber and farming community may appear to be an unlikely spot for adventure, but times are changing.

The Challenge

Ron, therefore, must confront the social, political, and religious chaos that characterizes the late 1960s—regardless of the location. The adventure of Love and Obedience that follows recalls that experienced by Huckleberry Finn and even by Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.