In the book shelf behind my desk in what passes as a den is a thick notebook with a map of Pensacola Historical District Master Plan on the front cover. Inside are many pages of photos and memos covering times, events and places back to 1956. The information contained inside relate to the friendship Florine and I had with Fred and Toni Barrington. We met this older couple at Clark Air Base in the period 1956-1958 when invited to their home on the base for a weekly Bible study. A friendship began that lasted for years until the deaths of these dear friends.
Fred was a slender, wiry man who was outspoken and strong in his beliefs. As such, he might have ruffled someone’s feelings. Yet he and I never had a falling out. He cared for people and he and Toni conducted Bible studies in their home and also worked in missions later. Soon after we joined the weekly sessions, a Filipino maid who did regular house cleaning and lawn mowing suggested we come to her barrio (village) and teach the Bible. In the village a 98-year-old lady living in a thatched hut on stilts asked us to use her home to give Bible lessons. This Bible study later expanded to four missions, including one in Tarlac, the capitol of the province by the same name.
Later, back in the USA, orders led Florine and I to Denver, Colorado, where we once more ran across Fred and Toni. There, we again became involved in missions and were together about two years. After that time, Fred retired from the Air Force and moved back home to Pensacola. We remained in touch by regular mailings.
After I retired in August 1971, Florine and I began yearly visits to Pensacola. As I loved fishing, through friendship with Fred I had some good times catching fish in the Gulf. Looking back, I miss those annual visits with Fred and Toni. Sadly, in time Fred died and Florine and I drove down to Pensacola to the funeral. Oddly, as we left Pensacola to drive back to northern Georgia, it began to snow as we left their house and somewhere in southern Georgia we got uneasy with the slick pavement and spent the night at a motel. We made it safely home the next day.
A few years ago, Toni also passed on. I still maintain contact with Scott and Cindy, of the five children born to Fred and Toni. Fred and Toni were wonderful friends who exerted a good influence upon Florine and I in our younger years. To show Fred’s friendship, in Colorado and in Florida he went fishing with me and I thought he loved fishing. Only after his death I heard that he fished with me mainly to please me and show me a good time. Fred was a true friend!
