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Discipline taught at
Children's Homes helps veterinarian
By Brian Blackwell
Wise words from friend Jerry Colley nearly 19 years ago still guide Atlanta,
Ga., veterinarian Stephen Pope.
"Everything you do from now on will be an example to these kids who live at
the Baptist Children's Homes," Colley told Pope when he was a high school
senior.
 The stress of caring for sick animals and communicating with worried pet
owners from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. nightly could take a toll on Pope. He says,
however, that he is continually strengthened when he remembers the servant
examples his houseparents, Mary and Jane Holsey and later Hilma and Charlie
Bagley, and other adults demonstrated during his youth days living at the
Children's Homes campus in Troy.
"The reason I adjusted so well at 'The Home' in Troy was because I came out
of an abusive home environment," Pope said. "The disciplined schedule at
'The Home' was the most freeing thing because I finally had structure in my
life."
Pope says he hopes the "strict and religious-oriented environment" of the
Children's Homes never ceases. "What's wrong with many kids today is a lack
of discipline at home," he said. "This way of life put me on the right path.
I don't know if I'd be a vet today if it weren't for the Children's Homes."
Pope said some of his fondest memories of the Children's Homes are of when
he and other boys from the Troy campus went catfishing at a pond owned by
Colley, a veterinarian in Auburn. Those trips and his one-on-one time with
Colley influenced Pope's decision to complete his veterinary medicine
studies at Auburn University.
"Dr. Colley sort of acted like a mentor and often gave me words of wisdom,"
Pope said. "His home was like a home away from home for me."
 Pope first came to the Troy campus in July 1982, but stayed there only six
months before he moved to Pennsylvania to live with his aunt. Two years
later, he moved back to Alabama for his senior year of high school. After
changing schools four times and living in a foster care home in Phenix City,
space became available at the Troy campus for Pope to return.
In his relationship with the Bagleys, Pope immediately found strength to
face the bitterness he felt about his family upbringing and having to leave
his aunt.
"Mrs. Bagley spoiled me rotten," Pope recalled. "Mr. Bagley would give me
the chores that would earn me the most money. He and Mrs. Bagley still treat
me as if I am their birth son."
Pope grew attached to a cat named Sam while he lived with the Bagleys. One
time, he was injured during a softball game and when he returned to the "The
Home" from the hospital, Mr. Bagley sneaked Sam into his room to cuddle with
him in bed.
During his senior year of high school, Pope met social worker Shirley
Campbell at "The Home." She "listened to everything I had to say. I could
tell her things I would not tell others," Pope reported. "Some of the most
stressful days of my life where when I started college classes, but Miss
Campbell and James Kingry, then director of the Children's Homes, made
special trips to Auburn to encourage me and assure me I had their listening
ears whenever needed," Pope said. "I owe who I am today professionally to
Mr. Kingry and Mrs. Campbell."
During his last year in vet school, Pope was running out of money to pay for
his education. The Children's Homes only paid for his undergraduate
education. While paying a visit to the Bagleys and others at "The Home" one
day, he met and discussed his financial situation with Executive Director
Paul Miller. To Pope's surprise, the Children's Homes board of trustees
voted a few quarters later to give him enough financial help to finish
college.
"I had only met Mr. Miller one time and had talked with him briefly, and for
him to convince the trustees to give me money without having to pay it back
was amazing," Pope said. "These are the kinds of people that work at the
Children's Homes. They're saints." |
